The Fatted Calf: A feast for diners, a feat for farmers
Right on the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Road not far from the Mendez junction is a former coffee farm that now yields more than the perky brew’s beans.
By patronizing small farmers and adhering to the seed-to-table cooking style, The Fatted Calf by chefs Jay Jay and Rhea SyCip yields not just feasts for diners—it enables farmers to enjoy more feasts as well.
Chef Jay Jay says the Fatted Calf is a gift from God just as its name is inspired by the parable of the Prodigal Son. He retells to our group the parable, where the prodigal son finds himself starving after his wanton wastes and recalls that in his father’s house, his father’s servants have much better food than he was having. He returns to his father’s house, where he is welcomed with loving arms and a feast.
“This restaurant celebrates family and feasts,” says chef Jay Jay, who, like his wife, is very hands-on in the open kitchen.
How they got there is a journey in itself. When Jay Jay and Rhea were given notice to vacate the house in Silang where The Fatted Calf used to be, Sen. Loren Legarda happened to dine in their restaurant.
“Sabi niya, ‘Halika kayo, sumama kayo, may lupa ako,’” recalls chef Jay Jay, who was at first skeptical because at least 30 others before the senator had offered them land to build a restaurant on, but with no follow up.
“But that same day, her assistant called, saying, ‘Sen. Legarda is waiting for you in her farm,’” he recalls. “We went to her house in the farm, not far from Antonio’s, and she showed us around. She said, ‘This is me.’”
“I have been wanting to bring to life my Lola Mameng’s little farm coffee farm from the ‘50s,” Loren told this writer.
And just like that, The Fatted Calf got itself a new home. The restaurant was built from ground up, with Loren as the architect and interior designer. Her values on protecting the environment are evident in the property, which she rents out to the couple though she is not a partner in the venture.
“We have a shared cause of helping farmers and small farms,” says Loren. “We both believe in slow food and use of organic vegetables.”
Her only condition was, “Implement the first law I wrote in 1998, the ecological solid waste management act.” And the couple have—from having a composting pit in the property, to the absence of plastics anywhere in the restaurant. Trash is segregated from the kitchen to the rest rooms.
The kitchen and its equipment were given by a friend, reveals chef Jay Jay.
“So, this is actually a restaurant that is full of blessings, as in talagang kamay ng Diyos ang kumilos lahat,” he says gratefully.
And have the blessings continued to pour in?
Chef Jay Jay gives the widest smile. “It was the hand of God that brought us here. From a staff of just seven in the beginning, we have over 30 staff members now. My wife and I, we really work the line. We cook. Particularly on busy days like weekends, nagluluto talaga kami sa kitchen.”
“We’re being sent angels to bless us,” he affirms. So The Fatted Calf strives to be an angel to farmers, too.
“You are helping small businesses whenever you eat with us,” says a blurb on their placemat.
Most of the entrees on their menu are too much for one person but not enough for two, so sharing is encouraged.
Their salads are huge—I would say good for four if they’re just starters. There are Salads with Smoked Duck, Thai Roast Beef, Crab and Potato, Fruits and Nuts, Smoked Salmon and Fried Goat’s Cheese, even purely vegetable.
The steaks and chops include their signature Wagyu Whole Roasted Leg of Beef, Black Tyde Angus Porterhouse, Black Onyx Angus Striploin, and Thick Cut Porkchop. There’s Roast Chicken, too.
Pescatarians need not worry—there are the Fresh Catch of the Day, Fish and Chips, and Thai Fish Curry.
The owners encourage diners to have dessert on the terrace, where they can also sip coffee while listening to birds chirping and leaves rustling. PeopleAsia managing editor Jose Paolo Dela Cruz says, “Whatever you do, don’t miss the Mazapan de Pili Cheesecake!” I couldn’t agree more.
When I complimented chef Rhea, she said, “That cheesecake also won in the 2022 Ultimate Taste Test Masters Edition by Our Awesome Planet.”
How does she come up with such scrumptious desserts?
“I usually get inspiration from available ingredients locally. Desserts are very complex, too, and it’s important that a chef can manipulate the ingredients by bringing out the flavor with the right pairings. I try to work with what farmers can give us—from wild raspberries from San Pablo to ube kinampay in Bohol. I work with the seasons. The Mazapan de Pili Cheesecake and Tableya Chocolate Cake, we serve that year round.”
Dining at The Fatted Calf, indeed, fills the belly, and with the Sycips’ and Loren’s shared cause of uplifting small farmers’ lives, nakakataba rin ng puso.
