One day at work, I checked on my phone to see three missed calls and one text message from a certain "Cess" who introduced herself as working for GMANewsTV, asking if is it okay to call.
As crazy as I am, I panicked! Why would someone from GMANewsTV contact me? Has something happened to my family? Feeling important? LOL. I called Freedom's yaya, Naynay. They are okay. I called my husband. He is okay, waiting for me at MarketMarket Mall. I am indeed crazy. Crazy paranoid.
And so after my shift, I found out that through their researchers, they bumped into my blog and they were inviting me to be a guest reviewer on PopTalk as they will be having an ilonggo cuisine review episode. I panicked again!
Overwhelmed and excited, I called my husband to ask what to answer. He excitedly said, are you crazy? Go!
Oh how I love my husband!
I didn't have much sleep the night before the taping. I was very excited! You can't blame me. This is one show me and my husband watch every Saturday! Oh how we love food adventures on TV -- from Jamie Oliver to Andrew Zimmern to Nigella Lawson down to Anthony Bourdain.
And so our day began at 10am in the first restaurant in Makati. The whole crew was very nice. While setting up, I got the chance to chat with Chef Jackie and Arthur as well as the restaurant's owner. We were chatting in Hiligaynon (ilonggo), I felt so relaxed and at ease. Jitters? Gone.
This is where I learned how hard and tedious it is to produce a show. While I'm aware that tiny details are important, I was amazed at how patient and resilient the crew and the artists behind scenes are!
What struck me the most about this show was, all reviews and comments were impromptu! So you better know what you're talking about the food and stuff. Ay paktay! Magaling ako sa mga impromptu na yan! LOL
This is why I adore Kuya Tonipet so much. He's very professional and knows well how to make first-time guest reviewers like me feel welcome. Thank you, Kuya Pet!
On the other hand, Arthur was very friendly, humble and nice. He is a surprisingly soft-spoken lad so you can imagine him speaking in ilonggo very gently and humbly.
Chef Jackie is a super nice lady, very classy. We chatted along while in transition to our last location which took a little longer than expected, and I've learned so much from her. Chef Jac shared how she and her husband Chef Lau had to give up France to start their business adventure here in Manila and their road to success. I super adore her dedication to her work and no wonder how the Laudico brand is an ultimate success!
Sharing you snap photos during our taping.
Photo credit: PopTalk and GMANewsTV
Photo credit: PopTalk and GMANewsTV
Unfortunately, the whole crew bumped into a big problem when the second restaurant backed out the moment we arrived at the location and as soon as they saw Chef Jackie! I found their reason though a little pathetic and childish. This resto knew PopTalk was coming. The only thing they didn't know was that Chef Jackie was one of the guest reviewers which they didn't even bother to ask in the first place. The management said they couldn't allow Chef Jackie to review their food because she was a "competitor" and it was "unethical."
According to Merriam-Webster: A competitor means one that competes; as rival or one selling or buying goods or services in the same market as another.
Hmmmm..Okay. This is what I only know.
- I don't think they serve the same menu concept to customers to tag them as competitors.
- I don't think that location wise, they can be rivals.
- I don't think they will be that threatened if their food really tastes good, or even great?
- I don't ever remember PopTalk being mean to restaurants they review.
- AND I don't even think someone would eat in the same restaurant EVERY time.
These days, the more restos to try, the merrier!
OR Maybe they haven't heard of the PopTalk effect yet. PopTalk effect happens every time PopTalk just aired their Saturday restaurant review and sale of those restaurants reviewed on the show skyrockets! How amazing is that? Many restos would die to be featured on the show I'm sure.
Well, maybe they don't need PopTalk to promote them. Maybe they're too high profile to be reviewed on the show. Okay, okay. I get that they may have their own reasons too, but I absolutely didn't admire how they handled the situation. The owner (who was personally acquainted to Laudicos) was there but chose the restaurant manager to bring the bad news to the crew. It was NOT classy at all, not a bit.
From this, I've learned many things that day. I've learned that like any kind of work, challenges are there to overcome. I've learned that no matter how hard the challenges are, you keep on going and you learn how to laugh at it in the end. This was indeed an interesting day for me.
And without further ado, I share to you IlonggaMommy's TV debut on PopTalk. Enjoy!
Video credit: PopTalk and GMANewsTV
And oh how I admire GMANewsTV for giving bloggers and writers like me to have this kind of opportunity. Not that I didn't admire them before. How I love everything they feature on GMANewsTV. They have the passion to promote real stories of Filipinos, true to their commitment to transparent news and current events, local travels, local food and culture.
Watch out for more PopTalk reviews every Saturday on GMANewsTV!
Disclaimer: This is my blog and opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express opinions of the show, its management or staff or even people mentioned above.
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