If the greatness of an individual is determined by how much she is celebrated long after her passing, Teresita Reyes, or Mama Sita, certainly belongs to the pantheon of the truly illustrious. Years after her death, her contributions to Philippine culinary culture continue to inspire young cooking enthusiasts, students of culinary arts, as well as a new generation of youthful gourmets.

Mama Sita’s, the brand of sauces and mixes, which she created with the single-minded purpose to make time-honored recipes more convenient to cook, has made classic dishes relevant to the fast-changing lifestyles of modern Filipinos. Under the brand, Mama Sita created the first sinigang mix, which is now enjoying massive popularity among cooks and homemakers not only in the Philippines but worldwide.

From that ingenious invention, Mama Sita’s has spawned a host of innovative products that have also since found wide favor and acclaim— reflecting her enduring spirit of enterprise, and her sense of discovery. Among these products are the barbecue sauce and barbecue marinade, oyster sauce, kaldereta mix, and more recently, the pang-gisa mix.

The Mama Sita Foundation named after Teresita Reyes oversees the research and implementation of new breeding, planting and harvesting techniques to help farmers gain better harvests and healthier yields. In Los Baños, it has successfully bred the Luz Calamansi—a variety of bigger and juicier calamansi named after the late First Lady Mrs. Luz Magsaysay

Mama Sita’s quest to help propagate Philippine cuisine lives on in the company’s various cooking demos held in public venues such as malls and office cooking demos, and through local food exhibits. Mama Sita’s, the brand, also participates in institutional activities and provincial/regional cooking festivities.

Last year, Mama Sita’s joined several international food exhibits to help reinforce its presence abroad and introduce the unique tastes of Filipino cuisine to the foreign market. Mama Sita’s has left indelible impressions among food lovers in Cubuk in Turkey, Guam, Washington, Australia and Taipei. The international expositions have also helped the company establish strong bonds with Filipino communities abroad.

Indeed, Mama Sita lives on... in the delicious food products that continues to capture taste buds both here and abroad.