In the midst of 2017, a cooking competition for kindergarten parents was held. Annechelle Macuha, one of the contestants won first place with her squash ball dish, a recipe introduced to her by her mother-in-law. The winning dish was later made into a business. The squash balls she cooked were always sold out. Later on, Annechelle added another dish on the menu – the special baked mac in a tub, which eventually became a hit in Pakil, Laguna. As the popularity of baked mac increased, customers were inquiring about a larger size and that was when they started to offer large-sized bilao.

As years pass by, Annechelle’s Catering Services have been constantly receiving massive orders from the customers in the whole town of Pakil and even from the neighboring towns. Her baked mac became in demand that she and her husband needed to hire more manpower to meet the deliveries. They expanded their menu and offered other dishes for customers to choose from, such as lasagna, spaghetti, carbonara, palabok, Monte Noah’s Sandwich, pizza, and other rice meals.

In 2020, Annechelle and Aram, her husband, were discouraged because due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they were forced to stop the operation of the business. Amidst the threat of the pandemic, they saw a glimpse of hope through the Negosyo Center Pakil, a satellite office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-Laguna). NC Pakil provided information regarding Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF ID) which would greatly help them in delivery their products to clients. With this, they were able to mobilize the business even though there were lockdown constraints. As their business bounced back, they maximized the use of social media by posting their food products and engaging with customers.

Reliving the journey with their business, they have been using the motto – Annechelle’s Food is Life, as food gives happiness to people. Also, those people who avail their products have different stories to tell which makes life a little more exciting. ♦

Date of Release: 18 May 2022