Baguio’s not-so-secret Mother’s Garden

When you’re in Baguio (where you’ll probably be this simmering summer) and you’re tired of the usual touristy places (been there, seen that, done that), where else do you go? I’d like to share with you a precious little secret: Mother’s Garden, a blooming beauty perched atop Quezon Hill on Upper Fairview Road (still part of Baguio, but far away from the frenetic, polluted city).

First on our itinerary — or should I say, eat-inerary — is a hearty, healthy meal consisting of freshly picked greens with a piquant homemade dressing and a seafood plate. Wait, there’s more coming: some of the house’s meat specialties. This is but a preview of the food bingeing (in a healthy, guilt-free way because most of the ingredients that go into the dishes are organically grown in Mother’s Garden’s gardens, but more on that later) you’ll be doing when you’re at Mother’s Garden.

Meet your gourmet chef

Of course, Therese Jison, owner of Mother’s Garden, is your most gracious hostess who doubles as the executive chef, having taken special courses at the Culinary Institute of America and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.  She also travels every year to Europe to observe current culinary trends and restaurant operations. Her restaurant, which specializes in Filipino, Italian, and French food, is delicious proof of everything she’s learned about gourmet cooking.

On a breezy, sunny afternoon, Therese shares her life/love story: “As a young girl, I spent summers between our hacienda in Negros and my paternal home in Nueva Ecija, which was surrounded by rice fields. I have very fond memories of the serene atmosphere in these childhood summer homes, which were framed by breathtaking natural landscapes and complemented by close family ties, laughter, and good food. The kitchen was at the heart of these homes, always buzzing with preparation activities from morning till midnight. These images from my childhood are what I try to capture at Mother’s Garden.”

It’s just what Therese’s mother, an avid gardener (and her best friend, Therese’s mother-in-law who originally co-owned the property) would have wanted it to be: a refuge for the travel-weary.

Bigger & better

The 2,000-square-meter garden paradise recently completed a major renovation and now has rose gardens on the first and second terraces. Therese also brought in more antique furniture and decor from her childhood summer homes and replaced the old fountain with a bigger one, the better for you to hear the soothing sound of water in the courtyard while dining al fresco. Therese gives guests that feeling of living the charmed life on a hacienda (country estate).

But believe it or not, it all started as a hobby for our proprietress/resident chef.  After acquiring the property in 2009, Therese put up a little day cottage and then she began farming animals (pigs, chickens, ducks) and growing vegetables (like all lettuce varieties, arugula, zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, beans) and herbs which she uses for cooking in her restaurant, where nearly everything is homegrown. Friends and plain curious strangers started coming to play with Therese’s friendly animals and house pets (her dogs are part of her family). And, of course, to eat — for free! After a while, Therese thought, “Why don’t I put up a restaurant and start earning some income?”

She elaborates, “I opened the restaurant on April 10, 2010 because at the time, Baguio was known as the basura city so we lost the high-end tourists. Back then, I was already in the food industry, supplying meals on boats for island-hopping, mostly chartered by Europeans and an American diving company.”

For casual dining, there’s the open, breezy courtyard setting. For formal dining, there’s Mamma Mia on the second floor with its narra and mahogany tables, and family heirloom antiques that give an ancestral home ambiance, as well as glass windows for a postcard-pretty view of the surrounding hills.

What’s on the menu?

While enjoying the relaxing ambiance (which comes free, of course), you take your pick from the menu put together by Therese who creates all the exquisite recipes. Food is always hot and fresh off the kitchen, prepared only when you order. My friend Linda Bolido got the Nashville crispy fried chicken fillet, spiced and coated with breadcrumbs. I got the grilled chicken teriyaki with brewed Japanese soy sauce flavored with ginger, honey, and sesame oil. Super yummy! There’s more on the menu, like the Pho Bo, Vietnamese national soup with beef bones, shanks, and sirloins mixed with veggies, herbs, and noodles; Texan baby back ribs with applesauce glaze; Johnston country ham steak baked with molasses; and crispy hito flavored with lemongrass, a bestseller. With their humongous servings, all these dishes are for sharing.

The main courses are served with appetizers, organic salad, soup, and homemade dessert of ice cream, cake or fresh fruits. Wine may be served upon request.

After partaking of all this good homecooked food at Mother’s Garden, you suddenly feel your mother’s warm embrace on a bone-chilling cold night.

And now, like a family destination, families — including Lolo, Lola, and the little kids — come to Mother’s Garden. The kids, especially those from Manila, love to run around, pet and play with the animals or go bird-watching. Most families come for late lunch and stay until it’s almost time for dinner.

The place is home to a falcon, too. A passionate environmentalist, Therese once saved a falcon that was shot with an air gun and could no longer fly.

Guests can enjoy bonding activities like pottery and, yes, cooking! They can also commune with nature as a group in a virgin forest in Benguet.

Finding your ‘soilmate’

Meanwhile, if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, go ahead and dig in! Therese has prepared the soil you’ll use for planting — certainly, here you’re bound to find your soilmate! Yes, you can bring home the okra or parsley or whatever herb you planted so you can enjoy it with your food at home.

Mother’s Garden’s restaurant is probably the only completely organic restaurant in the country that grows its own veggies, herbs, free-range pork, chicken, etc. The garden/farm would not have flourished without the help of  Dr. Jose Balaoing who’s got a PhD in organic agriculture and is a tireless advocate of biodynamic farming.

What the restaurant does not grow, it gets from its regular supplier, Roy Saguibal, an Igorot farmer whose family owns a farm in Barangay Tuel. Therese does the purchasing herself to make sure everything is free from chemicals and pesticides.

Clean air, fresh gourmet food, impeccable service. What more can guests at Mother’s Garden and Restaurant ask for?

Surely, Therese can’t ask for anything more — fact is, she’s giving back. Fueled by her passion for cooking and the hospitality industry, Therese — together with Dr. Jose Balaoing and Heinrich Maulbecker, retired hotelier and former general manager of the Hyatt and The Manor who never fails to regale guests with his interesting stories — is training underprivileged youth to become fine cooks and service-oriented waiters and butlers, as well as organic farmers. “To gain brownie points in my next life,” Therese says with a big smile. “When you see your trainees bloom into confident hospitality professionals, you develop an inner pride.”

Indeed, at Mother’s Garden, there’s something to nourish hungry stomachs and nurture famished spirits.

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For reservations and inquiries (like  how to get to Mother’s Garden), call +63 74 424 3702, 0917-8693623 or 0921-9776027. Mother’s Garden is on Facebook as Mother’s Garden and Restaurant.