STA. CRUZ, Laguna -- If someone offers anyone something for free, there has to be catch. Because nothing is free after all.

This was the exact sentiment of some artists, cooperatives, and entrepreneurs from Laguna when they were offered a spot at a private trade fair free of charge. Who can blame them, especially if trade fairs are known to charge for participation and for the space at the venue.

“They actually asked us if we were running for public office,” chef Gel Salonga quipped.

Chef Gel along with brother and fellow chef, Day Salonga, recently organized the one-day private trade fair called “Sa Pantalan: Biyaheng Pangkatagalugan Food and Heritage Festival.” Now on its second year, the recently concluded festival featured artists and products of the province of Laguna. Held at their family's event space in Sta. Cruz, the siblings gave a platform to Laguna producers to meet possible clients. And they didn't charge any fee—no rent, no entrance fee.

“Our objective is to help producers to connect directly to clients. We're trying to cut off the middleman and give them a chance to earn more,” Chef Day explained.

Their family is originally from Sta. Cruz and the ancestral home the two siblings grew up in is now a restaurant they both operate. Located in the town proper, Aurora Filipino Cuisine is an eatery that offers traditional Tagalog cuisine, specializing in local dishes from Laguna. Chef Day is in charge of the savory dishes, while chef Gel's expertise is cakes and pastries.

The family also operates Ted's Bed and Breakfast, a charming garden B&B in Sta. Cruz, and Ted's Kitchen, a popular restaurant in Laguna that offers Western eats like burgers, steaks, and pasta.

This year, the fair gathered around 20 participants, from artists to house décor producers to native food product producers. Chef Gel admitted that at first, it was hard to convince people to join and they had to personally visit the cooperatives and business owners in their respective towns. It took a lot of effort from them.

“Some towns are really far and we had to constantly communicate with them. A week before the event, we had to visit them again just to make sure that they are really committed,” she said.

An additional of seven towns participated in the event this year.

From Los Baños, there's Sierrezo, a company that produces herbal products featured its liquid soaps and deodorizers. It also offered herbs like gugo and powdered spices like turmeric. One unique product is ube or purple yam flour.

On the other hand, the town of Luisiana showcased its basket crafts and tablea. The town of Siniloan featured native delicacies like candied kundol or winter melon, chicharon, and atsara.

Cavinti showcased its colorful woven crafts, while Likha ni Inay from San Pablo highlighted its food products like banana chips, coco jam, calamansi concentrate, among others.

The town of Victoria showcased its main product—itik or duck. They sold itik dishes like kalderetang itik and kinulob na itik, as well as itlog na maalat or salted egg.

Lumban, of course, showcased its handmade, hand embroidered traditional Filipino costumes like barong, baro't saya, and other Filipiniana clothing.

There was also a showcase of craftsmanship at the event. Sculptors from Paete did demos of their wood carving skills while a craftsman from Pakil showed how they make ornamental toothpick trees.

According to Chef Day, the fair's target audience were clients from Manila. Most of those who attended are actually family, friends, and friends of friends. They didn't advertise the fair, instead informed people through social media.

Despite no advertising, the fair was a success. According to the organizers, the local participants still got valuable clients who did not only buy products on the spot but also ordered in bulk. Most of the clients are actually business owners as well.

They also gave space to Kalayaan tomato farmers who recently landed on the news because of the over supply of tomatoes. At the event, the boxes of tomatoes they brought were sold out within minutes. Some visual artists also got clients for commissioned works.

“Our target market is Manila clients because these people couldn't really reach the producers because of the distance. We opened one venue for them, everything is there, which makes it easier for them,” Chef Gel said.

PROMOTING HERITAGE FOOD

Another advocacy of the two chef siblings is to preserve their heritage food. This is the reason why they opened Aurora Filipino Cuisine two years ago.

“I initially wanted a halo-halo place we realized we have to offer something more,” chef Day revealed.

They converted their ancestral home into the restaurant and named it after their grandmother Aurora. Built in the 1920s, it was burned down during the war although the facade and front porch survived the fire. It was rebuilt in the '70s and the ground floor was used as a salon.

Today, the house has become a go-to place for people craving for local food like balikbayans. The eatery also giving younger diners to get a taste of local and heritage food.

Some of the must-try dishes include the minanok, banana heart cooked in burnt coconut milk and served with maruya or banana fritter on the side.

There's also the ginataang bahay kubo, a cabbage roll stuffed with various vegetables and cooked in coconut milk.

Speaking of gata, the ginataang kalabaw is a unique way to serve carabao but works like any other gata dishes. The inalamangang baboy is a dish made of chunks of fatty pork cooked with fresh alamang (not bagoong).

There's also the kinulob na itik—duck boiled with different herbs and spices is deep fried and served with a sweet and sour sauce.

The desserts, on the other hand, are more modern. Chef Gel, who also delivers her cakes to clients in Metro Manila, makes Aurora's (and Ted's) desserts. Their signature cake is bibingka cheesecake, a cheesecake with coconut milk and topped with salted egg slices.

The kesong puti cheesecake is also a must-try, as well as the almond and coffee sans rival, and brazo de Fernando, a chocolate version of brazo de mercedes and named after their grandfather.

“Some of the young ones eat here and never heard of the dishes. It's good to still serve heritage food and make people aware of it at the same time,” Chef Day said.