What’s cooking in Yeyet’s kitchen?

A lot of takeout, fresh-off-the-oven baked goodies for Christmas and good (make that glorious) food are cooking in the ever bustling Yeyet’s Kitchen located at 116-B Scout Limbaga St., Quezon City. Yeyet Chio doesn’t advertise but word about her cooking has spread from one (very satisfied) mouth to another. And now, housewives who’ve heard about Yeyet, herself a plain housewife (though there’s really nothing plain about being a housewife as Yeyet amply proves), knock on her door all day and night.

"There are many busy housewives today who have no time to cook," says Yeyet.

Which is why food-to-go has become the way to go for most households.

It’s the other way around for Yeyet: She quit her job in a bank to devote her time to her family and to her other passion: Her cooking.

"I don’t have any formal cooking background, but I just love to cook and my husband just loves to eat," Yeyet confesses with a laugh. "I used to cook for classmates, officemates and assorted friends. I was always asked to cook for Christmas parties."

Perhaps it helped that Yeyet’s mom Gloria Mejia, being Kapampangan, is a good cook and Yeyet grew up in her Arayat hometown surrounded by the aroma of good food.

"Pampango women are such divine cooks because Pampango men like being pampered," Yeyet shares a foodnote.

Yeyet turned a hobby into a profession. Of course, it doesn’t feel like a job at all to Yeyet. "I enjoy what I’m doing – and I can do it at home where I can be with my children Alyana, Adrian and Andrei."

Yeyet has been cooking lunch for 15 to 20 kids at Manila Waldorf School – nutritious and freshly cooked food straight from Yeyet’s Kitchen. "Waldorf is very strict when it comes to their students’ diet. For instance, hot dogs and longganisa are a no-no. Also, I only cook brown rice (which she also sells in her Kitchen) for the kids."

This was how she came up with her now famous pancit. She relishes to recall, "A Waldorf mom, Isa Belmonte, asked me to cook a vegetarian pancit that she said has tofu. I was challenged to come up with my stir-fried vegetarian pancit sotanghon. I do love concocting new dishes."

This pancit won first prize for best original recipe in a contest during a food fair put up by Food magazine. Her leche flan also won first prize for best dessert in the same contest. She’s sharing her award-winning recipes on this page (although she confesses that she doesn’t go by measurements when she’s cooking so it becomes a problem when her husband asks her to repeat a dish she’s just invented).

For vegetarians and budgetarians, the pancit costs only P600 per 10"x13" tray while the leche flan costs only P75 per llanera.

She uses only the freshest and healthiest ingredients for her cooking.

"Only vegetable oil for frying and only olive oil for my pasta," she says.

With Christmas just a few days away, housewives must already be panicking at the thought of what to serve the family for noche buena.

Panic no more! Let Yeyet help.

"For noche buena, I’d recommend my chicken loaf," Yeyet offers. "It’s not galantina but I think it’s even better. I also have my embutido which my husband Aly says is nice to eat with pan de sal although others like to take it with rice."

And of course, especially for Christmas, Yeyet’s got her fruitcake – only P225 for the small (500 gms.) one and P260 for the large (750 gms.) one.

What’s Christmas without fruitcake? "This week alone, I sold 250 fruitcakes," says Yeyet. "And there are more orders; you have to make your order two days in advance to give me time to cure it in brandy."

A mouthful of fruitcake trivia: The fruitcake is a much recycled gift it is no surprise if it goes back to its original sender. You can have your fruitcake and eat it, too – or keep it for as long as 25 years. It tastes better as it gets older, much like wine. Did you know that the oldest existing fruitcake today is 127 years old? However, since a couple of years ago, candles have become the new recyclables.

"These days, fruitcakes are not as popular as in Christmases past," Yeyet agrees. "Konti na lang ang bumibili ng fruitcake kasi mahal. Instead of a fruitcake costing P200, my customers would rather buy my P60 cookies."

Especially for Christmas, too, Yeyet is doing her heavenly food for the gods for only P150 per dozen.

Other year-round bestsellers from Yeyet’s Kitchen are Yeyet’s vegetarian pasta (it’s got fresh tomatoes, herbs and spices, mushrooms and olives) and baked spaghetti (so creamy, it’s got lots of cheese, white sauce, herbs, mushrooms and spices).

Other to-go goodies include baked macaroni (P500 per pan), chicken fettucini with cream sauce (P500 per pan), roast beef with mushroom (P700), Chicken Alexander for 10-12 persons (P600), chicken breast with stir-fried vegetables (P600), stir-fried beancurd with lemongrass and chilies (P500), fish relleno (P150 per big piece), andcallos (P800).

Always generous to share her cooking secrets, Yeyet gives this precious tip to mothers: "Find time to cook for your children. I reap the ultimate reward for what I do when I hear my children say, ‘Masarap magluto ang mama ko.’"

We agree with a hearty burp!

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For orders, call Yeyet’s Kitchen at 929-5270 or cell phone nos. 0916-5855724, 0919-8111225.