MOST successful caterers start as restaurateurs. They build their business and name and then expand their business by going into catering. For Chef Vince Rodriguez, the brains behind Peppermill Restaurant and Peppermill Caterers, it happened the other way around. He first went into the catering business, got deeply involved in it and became one of the most successful caterers in the metro, before he opened his first restaurant. But even his entry into the catering business wasn’t planned. It just happened.
“Cooking was just a hobby for me. I started cooking when I moved to the U.S. in 1989 to study Management and Marketing. Before that, I didn’t have to cook. We had a cook at home so I could eat what I wanted. But when I went to the States, I had to do it myself. I had to cook for myself. I also cooked for my friends. Then the parents of my friends would ask me to cook for them. They referred me to friends of friends and I would get paid. But it was nothing regular. I only did it when I felt like it. When I returned to Manila, I continued with it, still as a hobby. I was managing our family business then, a supermarket in Ilocos Sur,” relates Chef Vince.
But then his catering commitments grew and grew, and before he knew it, he was already in it full time. He called his catering business Peppermill Caterers because he loved to use pepper on everything, and it became well-known, especially in the Corinthian Gardens neighborhood in Quezon City. He also became known as the caterer to the stars, because among his clients were the biggest names in local showbiz. It was his brother’s close friend, Rey Lañada, who really started it all for Chef Vince back in 2007. Lañada, the road manager of singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasic, asked him to cook for a party for Ogie, and he did. That particular party was held at the Corinthian Gardens Clubhouse, and it had around 100 guests. Kris Aquino was among the guests.
“The next day, Kris called to ask me to cater for the baptism of Baby James. From then on, I’ve been getting regular clients through word of mouth. I’ve catered for an ABS-CBN event for Judy Ann Santos, an event for Regine Velasquez, the wedding of Cacai Velasquez, for Dra. Vicki Belo and some politicians. The largest number I’ve catered for is 5,000 persons,” Chef Vince says.
To make things easier for Peppermill Caterers and also to respond to popular demand, Chef Vince finally opened his very own restaurant, Peppermill Restaurant and Mixology Bar, at Place One Bldg. along Katipunan Ave. Ext., Quezon City, on March 8, 2014. Yes, it’s that new! Besides being a great venue for sample menus and food tastings related to his catering business, Peppermill Restaurant and Mixology Bar is now able to serve more people who are on the lookout for restaurants that serve good food at a fairly affordable price.
The menu is a showcase of the best of Peppermill Caterers. It includes most requested and most appreciated dishes by his catering clients, and its wide range includes Pinoy comfort foods with a twist to Thai, Japanese, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Indian to Mexican, American, Spanish, Italian and French inspired. The menu offers a wide selection of appetizers, soups, salads, sushi rolls, pizza, pasta, steaks and ribs, lamb, chicken, seafood, burgers and sandwiches. Peppermill Restaurant also makes its own cakes and other desserts.
Chef Vince’s food is familiar and yet it’s something new. He, for instance, incorporates the very high-end French gourmet treat, foie gras, into a sushi roll called Foie Gras Nigiri (Php755), with the duck liver served with cranberry compote and raspberry reduction on sushi rolls; and his Ilocos Bagnet (Php455) is – surprise! – a pizza.
Shrimp Popcorn (Php325), crispy beer-battered rock shrimps served on a martini glass, and Chili Taco Poppers (Php235), Ilocos chili peppers stuffed with Mexican spiced beef, are good ways to whet the appetite and get started on a meal at Peppermill Restaurant.
Among the four interesting salad choices, Wakame (Php315), salmon with seaweeds, mango and kani (crabstick) is a winner with its delightfully refreshing Japanese flavors.
Dining with publicist Nana Nadal and a small group of media people at Peppermill Restaurant last Monday (April 7, 2014), I didn’t touch the Foie Gras Nigiri, which the meat eaters among us raved about, but I did finish the Tuna Tower (Php385), which is a tower made up of layers of sushi rice, kani, mango, cucumber and spicy tuna with honey wasabi and sesame seeds. How do you eat this? Someone at our table asked, and our server happily knocked down the tower and mixed it up for us. It had a lot of things going on, what with all the different ingredients coming together, but the mix of flavors harmoniously came together, and it was good.
We had pizza, yes, and I was happy to see that the artisan crust was thin – just the way I like it – and Chef Vince actually served us the Trio Pizza (Php565), which is three flavors in one. He combined the Ilocos Bagnet (with eggplant casserole, bagoong relish, scrambled egg and mozzarella cheese), Torre del Greco (Arrabiata sauce, rock shrimps, sundried tomatoes, arugula, mozzarella cheese and anchovies), and Basilica (Italian sausage, luganega, salami, mozzarella, Padano and truffle oil). For a seafood lover like me, the Torre del Greco was the best!
Then the two culinary masterpieces, Agave-Passion Fruits BBQ Beef Ribs (Php1,245 for a full slab and Php795 for a half slab) and U.S. Angus Tomahawk Steak (Php2,995) for a huge 850-gram to 1-kilogram steak, were served.
The smoked beef back ribs, served with corn on the cob, French fries and a flavorful passion fruit BBQ sauce, were huge, but the group was able to finish it.
As for the even more ‘gargantuan’ U.S. Angus Tomahawk Steak, which also came with corn on the cob and French fries, it was a beautiful piece of meat – and with its Chef Vince Dry Rub Mixture, it smelled so good I was almost convinced to eat meat again – especially since it was served with three kinds of sauces: Red Wine Sauce, Peppermill Dressing and its very own Steak Drippings. It was perfectly cooked, too, juicy and red in the middle, just as a medium rare steak should be, so I watched the group happily slice away as I enjoyed the fish dishes on the table before me.
Keeping me happily busy were the Batanes Roulade (Php365), steamed dory with coconut milk, laing, prawn and garlic parsley rice; the Norway (Php395), encrusted salmon with sesame nori, unagi sauce, mango salsa and steamed rice; and the Vongole (Php325), Manila clams, cherry tomatoes, white wine, chili flakes and lemon wedge on spaghettini.
When dessert came, we were all on equal footing, forking away on the Red Velvet Cake (with white chocolate frosting with cream cheese), Chocolate Log Roll (with a meringue type filling within a rich chocolate roll cake), and Chef Vince’s signature Warm Bread Pudding with Sabayon Sauce (which let out a lovely steam when forked through).
And, oh, don’t forget to order drinks. Peppermill Restaurant is also a mixology bar, and it’s not one for nothing. The beverage menu carries a lot of interesting cocktails and mocktails, including Godfather, Mo Boston and Route 66. I’ve told you about the food, now it’s up to you to discover the drinks. Enjoy!
(Peppermill Restaurant and Mixology Bar is located on the Ground Floor of Place One Bldg., 205 Katipunan Ext., Quezon City.)
