Behind This Restaurant's Success is a Tita Lydia :)

The first encounter I ever had with a lechon was when I was around 4 years old.  I was fascinated with the apple inside the mouth of the pig.  How dare the pig, dead at that eat the apple that was supposed to be my favorite? I resented being made to eat the pig which later on I came to appreciate.  The apple was just the icing. It was a staple in every party and because my birthday falls on New Year's Eve, we were sure to have this special dish as well.  Not only that, after the party we were sure to have left over paksiw for a few days and it was just as special. Even though not all lechon have apple, it was fun to reminisce how I remember lechon back then. I knew that having lechon meant the celebration was extra special.

Last November 5, we were very honored to be the part of the kick off of the year long celebration in anticipation of the 50th year anniversary of Lydia's Lechon.  Held at its flagship branch in Baclaran, we were very lucky to hear about the lifestory of its founder whom we fondly call Tita Lydia. Before she arrived, we heard about the future plans from the social media managers of the company.  What I like about the brand is that even at 49 years and a classic brand at that, they have a young team who was willing to dish out new and exciting projects to promote the brand.  One of their activities was a painting contest.  Painting was probably one of the close activities of Lydia's since in the wall of The resto is a very brilliant painting by the grand daughter of Tita Lydia.
 We also got to hear about the famous pig mascot who will soon have his own name.  Another promotional activity was gathering stories of people in the restaurant similar to "Humans Of New York".  These activities are definitely worth waiting for. 

I admit that I didn't expect the owner, the real star of the night to be as young and vibrant as Tita Lydia.  I was sure that an institution such as Lydia's had to have a no-nonsense strict and classic leader.  I was right about your no nonsense part but conventional she was not. I learned a lot from just the few minutes she was talking. In fact the highlight of the night (yes the dinner) was forgotten with all the stories that she willingly shared. I always go to Divisoria and I meet a lot of vendors, but it was definitely inspiring to find someone rise from humble beginnings to where she is now.


HARD WORK
There was no doubt about it.  Tita Lydia knew from the start that her hard work will pay off some day.  Even at 7 years old she started selling anything she can get her hands on.  Eventually she asked for the help of her dad and learned the ropes about the business.  Up to now, she is very hands on and she personally goes to the stores to buy the ingredients herself.  She works from 11am onwards, most of the time sleeping for only 3 hours.

Not only was she hard working, she also knew how to say yes to opportunities.  Her big break came when someone ordered 300 orders and she had to bring all the people she knew to help out.  She found a way to accept orders not related to lechon and turning these unrelated to her favor by subcontracting.  From bones of lechon she made mami which she also sold.  These ventures paid off well in the end.

DREAMS
One if the memories that she shared was when she enrolled her son to Letran.  She told the cashier of the school that she will find a way to pay the tuition even if she was simply as market vendor.  Even their television set was bought using a loan.  One of the breaks she had was when one if the ninongs of her son Ricky amounted to 500 pesos.  She used it for the business and made it grow.

MOTTO
One of the things that I noticed about Tita Lydia is her positive attitude.  This was made even more evident when she mentioned that whenever her employee complains that work is hard, she will remind them that nobody dies of hard work.  People die of hunger.  This makes her staff more willing to work more than ever. She also mentioned the time when her kids used to sleep under her table while she was selling.  It was amazing how she said it with much dignity.

ONLY VICE
She never brought it up in her talk so we asked her upfront for her beauty secrets and she gamely told us her secrets. Her youthful, energetic demeanor was matched with her style.More than that, up close you can see  her very smooth skin. It was fun to hear how this charming lady uses sun block and cleansers.  She also told us about her favorite make up brand and how one should use tissue paper instead of towel for drying the skin.  She also shared her clean living lifestyle like staying away from vices like going to the casino or excessive shopping.  We attribute her glowing looks also perhaps from just the satisfaction of an honest day's work and a job well done. My mom, Lara and I were fascinated, and would have taken notes :)
 

Her talk was the evening's highlight.  Afterwards, the dinner served was very sumptuous. We started with the chicharon which were also quite filling.  I especially enjoyed the paella which was very tasty and delightful.  I also liked the warm bulalo soup. We now know why people love Lydia's and flock to their branches.

We were happy to receive such thoughtful giveaways such as the very delicious sauce in bottles, we are also happy to receive gift certificates, yey! :)

Going to this anniversary was very exciting.  Its memorable and heartwarming to know that such a well-loved famous brand had its humble beginnings.  Because of one lady's hard work and dreams, it grew to be what it is now.  Almost 5 years after and with more branches coming, we are definitely waiting in anticipation.  And just like the wonderful apple in the mouth of the lechon, this is only the beginning.