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Tagaytay stopover: Gourmet Farms evolves into a healthy food and travel destination

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Joko Magalong-De Veyra

<p>SILANG, Cavite -- While its products are available on the shelves of major metro grocers, there’s something irresistible in sipping freshly brewed coffee or eating the freshest bites of produce in the place where these were roasted or grown. </p><p>This and more makes a stop in Gourmet Farms in Silang, Cavite a compelling proposition, as we discovered during a recent visit with selected media and guests. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/10/27/tagaytay1_1.jpg"/><figcaption>Planting lettuce at Gourmet Farms in Silang, Cavite. <em>Joko Magalong-De Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Gourmet Farms always insists on being the freshest, finest and first. This mission has led it to become one of the biggest coffee traders in the country, as well as pioneering force in the local organic food movement. </p><p> “Our products are available in 18 groceries in Metro Manila but not all those 18 have the full range,” shared Roldan Calpito, head of marketing for Gourmet Farms. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/10/27/tagaytay2.jpg"/><figcaption>These drip-ons cost less than P30 per serving. <em>Joko Magalong-De Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>With a product list that includes coffee, teas, baked goods, lettuce chips, various dips, spreads and sauces, as well as greens and other culinary herbs, exploring their 12-hectare estate was an enlightening and delicious affair; punctuated with lettuce chips, verdant fields, and cups of great coffee. </p><p>Located along Aguinaldo Highway, Gourmet Café and Country Store is a quick stop shop that serves and sells Gourmet Farms’ products. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/10/27/tagaytay3.jpg"/><figcaption>Gourmet Café and Country Store. <em>Joko Magalong-De Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Pause and sip on their coffees and teas, or buy pasalubong like their kitchen exclusives (dips, sauces and spreads), lettuce chips, fresh produce, and even handmade flowers from the Gourmet Farms’ livelihood project with the Tagaytay City Jail inmates. </p><div><strong>THE DINING ROOM </strong></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/10/27/tagaytay4.jpg"/><figcaption>Executive chef Enrico Molera. <em>Joko Magalong-De Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Unlike its earliest incarnation (it was a 30-seater nipa hut in the ‘80s), the Dining Room has evolved into a full-service restaurant that would be perfectly at home on the cliffs of Santorini with its high-ceilings, big windows that bring the outside in, and its white minimalist interiors. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/10/27/tagaytay5.jpg"/><figcaption>Fresh pasta dishes are finished in a parmesan wheel. <em>Joko Magalong-De Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The Dining Room has mostly stayed true to its original concept of Mediterranean and Italian cuisine, with the welcome addition of all-day breakfast fare. Showcasing the produce of the farm, must-try dishes include any of their salads, their pastas sauced with pesto or putanesca, and their pizzas cooked in their wood-fire brick oven from Italy. </p><p>As a popular event place, the Dining Room has spectacular options for catering (buffets are also sometimes available during weekends) including the ultimate salad bar with its jaw-dropping selection of farm-to-fork salad greens, nine options of sauces, a variety of fix-ins from croutons to vegetables to ham, and even ready-made salad favorites like Russian Beet Salad, Macaroni, and Potato Salad as well. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/10/27/tagaytay6.jpg"/><figcaption>Porchetta ready to be enjoyed.<em> Joko Magalong-De Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>While the spread during our visit also included healthy wraps and bruschetta, it was the Porchetta that drew the most attention. Served with apple sauce or in a coffee bun sandwich, the herb-roasted pork belly was fragrant with well-rendered and crisp skin. </p><p>The coffee bread (created by adding coffee grounds into the bread dough) was sweet and soft and a perfect foil to the richness of the pork, especially with the available accompaniments (lettuce, pickled onion, pickled cucumber, onion marmalade, herb mayonnaise, etc).</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/10/27/tagaytay7.jpg"/><figcaption>The Porchetta Sandwich uses house-made coffee buns. <em>Joko Magalong-De Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>For sweet endings, the blueberry cheesecake and the apple pie had many going back for seconds in between sips of herbal tea or brewed coffee. </p><div><strong>COFFEE DIVISION</strong></div><p>Are you a coffee geek? If you are, the Gourmet Farms’ roastery and warehouse should be a breathtaking sight. Green beans from around the world await, ready to be roasted in their German-made Probat roaster, a commercial roaster that’s said to be the Rolls Royce of coffee roasters. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/10/27/tagaytay8.jpg"/><figcaption>Coffee division head Leonard Reyes explains the roasting process. <em>Joko Magalong-De Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>“We have a lot of blends to cater to any palate, to any coffee connoisseur, but we&#x27;re now gearing towards convenience. The instant coffee market is making headway when it comes to sales of coffee, Now we&#x27;re introducing our brewed instant coffee, we call it the drip-ons. And soon we&#x27;ll have our packaging that is a brewer itself,” said Leonard Reyes, head of the coffee division of Gourmet Farms. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/10/27/tagaytay9.jpg"/><figcaption>Gourmet Farms&#x27; coffee products include blends and single origin coffees from around the world. <em>Joko Magalong-De Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Currently, their coffee line includes the above-mentioned drip-ons, 9 single-origin Arabica coffees from around the world (Arabicas del Mundo), and 7 Philippine Single Origin blends under the brand, Kapelipinas, among others. </p><div><strong>ST. JOSEPH’S SANCTUARY </strong></div><p>Also part of the estate, this half-hectare complex has a well-appointed chapel, a conference center, a guest house, a man-made lake, and an outdoor pavilion. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/10/27/tagaytay10.jpg"/><figcaption>Inside the chapel of St. Joseph&#x27;s Sanctuary. <em>Joko Magalong-De Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Designed to soothe the soul with the combined benefits of spiritual reflection and appreciation of nature, the Sanctuary is home to Solitudo — a 3-day silent and holistic retreat. Visit for a quiet moment during your farm tour. </p><p>Gourmet Farms is found along E. Aguinaldo Highway in Silang, Cavite. Farm tours are available all week long. Please visit their website for more information on schedules and products. </p>

<p>While its products are available on the shelves of major metro grocers, there’s something irresistible in sipping freshly brewed coffee or eating the freshest bites of produce in the place where these were roasted or grown. </p>

While its products are available on the shelves of major metro grocers, there’s something irresistible in sipping freshly brewed coffee or eating the freshest bites of produce in the place where these were roasted or grown.