With revenues from his made-to-order clothes down to a trickle because of the pandemic, fashion designer Jojie Lloren recently decided to branch out into the food delivery business. With him on board are sister Keik and mother Hermie—Mrs. Lloren herself!
By Alex Y. Vergara
The coronavirus may be tough and highly adaptable, but certain people, in the wake of the pandemic, have proven themselves to be tougher, more resilient and more nimble. And if there’s one thing, apart from hope, that this disaster has unleashed among Filipinos, it’s their innate creativity.
Take leading fashion designer and former PeopleAsia Men Who Matter awardee Jojie Lloren. With revenues from his made-to-order clothes down to a trickle because of the pandemic, Jojie initially had very few options left but to join the bandwagon by catering to orders of PPEs and face masks. But instead of taking that route, Jojie, upon the encouragement of good friend Albert Avellana, decided to wait it out a while longer before going into the food delivery business, which he and his sister Keik have dubbed as Mrs. Lloren.
“It specializes in home-cooked and traditional Filipino meals we’ve grown up with,” says Jojie. “They are all my mother’s recipes, some of which were handed down to her by my grandmother.”
Since adding preservatives to prolong the dishes’ shelf life is a no-no in Mrs. Lloren’s kitchen, the team, which consists of Jojie, Keik and their mother Hermie—Mrs. Lloren herself—as well as two helpers, only cooks in small batches.
“The food we offer is what we have been enjoying all our lives,” Jojie continues. “We also offer certain dishes which we used to serve during parties. Some, we still serve at home during family lunches on Sundays.”
Her mother’s Pork Embotido and Callos Madrileña were some of the dishes guests feasted on during parties at the Lloren home, pre-pandemic. On the other hand, Kare-kare, which consists of ox tail and tripe, is a typical Sunday staple. For diners who aren’t big fans of tripe, Mrs. Lloren caters to special orders of Kare-kare consisting purely of ox tail.
Now more than a month old, Mrs. Lloren has quickly gained a following among the siblings’ close friends. Apart from Callos, Kare-kare and Embotido, bestsellers include Braised Oxtail, Lumpiang Shanghai, Pork Menudo, Chicken Salad, Beef Mechado and Pork Binagoongan. It also offers Lengua Estofada, Lengua con Champiñones and, for rainy afternoon meriendas, piping hot Arroz Caldo. Prices range from P275 to P475.
“At first, I didn’t have the confidence, thinking food won’t sell because of those prices,” says Jojie. “It was Albert (an art dealer and Jojie’s neighbor in their small creative community compound in Pasay) who pushed me sometime last month to set it up.”
As the business’ general manager, Jojie does the purchasing, bookkeeping, food styling and marketing. His detailed descriptions of each dish, for instance, are found in a private Facebook page also dubbed as Mrs. Lloren. He also sometimes does some packaging and doubles as the sous chef, two tasks, which Keik, who weighs ingredients and takes care of deliveries, also does. Hermie, of course, is still the queen of her kitchen and the family venture’s executive chef.
Mrs. Lloren’s five-person team comfortably fits into the family’s home kitchen. Apart from scouring supermarkets and delis for ingredients, Jojie also deals with a trusted meat supplier from one of Metro Manila’s leading wet markets.
Not too many people outside Jojie’s inner circle know that he loves to cook and bake. Since most of his time was spent in the fashion biz, he didn’t get to fully indulge in these twin passions until the pandemic hit.
“Our kitchen is always busy when Mommy is around,” he shares. “Since we all love to cook and eat, it eventually led us to this venture. Apart from giving Mommy something to do, it has also helped bring back lost earnings due to the pandemic.”
Jojie sees himself and his family doing this in the foreseeable future, or, in his words, “until orders keep coming.” Since their manpower and facilities are limited, they cater to a limited number of people consisting mostly of friends and their referrals. The general public can try their luck by calling Mrs. Lloren at 0917-8511225.
And what new things has Jojie learned from this new venture? “So far, I’ve learned that it’s much more demanding than making clothes. Imagine, never in my life have I done bookkeeping every day,” he says with a hearty chuckle.
