Mama Sita’s scores a goal in South Africa
WHILE the Spaniards battled the Dutch for the World Cup in South Africa, Mama Sita’s scored goals for the Philippines when the team traveled to the beautiful "rainbow nation."
In commemoration of Mama Sita’s food odyssey, key people from Mama Sita’s went to South Africa to introduce the authentic goodness of Philippine cuisine to South Africans through Mama Sita’s sauces and mixes.
The trip resonates with Teresita "Mama Sita" Reyes’ own love for traveling which gave her the chance to share Philippine native cuisine to distant and culturally diverse nations all over the globe.
Mama Sita’s forays into different communities all over the world have been often retold. She would take a taste of the local cuisine of the place she happened to visit and enjoyed the often intriguing flavors. From chefs and cooks that she met in her travels, Mama Sita would learn new recipes and cooking techniques. She would then come home to innovate on her new discovery and make it her own–flavors that are uniquely Mama Sita and uniquely Filipino!
In all her visits abroad, she would bring something from the Philippines that she is proud of to give away to her newfound foreign friends as a memento of their budding friendship. Her lasting gifts, of course, are her cooked treasures. After a few days of eating out where her friends bring her, she would head to the local market to buy fresh ingredients and cook Pinoy favorite dishes to fill up her friends’ freezers which they can enjoy long after she has gone back home.
These touching gestures of generosity and goodwill have made Mama Sita a beloved figure here and abroad. Thus, in a bid to celebrate her pioneering and hospitable spirit, the makers of Mama Sita’s recently made a trip to South Africa. This gave Resalinda Berino, a trainee of Mama Sita Foundation, the chance to promote Mama Sita’s mission of keeping alive the Filipino culinary heritage.
Along with Mama Sita’s relative, Lita Doromal, directress of St. Martha’s Pre-School and Tutorial Center, Davao City, Resalinda went to several places in South Africa to share Philippine flavors with some of the country’s most colorful ethnic groups.
In Cape Town, they gave Mama Sita’s Pure Labuyo Red Hot Pepper Sauce to the owners of Bo-Kaap Kombuis, Yusuf and Nazli Kasu Larney, whose Cape Malay cooking has been featured in BBC, Chinese, Mexican, Spanish, and German TV channels.
At Ezulwini Game Lodge, they cooked and served Filipino traditional dishes using Mama Sita’s products for the kitchen staff. Even the professional hunters in the game reserve of Kwazulu-Natal donned the Mama Sita’s apron and enjoyed the feast.
Wherever they went, the group shared a bottle of Mama Sita’s Pure Labuyo Sauce, and the hearty laughter that can only come from genuine pleasure. Like the woman behind the foundation that helps nurture her talent, Resalinda and Lita were able to find happiness in the simple but heartwarming gesture of sharing. Like Mama Sita before them, Resalinda and Lita represent the empowered Filipino who recognize the importance of our Filipino heritage and are glad to have an opportunity to promote the labuyo that their "kababayans" from Davao grow.