04 November 2016 — Mr. Kim Lapus, grandson of Teresita “Mama Sita” Reyes, founder of “Mama Sita” and a Philippine food icon, paid a courtesy call on Consul General Gina Jamoralin at the Philippine Consulate General on October 28.
During the call, Mr. Lapus offered to collaborate with the Philippine Consulate General on projects promoting Philippine cuisine. Consul General Jamoralin invited Mama Sita Foundation Inc. to participate in the Consulate’s yearly Filipino Food Festival held in conjunction with Philippine Independence Day celebration every June and to set up a booth at the upcoming 23rd Honolulu Festival on March10 to 12 2017 to display Mama Sita products.
Mr. Lapus also extended an invitation for the delegates of the Trade Mission to the Philippines in February 2017 by the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii (FCCH) to visit the Mama Sita factory and showroom in Manila.
During the courtesy call, Mr. Lapus took the opportunity to turn over donations of Mama Sita cookbooks and commemorative stamps to the University of Hawaii (UH) and Chaminade University, with Consul General Jamoralin and members of the Filipino American community and media as witnesses. The donations were accepted by Ms. Elena Clariza, Librarian at the UH Library at Manoa and Dr. Eva Washburn-Repollo, Assistant Professor at Chaminade University.
Mr. Lapus also turned over donations to the UH Maui Culinary Academy on October 27, in coordination with the Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce.
The Mama Sita Foundation Inc. donated three (3) sets of cookbooks (Mama Sita’s Homestyle Recopes Cookbook, Mama Sita’s Lutong Bahay Cookbook, and Mama Sita’s Flavors of the Philippine Islands Cookbook), highlighting recipes of known and well-loved Filipino dishes to spark greater interest in Filipino cuisine globally. It also donated Mama Sita’s commemorative stamps issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) in honor of Mama Sita’s birth centenary in 2017 and her contributions to Filipino culinary history.
The donations to the University of Hawaii and Chaminade University were initiated by the Mama Sita Foundation Inc. and the Philippine Consulate General as part of the celebration of Filipino American History Month. END
