From a Mother’s Recipe to the Jar: How a Father-Son Tandem Preserved Bicolano Laing

 

When Mateo Ty set out to court his future wife decades ago, he quickly learned that the fastest path to her family’s favor was through her mother’s appetite for Bicolano cuisine.

His prospective mother-in-law had an intense fondness for laing, the traditional taro leaf stew native to the Bicol region. Although Mateo’s own mother was from Sorsogon, he had never learned to prepare the dish himself. When requested to cook it shortly after marrying, he sought urgent guidance from an aunt. Guided only by “mata-mata” — the traditional culinary method of estimating ingredients by sight and instinct — Mateo observed, took notes, and prepared four trial batches before his mother-in-law declared the flavor identical to his mother’s heritage recipe.

That initial kitchen experiment laid the groundwork for MAT’s Deli-Goods, a Davao City specialty food enterprise that has converted a household comfort food into a packaged commercial product. Today, Mateo, 67, and his son Marvin, 38, operate a father-and-son venture that produces jarred laing and other regional delicacies while maintaining a direct-trade supply chain that supports local taro and coconut farmers.

Laing is a traditional Philippine dish made from dried taro leaves and stalks slow-cooked in thick coconut milk, garlic, ginger, and chili peppers. Celebrated for its creamy texture and savory heat, the dish historically posed a commercial challenge due to its high moisture content and short shelf life, which limited its potential as a long-distance gift, or pasalubong.

The commercial trajectory began in 2002 when Lachi’s Restaurant in Davao City added Mateo’s fresh laing to its menu, where it served as the establishment's sole plant-based offering. Encouraged by consistent restaurant demand, he sought to make the dish broadly accessible. In 2015, he traveled to Legazpi in Bicol to observe commercial thermal preservation techniques, purchased his first pressure canner, and began adapting the recipe for glass jars.

A major milestone occurred in 2018 when the business officially registered. Marvin, a sociology graduate with a background in corporate sales and operations, was newly married and facing a company transfer to Cebu. Refusing the relocation, he chose to join his father full-time. To establish a formal stake in the business, Marvin and his brother Melvin made an initial capital investment at his father's recommendation.

Marvin was already familiar with the operations. During his high school and college years, he worked alongside his father as a working student, earning his allowance by participating in every stage of production, from cooking to packing. When he joined full-time, he brought a structured approach to operational efficiency.

"Entrepreneurship is not for everyone," Marvin said. "You need to like taking risks. But you need to take the right risks."

Translating fresh laing into a shelf-stable jarred product required eight to 10 months of research and development. Father and son calibrated formulations to preserve the texture and freshness of the taro leaves without artificial additives. Utilizing his operations background, Marvin overhauled the kitchen workflow, reducing production time from 12 hours down to six hours while doubling overall output.

Beyond production, the duo faced a supply chain constraint: taro (gabi) grows wild across rural countryside areas but is rarely cultivated on commercial farms. To secure a stable supply of raw materials, MAT’s Deli-Goods partnered directly with local farmers, setting strict specifications for leaf moisture and mold control.

The enterprise purchases fresh taro leaves at 10 pesos per kilogram and premium dried leaves at 270 pesos per kilogram. To help suppliers meet quality standards, the company provides drying screens, equipment, and technical guidance on post-harvest handling. The business processes an average of 10 kilograms of dried taro weekly to meet restaurant orders and jar demand.

"We wanted to share the business," Mateo said. "Owning the whole production process assures quality, but you are not helping others. Sharing the opportunities benefits others."

The enterprise applies the same direct-sourcing model to its coconut milk, purchasing directly from local coconut farmers' associations.

When the COVID-19 pandemic halted operations and closed partner restaurants for three months in 2020, the company pivoted to takeaway sales to sustain business continuity. Following post-pandemic reopening, the enterprise expanded its product line to include bittersweet orange marmalade and milkfish in corn oil.

The organizational dynamic relies on a division of labor: Mateo oversees financial management, while Marvin manages production schedules, marketing, and trade fair representation through programs like the Department of Trade and Industry's Kapatid Mentor ME initiative. Mateo is gradually transferring primary decision-making responsibilities to Marvin as part of a structured succession plan.

"You cannot share with others if you don't know the whole process yourself," Mateo said, emphasizing hands-on mastery before delegating operations.

Looking ahead, Marvin aims to expand distribution into major national supermarkets through established regional distributors. Immediate operational goals include constructing a dedicated production commissary, installing solar panels to manage energy costs, and securing long-term raw material pipelines.

"We progress according to our sales improvement," Mateo said.