Where Giving Back Is the Main Course
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For dedicating their mini-food empire to nourish the most vulnerable in the pandemic, co-owners Ronnie Taylor (left) and Jason Angeles have been named KPIX Jefferson Awardees for Public Service. (Photo courtesy of Ronnie Taylor)
A Gallic soup vendor whose name now translates to "baker" allegedly referenced the Bible with his 1765 marketing ploy that ultimately coined the term "restaurant," from the original "bouillons restaurants" or "restorative broths." Monsieur Boulanger, the soup meister, earned street cred for his product that kept folks coming to "restaurare," Latin for "renew."
Restaurants, sadly, have taken the brunt of financial losses resulting from the pandemic. Some 100,000 or one in six restaurants in the United States have closed down as of September, according to the National Restaurant Association. Unemployment was pegged at three million with sales decline of $240 billion projected by December. At this writing Covid-19 has killed over 370,000 Americans, including many Fil-Ams, mostly health care workers.
In their response to the current calamity, however, San Francisco Bay Area Fil-Am purveyors of comestibles are harkening back to the root definition of "restaurant."
Beyond Expectations
Last spring, Kultivate Labs in San Francisco spearheaded Filipinos Feed the Frontlines (FFF), a campaign to unite the local community to address the increasingly deadly impact of the coronavirus. True to the credo of the nonprofit founded by Desi Danganan to stimulate business and arts in the heart of the city's Filipino American district, the drive coalesced "like-minded individuals and organizations banding together to provide meals to heal our community."
"In 278 days we’ve raised $149,236 from 1,312 donors to feed frontline health workers and scientists, and communities battling Covid-19," its dedicated page announced at press time. The drive’s initial goal was to serve 100,000 meals from donations, all tax-deductible; 9,846 care packs so far have gone to the front lines. The organization welcomes donations of money, food and merchandise to sell, with proceeds cycling back to the fund.
“The crisis “forced us to become responsive and resilient,” Angeles told PF. “It reminded us why we are in the business and because of our success, why we need to support the community that supported us.””
Even as their fellow vendors or their own businesses shuttered or revamped service to outdoor dining and takeout or delivery--per the shifting government mandates--FFF participants looked past their own struggles to support the most vulnerable in San Francisco’s South of Market and Excelsior Districts. Those areas have high concentrations of Filipino residents and workers.
The endeavor exceeded its desired outcome in terms of amounts raised and meals served. From the heart of the Fil-Am community in San Francisco, the program is expanding statewide to Historic Filipino Town in Los Angeles County and Little Manila in Stockton, San Joaquin County.
The effort caught the eye of the New York Times, which highlighted how Danganan drew inspiration from his nurse-girlfriend's humanitarian undertaking to rally his allies for a similar course of action.
The diverse collective includes once or currently existing brick-and-mortar and popup restaurants and caterers like Mestiza, Little Skillet, Manila Bowl, IVSF and SF Chicken Box, FK Frozen Kuhsterd, Nick's Kitchen, Ox and Tiger, Sarap Shop, Senor[enye] Sisig, JT Restaurant and Pinoy Heritage. They collaborated with UCSF, Seton and Alta Bates Hospitals, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, Stanford Hospital Patient Care, United Playaz, SomCan, West Bay Pilipino Multi-service Center, Sutter Health-Mills Peninsula and Laguna Honda to fulfill prep and delivery of 10,000 meals.
The KPIX 2020 Jefferson Awards for Public Service took notice and singled out two of the leading participants to receive the accolade. Launched by the American Institute on Public Service in 1972, the awards recognize individuals for "multiplying good," its mantra for the power of service.
Business partners Jason Angeles and Ronnie Taylor co-own IVSF, a catering service offering a "unique culinary experience" focusing on the "4 elements, the 4 corners of the world and the 4 seasons." They will be celebrated with other honorees at a virtual ceremony on Jan. 27. (To register, visit https://sanfrancisco.multiplyinggood.org/KPIXJeffersonAwards).
Jason Angeles is a biz whiz whose love of food led to ventures like Sugar & Spun, a gourmet cotton candy distribution spanning US and Canada. (Photo courtesy of IVSF)
Taylor called the acknowledgment "very uplifting."
"It means a lot to me that we are recognized for the hard work our team has provided during these times and hopefully we can influence others to help the community as much as possible, as they are the backbone of our culture and way of life that we live in today," said the Marikina City-born chef, who lauds his father, Daniel Taylor, and older sister, Rean, for lighting his way toward the culinary road.
Ronnie Taylor's resume includes stints as corporate chef for a tech logistics firm and sous chef at industry superstar Michael Mina. (Photo courtesy of IVSF)
Paving the Way
"We’re inspired by all the chefs that have come before us, creating a path for us to follow. Without them, there is no us," Angeles concurred. "We didn’t donate to expect anything in return. We donate to help our Filipino community during these tough times. The Jefferson award was a pleasant surprise. Our hope is that our donations would pave the way for others to follow suit."
Angeles has an MBA from San Francisco State and Taylor has an Associate's in Culinary Arts from the Art Institute-SF, credentials that match their conviction.
