A restaurant built on faith

CHEFS RHEA AND JAYJAY SYCIP’S THE FATTED CALF

IN July 2019, married couple and talented chefs Rhea and Jayjay Sycip finally realized their decade-old aspiration with the opening of their own restaurant, The Fatted Calf, in Silang, Cavite.

Tucked in a private property and secluded from the tourist destination of Taal, patrons and food lovers would purposely drive to the restaurant from near and far to taste the dishes of the much talked about culinary couple.

They were living the dream until harsh realities took over and shook the hard-working culinary artists.

Built on love

To understand the significance of food not only on the Sycips’ chosen professions is to know how it also brought them together in the first place.

“We were classmates, and he was my first suitor when we were in third grade. He would buy me gifts, and I would complain about it even to my mom because who would do that in third grade?” chef Rhea laughingly related to The Sunday Times Magazine at the sidelines of the restaurant’s media event earlier this week.

This young and innocent fondness stayed that way for many years until they forged their own paths.

It was in 2005 when Rhea and Jayjay met again. By then, she was already a corporate chef for Dome Cafe, her first job, while he was fresh from his stint in the seminary, where he discovered his love for cooking.

“He would ask me lots of questions about food at the time, and I’d say the rest is literally history,” Rhea chimed.

That history saw their personal relationship and culinary careers progressing simultaneously. Jayjay completed training at Le Cordon Bleu Thailand and later became Discovery Country Suites Tagaytay’s executive chef. Meanwhile, chef Rhea would go on to become Associate Director of Food and Beverage and then Director of Food and Beverage for Discovery Primea and Holiday Inn Suites Makati, respectively.

As they rose side by side through the ranks in the hotelier industry, the couple knew they wanted to do more.

“The dream started when we felt we could do so much more. Working for other people — not that it’s their fault — but in a way, we were kinda restricted because, for one, we couldn’t get supplies from the farmers we wanted to support.

“It was something that we couldn’t change, so rather than feel helpless, we decided to start our own restaurant,” chef Jayjay narrated.

Lost but found

The story of how the Sycips found their first restaurant location is another anecdote the couple happily shares.

On one of their food trips outside the city, the Manileño couple missed a turn to their destination restaurant.

“I was not myself anymore because we were getting lost, and Rhea was trying to calm me down. Then she saw this house with a ‘for rent’ sign and said in jest, ‘We could just live there,’” chef Jayjay recalled.

“We would eventually forget that incident, but years later, when we were finally looking for a place to put up our restaurant, lo and behold, the property we were considering was the very same ‘for rent’ property we saw that one fateful evening.”

In naming their restaurant, the couple took inspiration from the Bible chapter about the prodigal son, who was gladly welcomed by his father after years of severing ties with his family. They particularly picked up the name from Luke 15:23, “Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.” And so became The Fattened Calf.

“Our place, like what happened in the story of the prodigal son, is about family, reunions, getting back together and communal eating at one table. It’s about feasts and celebrations. We are not even worthy of it all, but still, the Lord doesn’t forget,” chef Rhea reflected.

Of firsts and fours

To open The Fatted Calf, the Sycips agreed to turn the rental home into a quaint restaurant with four tables and six chairs to make 24.

“Our first stove, we just got that from the office raffle,” chef Jayjay chuckled.

“And there were only four of us in the kitchen, so we’re used to cleaning and prepping everything. Our server Ron [who, to this day, still works with the couple] also used to be the cashier and housekeeping because we were understaffed.”

As the pair and their dining destination started earning praises for their homey but elevated dishes — whose ingredients, more importantly, were sourced from nearby farms — The Fatted Calf quickly grew. From 24 chairs, they went up to 60 seats; from only a staff of four, they grew to 14.

What is even more admirable about The Fatted Calf is how they got back on their feet after several setbacks since 2019.

“We closed our restaurant four times because of the Taal eruption in 2020 and then the pandemic,” chef Jayjay said.

But their biggest challenge was just about to come.

Another new home

Since they were only renting The Fatted Calf ’s location, the Sycips could not complain when their landlord decided not to renew their lease. It was simply what it was.

“We really tried; we told our landlord we want to renew it as early as the previous year, but the response was a no. It was a business decision on our landlord’s part, and we understood,” chef Rhea recalled.

The couple hurriedly searched for a new space, but it was difficult to find a structure where they could set up their original kitchen and lay out the tables and chairs they had and hope everything would fit. They would have to start over again, and going from the ground up wouldn’t be simple.

“I thought that was it for us; I was already planning on going back to working for the hotels, Jayjay as well, and just focus on the bakery,” she continued. [During the lockdowns, the pair opened an online bakery store named Flour Pot Manila].

That was until Senator Loren Legarda — a staunch supporter of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and sustainable farming — serendipitously dined at their restaurant and did not hesitate to offer help when she learned of their predicament.

“We didn’t know her personally; she just made a reservation and dined with us. After her meal, she offered some suggestions on how to improve the restaurant, and we told her it was all in the plan, but we couldn’t do it anymore because we were having to close permanently,” chef Rhea said.

Senator Legarda quickly offered them her vacant lot along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway. When the couple inspected it and told the senator they liked it, they came to an agreement to rent the structure that would be built to accommodate the restaurant.

“It was The Fatted Calf ’s rebirth and the continuation of our story that we never thought would happen again,” chef Jayjay said.

When the Fatted Calf closed its doors in Silang, Cavite, last January, the couple went straight to work on the new one and targeted to reopen on June 1.

More miracles

The couple happily revealed that more miracles came their way in building what is now the perfect Fatted Calf restaurant. They gratefully shared that their kitchen was donated by their kind patrons, while some of the flowers budding around the restaurant were likewise gifts from friends.

As expected, the couple is already paying forward the blessings they received. For one, they continue to source their supplies from local farmers in Cavite, providing them a sustainable livelihood.

“Whenever people ask us what kind of cuisine we serve, we say we’re an ingredient-based restaurant. We prepare whatever is in season, whatever ingredient we can source and use,” Chef Rhea elaborated.

They also created opportunities for the locals to expand their kitchen staff. From the mighty 14 they had in the old location, The Fatted Calf now has a full staff of 40 employees.

In staying the course through the challenges that came their way, The Sunday Times Magazine asked the Sycips for the valuable lessons they learned along the way.

“Don’t lose hope and faith, and don’t think only you can solve your problems because the only time we were able to move forward was when we admitted that we can’t do everything on our own. We needed other people’s help, and they were ready and willing to give it. And that’s what built this restaurant,” the chefs ended.

The Fatted Calf is now located along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway in Barangay Neogan, Tagaytay City. Reservations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner starting June 1 are now accepted. Call or text 09776437477 or 09177892352 or send a direct message on Instagram @thefattedcalf_ph.