By Hook or by Cook

MANILA, Philippines - Margarita “Gaita” Araneta Fores carries a vast array of titles underneath her sleeve, or, shall we say, her multi-layered toque — chef par excellance, enterprising businesswoman, benevolent employer, dynamic restaurateur, cause-oriented leader, doting mother, dutiful daughter, and the list goes on. Pretty soon, she will also be hitting the campaign trail in support of Mar Roxas, the Liberal Party’s standard bearer for the 2016 presidential elections, who is her first cousin.

Nowadays, however, Gaita has her hands full, running her various restaurant establishments and food outlets, overseeing their minute details, getting down to the brass tacks, promoting her advocacies on the side, and so much more.

“I’m happy that I’m hitting 30 years in the business (next year). It still feels new that there are many new challenges; they help keep me young. Aside from the people we’ve been working with in a long time, we also have a lot of young people who are helping us now. That keeps the entire organization very up-to-date, with a very young point-of-view,” Gaita says.

With her Herculean feat of still going strong in the business for three decades, Gaita shares what made her stay that long in the industry. “Like what they say, if your work doesn’t feel like work to you, if you really enjoy it and you are passionate about it, then it allows you to do it for many years. At the same time, it keeps your point-of-view always fresh.

“There’s still so much to learn every day. I never say that I know it all already; that, in a way, has allowed me to stay long in this business all these years. There’s always something new to put together. Apart from the successes, there were also a lot of challenges and a lot of closures. I always say that the closures are even the bigger lessons; they allow you to also be smarter and more insightful,” she says matter-of-factly. 

Gaita, a Certified Public Accountant who majored in Accounting at the Assumption College, had no formal education regarding food preparation or culinary arts. “I learned more from three Italian signoras who were home cooks. In a way, maybe, everything was orchestrated by God; that my background be that. I think that it also helped me with my unique point-of-view when it comes to cooking,” she adds.

Unique, indeed, what with her more prominent and successful endeavors. Cibo, for instance, has 10 branches all over the metro and two are at the Rockwell Power Plant Mall — one on the ground floor and Cibo Bimbi, the only restaurant for kids in Metro Manila, on the third floor. Cibo, incidentally, also celebrated its 18th year in the business last Aug. 22.

Gaita also takes pride in bringing in Grace Park, strategically located at One Rockwell building. The restaurant is renowned for showcasing the best of Filipino ingredients. One of her advocacies is bringing out the best produce from our very own kababayan farmers.

“I love the fact that I have restaurants here in Rockwell. It’s really fulfilling. People have always enjoyed Rockwell because it has a very safe environment. The sense of community is very strong. Rockwell is also dynamic in what it does — the way it develops the community matches its tenants and put people together,” she relates.

Gaita adds that Rockwell, being not overwhelmingly large, creates the feeling of “being home.”

“For instance, for a brand like Cibo to have two stores in one development, I think it says a lot about how huge the market is. There’s always something for everybody in the community,” Gaita concludes.

Photography by RITA MARIE  • Creative direction and overall styling by Luis Espiritu Jr. • Makeup by PIA REYES for MAC Cosmetics • Hairstyling by DAVE LOPEZ

• Associate styling by TARA SUBALDO • Shot on location at GRACE PARK, ONE ROCKWELL