Their aligned interests intersected at a San Francisco bar, where Angeles was an investor running the dessert program. In the same kitchen, Taylor served up nibbles from Filipino Pulutan Pop-up Alchemy SF, on which he collaborated with Tim Luym. Luym and Danganan are pioneers of the movement to bring Filipino food to the mainstream as far back as their now-shuttered Fulton Street favorite Poleng Lounge in The City and later at Attic in downtown San Mateo.
Angeles and Taylor own a cluster of gustatory ventures spanning the sweet and the savory with catchy names: SSF Chicken Box, FK Frozen Kuhsterd, Sugar & Spun, and Churreria SF, besides IVSF Catering. IVSF (as in the numeral "4" and not the letters "I-V" plus SF) has offerings for happy hour and a global menu, from Japanese and Filipino, to Spanish, Italian and "American Cajun," which have satisfied the munchies at clients like Accenture, Genentech, Shape, and Zendesk.
"Jason's responsibilities include logistics, sales leads, invoicing, business development, while I take care of the back of the house. These food-needs include menu development, food prep and production, rental equipment, staffing. During our events, we are both active and as hands on to ensure our service and food are up to our standards," Taylor told Positively Filipino.
They rhapsodize about food, particularly that of their heritage. Their establishments reflect their filial devotion and pride in their culture.
Memories of his mom's Sunday breakfasts of assorted "silog" or combo fried rice plates linger in the palate of Angeles, who was born and raised in Daly City. Taylor touts his father's mastery of Pancit Malabon, sprinkling it with crisp duck skin instead of pork chicharon, over which he "salivates" while reminiscing, he said. (Originally from Minnesota, Daniel Taylor met and married Ronnie's mother, hula teacher Rexy Fernandez Aquino, when Ronnie was a toddler. Ronnie was four when the family came to this country 30 years ago from the Philippines.)
"Filipino food has always been the red-headed stepchild compared to all the other Asian cuisines," Taylor claims. "What's unique about Filipino food is that it is a melting pot of various cuisines such as Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, and American. Filipino food is full of flavor and the stigma (attached to) Filipino food being cauldrons of stews and rice is quite the opposite. The food is humble, just like the Filipino people.”
The business partners view food as a metaphor.
"Food is life," emphasizes Angeles, who is elated by the bounty of authentic Philippine-centric restaurants in the Bay Area and throughout California. "I would like non-Filipinos to know that our food is like a trip our country. It’s vast, flavorful, and unique."
The duo belongs to a cadre of gastronomes who honor their legacy with "authenticity” or “food that speaks to you and comes from the heart," said Taylor. "There are so many upcoming Filipino chefs leaving the shadow of their (US) mentors and going back to their roots. It all has to do with what province you are from and what recipes have been handed down from generation to generation. It's great to see so many different versions Filipino food from these chefs from their culinary experience and upbringing."
For him, "adobo" is a paean to the Filipino character. "It may not look super fancy, but the flavor complexities of the dish speak volumes."
Their ancestral cuisine is just one of the duo's many shared passions.
Filipinos Feed the Frontlines underscores Kultivate Labs' ethos. (Photo courtesy of Kultivate Labs)
'It's Only Right'
Covid-19 put their upward trajectory on pause but sent them to a more gratifying direction altogether.
The crisis "forced us to become responsive and resilient," Angeles told PF. "It reminded us why we are in the business and because of our success, why we need to support the community that supported us."
Adversity truly is a potent mentor that "reinforced my values of being grateful and humble," said Taylor, commending "the cooks, drivers, food assemblers that are with me six days a week, making sure the at-risk people are fed with delicious and nourishing meals."
"With the blessings we have throughout the year, it is only right to give back to the community that helped us during the early days of the pandemic."
Joining heads with Kultivate Labs, they literally cooked up ways to stay "alive and serve those in need," Angeles said.
They’ve learned that kindness is the gift that keeps on giving.
With their kitchen located in South San Francisco, the pair qualified to sign up with the San Mateo County Great Plates Delivered, an emergency program administered by the County to provide three meals a day, six days a week to the highest-risk sector while supporting the restaurant industry. The Federal Emergency Management Administration funds the program extended on a monthly basis, keeping IVSF busy and vital.
"We both know the pandemic will be a healing process," Taylor told PF by phone during an "admin break" between kitchen duties. "To sustain our business, we rely on (San Mateo and SF) County contracts and creating food concepts that people are craving. Becoming a County certified supplier is an arduous task, but once you have all the proper documentation and certification, bidding" for contracts is manageable.
The enterprising duo prep meals for delivery to front-liners and at-risk clients. (Photo courtesy of IVSF)
Taylor said balancing humanitarianism with profitability "can be a tricky thing, but we want to pay it forward now and make sure our efforts are being made to sustain the community and businesses we want to see once the pandemic is over."
The pair has committed to donating $1,500 a week to FFF for "as long as we are able to," said Taylor. "We want to encourage others with the gift of giving. We need to support each other more than ever."
Monsieur Boulanger would be impressed.
Cherie Querol Moreno
San Francisco Bay Area-based Cherie M. Querol Moreno learned empathy, courage and responsibility from her journalist parents. The Positively Filipino and Inquirer.net correspondent is executive editor of Philippine News Today.
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