FAMOUS OVERNIGHT

Episode3: COOKING + CONTENT

The next morning, Pedro had an idea while we were all in the kitchen.

"Tita, Tito, what if we don't just cook new Mindoro dishes... what if we make the cooking itself our content?"

Nanay said, "What do you mean?"

Pedro put his ring light on the table and fixed my old phone. "People love watching how food is made! From market to plate! Let's vlog everything!"

So that became our plan.

6 AM - MARKET VLOG

We went to the market together — me, Pedro, Nanay, and Tatay — and Pedro was recording.

I was shy to hold the phone in public, but Pedro said, "Just be natural!"

We went to Mang Isko, the hunter who sells Baboy Ramo — wild boar from the Mindoro mountains. Famous here in Mindoro.

Pedro whispered to me, "Say the keywords!"

I pointed at the meat, trying to be professional, "Guys, this is Baboy Ramo, from the mountains of Mindoro! Gamey aroma, deep savory flavor!"

Mang Isko laughed on camera, "Vlogger na pala kayo!"

Then we went to the pier. Kuya Jun had fresh pugita and tulingan.

"Fresh from the sea this morning!" he shouted for our video.

Ate, who was holding the camera now, giggled because she filmed my little brother who was scared of the pugita's tentacles.

10 AM - COOKING VLOG IN OUR CANTEEN

Back home, Nanay let us use the kitchen. But it was real family cooking, not just us.

Nanay taught us how to cook Adobong Baboy Ramo — more garlic, vinegar, bay leaves, until tender. The smell was wild and smoky.

"Wow, look at that texture!" I said to the camera, while stirring.

Tatay was cleaning the pugita for Adobong Pugita. Pedro filmed him, "Tito, what is your secret?"

"Wala, anak. Just don't overcook, or it becomes like rubber," Tatay said, and we all laughed. That became our best clip.

And me and Ate were wrapping Sinaing na Tulingan sa Kamias in banana leaves. My wrapping was ugly. Ate's was perfect.

"Guys, this is Sinaing na Tulingan — soft texture, sour aroma from kamias!" I said, but my banana leaf broke and the fish juice spilled. Pedro kept recording. "Keep that! That's funny! Real content!"

12 PM - EATING VLOG

We wrote on our blackboard:

NEW LUTONG MINDORO - VLOG TODAY:

"Adobong Baboy Ramo - P95"

"Adobong Pugita - P85"

"Sinaing na Tulingan - P75"

Then we all sat and ate together for the video. The whole family — Nanay, Tatay, Ate, little brother, me, and Pedro. Like a real boodle fight.

Pedro edited the video fast. He put all three parts together: Market + Cooking + Eating. He added text: "Bukid at Dagat - That's Mindoro!"

We posted it with the caption: "From market to our canteen! New Lutong Mindoro menu cooked by our family! What should we cook next? #MindoroFood #BaboyRamo #SupportSmall"

At 1 PM, customers came after watching the video. Some were neighbors who saw us in the market vlog.

"Uy, kayo yung nasa video ah! Pabili ng baboy ramo!"

"Yung pugita, parang ang sarap ng pagkaluto ni Tito!"

By 2 PM, all pots were empty. And our video had 312 views, 20 likes, and 5 comments — the biggest we ever had!

Nanay said while counting money, "We cooked, we made video, we sold. All together."

Pedro high-fived me, "That's called content, cousin! And it's fun because your family is in it!"

That night, we watched our own video again on my cracked phone, laughing at my broken banana leaf.