Hunting for saucy superstars

MANILA, Philippines - I grew up with it and will probably never outgrow it. Of course, I’m talking about Hunt’s Tomato Sauce that’s been an indispensable staple in our kitchen cabinet over the years. With more and more things to do as she started working soon after I and my three siblings were all in school, my mother found less and less time on her hands to cook. Thankfully,  she had a very loyal — and very saucy — friend who never failed her — Hunt’s. It was her go-to ingredient to whip up something we loved so much we could eat it every day: spaghetti with meatballs. You, too, must have your own sweet memories to share of your childhood spaghetti.

Boasting a rich, long history, the Hunt’s company — brand name for preserved tomato products — was founded in 1888 in California by brothers Joseph and William Hunt who originally named it The Hunt Brothers Fruit Packing Co. The tomatoes are grown in sun-kissed Oakdale, California, producing only the reddest, juiciest vine-ripened tomatoes. Tomatoes are picked at the peak of freshness.  From farm to can, the process takes just a few hours, assuring us of 100-percent natural tomatoes with no artificial preservatives added.

Today, Hunt’s creates more sweet memories for families to savor through the years by adding more flavors to its tried-and-tested and time-cherished tomato sauce.

“If you’re Pinoy, when you cook spaghetti, you usually add sugar,” says Marcia Y. Gokongwei, Hunt’s business unit manager. “You don’t have to do that anymore because we’ve blended it in with the Pinoy Style Tomato Sauce which is sweeter. Pinoys love sweet spaghetti.”

But if you don’t like it sweet, there’s Hunt’s Tomato Basil & Cheese spaghetti sauce which is sour like Italian spaghetti sauce.

Fact is, with Hunt’s many wonderful, flavorful tomato and spaghetti sauces (that are full of lycofiber, too, to help prevent disease and promote good health), working moms can serve up superstar meals to their families every day — no sweat, no fuss, no kidding!

“Working moms are in a dilemma because they don’t have a lot of time on their hands. And even if they want to prepare delicious meals for their families, it can be difficult to find time,” observes Mads Cruz, Hunt’s brand manager. “We will show you that Hunt’s tomato sauces can be housewives/moms’ kitchen ally. They’re assured of rich and flavorful tomato-based sauces in every pack. Cooking extra special meals can be easier and quicker because of Hunt’s, without sacrificing flavor and quality.”

To further help moms become kitchen superstars, Hunt’s is launching a series of webisodes that center on recipes of superstar quality that busy moms can whip up in no time. Think Rachel Ray’s 30-minute meals. Hosted by Inez Bernardo, a home-cook mom, each Hunt’s Kitchen Superstar webisode runs for just a minute and a half (so don’t blink now) and focuses on superb recipes that are short in preparation but long in enjoyment.

“Chicken can be boring, but a superstar mom knows how to make every dish extra exciting,” says Inez.

“The webisodes can actually walk the mom through doing all these recipes,” describes Mads.

Add Mads and Marcia, “Everything now is through the Internet. We’d like to explore that avenue. We have 100 plus recipes for tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, and even Hunt’s iconic pork and beans. Expect a lot more new recipes, new sauces.  We keep innovating  so, yes, we’re studying the possible launch of different variants. We’re also going to the barangay and supermarket levels to bring Hunt’s to more consumers.”

“Menudo, caldereta, afritada,” Marcia enumerates. “Filipinos are really so fond of sauces, as long as there’s rice, of course. And with Hunt’s, moms can prepare these supermeals every day.”

What about pinangat (fish dish) cooked with tomato sauce (instead of tomatoes), so journalist Linda de Leon suggests. To which, Marcia enthusiastically replies, “Why not?”

Truly, the possibilities with Hunt’s are endless, we’re only limited by our imagination.

“We’re aiming for one-dish meals because they’re economical,” Mads shares.

“A kilo of Hunt’s sauce, which costs around P72, can be used for 500 g. of uncooked pasta (it doubles when it’s cooked), which is enough to feed a family of five or six. The small pack  (250 g.) costs only P23, so that’s value-for-money for consumers.”

She adds,  “For me, one kilo is good for two recipes: maybe a menudo for a half kilo and another tomato dish for the other half kilo.”

Hunt’s pairs well with El Real noodles — it’s a match made in culinary heaven.

Hunt’s can make you a superstar in your kitchen even if you don’t really know how to cook. “I won’t even say I’m a great cook,” says radio DJ and mom Delamar Arias as she bravely faces a frying pan, a smattering of ingredients, and some packs of Hunt’s tomato and spaghetti sauces, to cook up a chicken estofado in front of the TV cameras.

But before this kitchen diva dives into her cooking, she spices it up with a little story, “I bring my three-year-old son Cooper with me to the kichen because I want him to see that this is our life together and eating is a huge part of it.”

And what does Cooper’s dad say about Delamar’s cooking? “He’ll never say, ‘Honey, I love your cooking,’” Delamar relates. “But if he asks for seconds, I feel I did a great job.”

Delamar stresses, “I will not say I’m great in the kitchen, but I’m a mom who tries. And a mom who tries is probably more than good enough.”

Cheering Delamar on in this afternoon’s Hunt’s cooking demo at Fab restaurant, Holiday Inn Galleria is actor/host/model Gino dela Peña.

Hunt’s gets everybody cooking, too, at an exciting cookfest where participants, divided into four teams, are presented with a box of mystery ingredients, a la Food Network’s Chopped basket, and challenged to whip up a dish using Hunt’s products, based on a recipe provided to each team. The recipes include: pork estofado, tomato chicken curry, chicken pesto and mushroom melt, and sardine pasta. As you can see, it’s a no-brainer matching the ingredients with the recipes.

On top of the cook-off, we indulge our taste buds with the most fabulous hors d’oeuvres and desserts by Swiss Italian chef Angelo Faoro, some of which were made using Hunt’s tomato sauce. Yes, there’s even a tomato jelly dessert.

With Hunt’s, the hunt for the cooking superstars is on! So, lights, camera, (kitchen) action!

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Don’t miss the Hunt’s Kitchen Superstar webisodes which start airing this month. Whip up your own superstar culinary creations. Like www.facebook.com/YummyHuntsPH or visit www.yummy to get yummy updates from Hunt’s Sauces.