How Lechon Diva Dedet de la Fuente’s Food Business Became a Filipino Culinary Staple - LA Lives

Dedet de la Fuente, the country’s endeared Lechon Diva and owner of Pepita’s Kitchen, sits at a table at Shangri-La at the Fort’s premium signature restaurant Canton Road. Despite being a big time chef and food personality, Dedet talks without any pretenses. She tells us about her business and how her success came as an accident. A big smile is painted onto her face, and her larger than life personality is infectious. It can be felt in all corners of the large room. She calls herself the Lechon Diva, but Dedet is anything but a diva—she is a hardworking woman, eager to share her love of food to anyone who is willing to have their mind blown away.

Lechon Diva Dedet de la Fuente (Photograph by Hub Pacheco)
Lechon Diva Dedet de la Fuente for Lifestyle Asia (Photograph by Hub Pacheco)

The Guinea Pig Friends

“I was very simple minded growing up, and all I ever wanted to be was a mother,” she began. Dedet continued to tell us that when her kids began their education, she made it a mission to drive them to school every single day. She wanted to be around them always, cherishing their time before they would eventually leave the nest as adults. Luckily, these trips to school would play an important role in her future. “My mommy friends and I were chatting at the school. We were talking about what we wanted to be when we were growing up. I said I just wanted to be a mom.” Dedet was fascinated by her friend’s answers, some of them mentioning that they dreamt of being lawyers and doctors. She had no answer like that and began to soul search.

After her talk with the mommy group, she decided to explore further. “What do I love other than my children?” she asked herself. Luckily, Dedet was a natural in the kitchen. Her mother was an exceptional cook, and she credits her for her love for food. Growing up, her mother also sent her to cooking school, and she remembered the experience being joyful. In a move to recreate those happy younger years, she sought out for a cooking class, eventually discovering that Reggie Aspiras was teaching one on lechon (the world famous Filipino roasted pig).

“I just wanted to learn how to make lechon for my family and friends because I love to entertain,” she laughs. Dedet says that her classes were very traditional. She was taught how to cook the popular pig dish in a pugon (or oven). Eventually, Dedet mustered the confidence to cook her lechon for her “guinea pig friends” (her usual circle she calls when testing her new dishes). They instantly loved it.

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Photograph courtesy of Pepita's Kitchen IG Account (@lechon_diva)
Photograph courtesy of Pepita’s Kitchen IG Account (@lechon_diva)
Photograph courtesy of Pepita's Kitchen IG Account (@lechon_diva)
Photograph courtesy of Pepita’s Kitchen IG Account (@lechon_diva)

Success is Delicious    

“I never intended it to be a business,” Dedet shared as she looked back at the early days of Pepita’s Kitchen. During one of her evenings with the guinea pig friends, it was suggested she join the Ultimate Taste Test, a foodie competition seeking out the best of culinary in the Philippines, operated by Our Awesome Planet’s Anton Diaz. Dedet decided to give it a try, entering her Lechon with Binagoongan Rice stuffing. It was an instantaneous success, and the Lechon Diva took the contest’s top award in 2010.

Dedet’s success continued to rise from there. She expanded her stuffed lechon line with sisig rice and truffle rice varietals to much fanfare from Filipino gastronomes. When a friend advised her to do fine dining and home catering, she quickly set it up. That, too, captured the heart and attention of many food lovers. Today, her clients range from discriminating foodies to socialites looking to serve up a grand feast. Even big named celebrities like Ding Dong Dantes often find themselves commissioning Pepita’s Kitchen for their lechon fix. The company has also expanded to full-blown catering services, serving signature dishes such as Crab Gulong-Gulong, her Chocnut-inspired desserts, and her popular Filipino boodle fight spread.

“How lucky can one get?! My calling was the be a Lechon Diva,” she exclaimed with her jolly brand of excitement. Dedet continues to add impressive additions to her resume. She was the very first guest chef ever contracted by Shangri-La at the Fort, after a successful Mother’s Day buffet serving her signature delicacy. She is also often invited to cook at prestigious culinary events and host special dinners at premium restaurants. Dedet served hundreds of fans when she represented the Philippines at the World Street Food Congress in Singapore, has participated in Cross Cultures by Cheryl Tiu, and has organized sold out dinners in restaurants around the world, such as the Purple Yam in New York City.

In addition to her culinary work, Dedet also gives back through Project Wheelchair, an advocacy which gives wheelchairs to those who cannot afford to buy one. “We have given wheelchairs to children and adults around the country, and this was only made possible because of my being The Lechon Diva.”

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Lechon Diva Dedet de la Fuente for Lifestyle Asia (Photograph by Hub Pacheco)
Lechon Diva Dedet de la Fuente for Lifestyle Asia (Photograph by Hub Pacheco)

Leading a Foodie Movement  

“Only a Lechon Diva would wear this,” the successful chef said as she pointed at her black cooking uniform, made by Cebu-based designer Arci Gayatin. The elegant article of clothing incorporates illustrations of a lechon, tomatoes, and various florals. She often wears it whenever she has a big event. Dedet says she is extremely proud to be Filipino, and that it is her life mission to always support local through Filipino cuisine. She follows the Pepita’s Kitchen slogan as if it were her mantra, “Making Lechon and Filipino Food a Global Sensation.”  Up next for Dedet is the Forward Pilipinas youth conference happening this weekend (September 1, 2018) at SM Aura’s Samsung Hall. She hopes that she will be able to inspire the next generation with what she has done.

“I feel what I have to share to them is nothing heavy. I’m not an economist and I’m not a business person, but I will share the story of a mom who was able to make something out of food. You don’t need to have a formal background, but it needs to come from the heart. It can’t be fake. You need to enjoy it,” she said.

Dedet stresses that Filipino cuisine is one of the very best in the world, and all it takes to be recognized globally is if locals begin to embrace it. “We need to be proud of our heritage and accept that Filipino food is as good as any other cuisine. Filipinos need to love their food before others do,” she says with passion. The Lechon Diva has made her mission very clear. She climbed the ladder of success with ease, and now it’s time to make our local cuisine a global sensation. With her help, the Philippines is one step closer to culinary superstardom.

Dedet de la Fuente will be talking at the Forward Pilipinas conference this September 1, 2018 at the Samsung Hall at SM Aura. For more information visit their Facebook page, Forward Pilipinas. For tickets, visit www.forwardpilipinas.com

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