A time for joy, peace, and sharing, the holidays bring loved ones together to celebrate and enjoy as they look back on the memories they’ve made while looking forward to making new ones in the year ahead. Preparing for holiday celebrations can be both fun and challenging; hence, it’s important to plan ahead to ensure that you can focus more time on enjoying rather than worrying if you have already prepared everything.
Food is always the highlight of any gathering, and everyone looks forward to it. Save time in food preparation and celebrate the holidays with delicious, hearty comfort meals lovingly prepared by 12F Kitchen.
Chef Lolit Tolosa and her team have you covered from packed meals, party platters, and desserts.
A love for cooking
At a time filled with uncertainty, Chef Lolit started making comfort food in her apartment on the 12th floor of her condominium building. From baked treats like fudgy brownies to hearty dishes like beef salpicao, she made a challenging situation more bearable through her creativity in the kitchen.
As she delighted her family with delicious home-cooked meals, Chef Lolit Tolosa was encouraged to start offering her specialties, such as gambas al ajillo, Iberian chicken, and, of course, her famous beef salpicao, to friends, relatives, and eventually the public through online orders.
As everyone was quarantined at home, Chef Lolit’s sharing trays and packed meals gave her customers a sense of normalcy. They were able to continue enjoying delicious food conveniently and affordably and share it with their loved ones.
Once life returned to “normal,” Chef Lolit briefly had a stint operating the kitchen of a local hotel. Still, the call to be an entrepreneur was too strong for her to resist. She eventually decided to focus all her attention on growing 12F Kitchen, this time partnering with fellow foodie and entrepreneur, and coincidentally, former hotelier and cabin crew Che Manalang, who works on marketing 12F Kitchen.
“I love cooking, nothing gives me more joy than making people happy through my food. My friends and family encouraged me to take my chances and open my restaurant. After years in the hospitality industry, even before the pandemic, my experience crafting different dishes enabled me to develop recipes for popular comfort food dishes. This is why you’ll see a wide range of menu items. We’re not just catering to those who like Asian dishes; there’s also a good variety of Western dishes in our restaurant that I prepare with my lovely staff.” said Chef Lolit.
Sharing the joy of 12F
Admittedly, while she’s the queen of the kitchen, Chef Lolit needed help getting the word out about 12F Kitchen. Initially, she relied on good word of mouth from her relatives, friends, and customers who posted about her food on social media, but as she set her sights on really growing her business, Chef Lolit tapped Che to help her come up with effective marketing strategies.
“The first time I tried Chef Lolit’s dishes, especially the paella, which was so flavorful with perfectly cooked rice and tender chunks of meat and vegetables, the pumpkin bisque, which is very creamy and tasty, and her take on burnt cheesecake, which is genuinely decadent, it was an easy choice for me to join her and the rest of the team at 12F Kitchen.
“As I’ve been an entrepreneur myself, even working in the hospitality and aviation industries, I understand what people like. From being an online business, we opened our very own restaurant in Makati, so we can also serve the busy office crowd and the residents whether they prefer to dine in or to have their food delivered. That’s not to say that we only cater to those in the Makati area; our kitchen is also open for pick-up orders and deliveries. Thus, our menu has options for solo orders and party platters for big groups.” said Che.
Indulge in festive favorites
For the upcoming holiday celebrations, Chef Lolit and Che invite everyone to try 12F Kitchen’s variety of party trays and platters, making it easier for them to enjoy their home or office get-togethers. For soups and starters, 12F Kitchen offers molo, pumpkin bisque, gambas, and nachos, which, according to Chef Lolit, are all very straightforward as she prefers to stick to traditional recipes, but what makes 12F Kitchen’s version is its hearty, home-cooked take on these famous dishes.
For pasta options, they offer creamy carbonara and bolognese linguine pasta; for house specialties, there’s beef salpicao, crispy pork belly, and Iberian chicken. Customers should not miss 12F Kitchen’s selection of desserts, burnt cheesecake brownies, and polvoron to make their celebrations, not just this holiday season, sweeter.
To learn more about Kitchen 12F, follow @ 12FKitchen on Facebook and Instagram. You may also visit them at D’Arcade Food Park, GF Unit 05, 7433 Yakal Street, Barangay San Antonio, Makati City, Makati, Philippines, or email them at 12fkitchen@gmail.com for inquiries and orders.