Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

One of the things that many families lost since the industrial revolution replaced agriculture is the art of teaching important family knowledge and livelihood to the next generation.

In an agrarian-based culture, knowledge about how to keep the farms and family businesses going needed to be passed down to the children and grandchildren for them to live on.

As the industrial revolution replaced agriculture and the tech and service industry advanced, things changed. Sadly, many families no longer pass on their legacies and heritage to their children.

 Fortunately for the Philippines and her people, such is not the case with the family of Doña Engracia "Aling Asiang" Reyes, who has been regarded as the "grand dame (or mother) of Philippine cooking." Aling Asiang started the first and perhaps the most famous Filipino restaurant in the Philippines—the Aristocrat, which remains to be a favorite among many Filipinos to this day.

After Aling Asiang’s death, her eldest daughter, Teresita "Mama Sita" Reyes, took over and expanded the cooking legacy—launching a whole new line of bottled sauces and ready mixes branded as Mama Sita.

With the passing of Mama Sita, the legacy was then entrusted to her children and grandchildren, principally to her daughter Clara Reyes-Lapus.

Clara is the president of Mama Sita Foundation and owner of Marigold Manufacturing Corp., makers of Mama Sita sauces and mixes.

The name "Mama Sita" has been associated with genuinely delicious Filipino food, for she has become well known for her extraordinary gift with food- cooking, even selecting ingredients that really make our favorite food taste even better.

The story of these three generations of Reyes women, Engracia, Teresita and Clara,who promoted Philippine cuisine not only in our country but around the world, is an inspiring one that should challenge other Filipinos.

It all started with Engracia, or Aling Asiang, and husband Alex Reyes, looking for a way to augment their income. They never imagined that their usual family day spent in Luneta would be the way to their success. Aling Asiang brought food in the park as "baon" which attracted people, such as monay filled with adobo, pansit, dinuguan, kare-kare and rice wrapped in banana leaves. Pretty soon, people made it a point to look for the Reyeses at Luneta. Seeing how her cooking has been attracting customers, Asiang then eventually opened a rolling food store, which they named "Aristocrat"—giving birth to a chain of restaurants.