Celebrities give a taste . . .

Aside from food, these celebrities also shared with Lifestyle Inquirer some of their fond memories with their grandparents, as well as life and career lessons they cherish.

As a kid, Gary Valenciano says Sunday was always the most anticipated day of the week because his paternal lolo would come out bearing his favorite chocolate candy, Pom Poms.

“What I learned from that—as a grandfather myself now—is that the simplest things can still be very meaningful,” he says. “Even when he was really old and could hardly walk, he still went out of his way to do that.”

His lola, on the other hand, was the grandparent he was closest to. “She was the one I actually sat down and conversed with. She was strict,” he recalls. “But I like the fact that I can look back on those times and realize why she was like that.”

Meanwhile, Valenciano’s Puerto Rican lolo on his mother’s side is the reason he’s called “Pappie” by his own grandchildren. “I saw him only once, in 1972 when I was 8. I was told to call him Papi, not lolo, because he didn’t understand Tagalog,” he recalls.

“What I remember most about him was how playful he was with my younger sister,” says Valenciano, who now does the same with his granddaughters Luch and Leia. “I would play and tickle them, and you would always see them giggling. They love that and I love seeing them like that.”

Marian Rivera

Off-camera, one of the things Marian Rivera loves to do is cook—something she owes to her maternal grandmother, Lola Ingkang, who raised her while the actress’ mother worked in Spain and the United Kingdom. Rivera has shared this story with us a couple of times over the years.

“My lola made sure I was by her side whenever she was preparing our meals. I’m the one who chops the ingredients,” she recalls. “Just by observing her, little by little, I learned how to cook.”

During Christmas, it was often just the two of them. “Every recipe I know now, I learned from her,” Rivera says. The actress’ favorite Filipino dishes include caldereta and sinigang na hipon sa sampalok. But the one dish she cherishes most—and is most protective of—is Lola Ingkang’s menudo, whose recipe was entrusted only to her.

“Not even my mom knows it!” she says. “Cooking is what I do every year. If I give the recipe away, you won’t be needing me anymore.”

Markki Stroem

Because his parents had him young and worked in Manila, Markki Stroem was “basically raised” by his grandparents in their home in Antipolo. “My lolo would pick me up from school every day and reward me with small treats for a job well done,” the singer-actor says.

It was Stroem’s lola, meanwhile, who discovered his gift for singing when she heard him copying his yaya singing the Hiligaynon lullaby “Ili Ili Tulog Anay.” “She started enrolling me in lessons and having me sing psalms in church,” he says. “I eventually chose my career because of my newfound passion for performing.”

“I love them both and I know they’re always watching me from heaven,” he adds.

Christian Bautista

Like Stroem, Christian Bautista was regularly brought to and picked up from school by his lolo in Imus, Cavite. “He would eat a snack after,” he says. “And as he dipped pandesal in hot chocolate, he would ask me how school went.”

Mikoy Morales

Breakfast isn’t really a thing in Mikoy Morales’ household—but it was in his maternal lola’s home. He grew up sleeping over on weekends, and he always remembers sitting at the table with his lola and cousins in the morning. “I remember the smell of fresh pandesal and fried eggs in the morning,” the actor says. “We would toss and scramble the sunny-side-up eggs with ketchup, and that would be our palaman.”

His lola loves and cares for children—“sometimes to a fault,” he says. “She would do anything for them and for us grandchildren. Maybe the lesson I learned from her is to love your kids accordingly.”

Dolly Dulu

In true Kapampangan fashion, there would always be a lot of food whenever Dolly Dulu visited her lolo’s home in Pampanga. “Uso sa ‘min ang magluto ng sariling ube halaya, so kapag nandoon ako, nagpapahanda siya kasi alam niya na mahilig ako sa ube,” says the director, who never got to meet her grandparents on her mother’s side.

While Dulu wouldn’t describe their relationship as “super close,” she knew her lolo always made an effort to connect with her. “Siyempre Kapampangan ang salita nila doon at doon siya sanay. But when I’m there, he went out of his way to speak Tagalog,” she says. “That was a sweet step.”

Angela Muji

“The grandparent I was closest to was my lolo on my father’s side. His name was Juan, but I called him Daddy Ky,” Angela Muji says. “Ang layo no?”

While he died in 2022, the actress says she will never forget being looked after by her lolo whenever she visited his home. The hyperactive little girl she was, feeding her was chaos. “Sobrang hyper at ‘di ako mapirmi noon, so hinahabol niya ako ng kutsara,” says Muji, whose maternal grandparents had already passed away when she was born.

It’s also in those moments that her lolo instilled in her the importance of respecting and appreciating food. “They’re a blessing,” he would always remind me. “Lagi niya sinasabi na huwag paghintayin at iwanan sa lamesa ang pagkain dahil bastos daw ‘yon… na maswerte tayo na meron tayong pagkain.”

Diego Gutierrez

In our previous conversations, it would be almost impossible for Diego Gutierrez not to bring up his grandmother, the late music legend Pilita Corrales. When he started pursuing music about five years ago, it was “Mamita” who became one of his biggest sources of encouragement and inspiration.

“She would tell me that even if she has been in the industry for a very long time, she still gets nervous before she performs. It’s okay to feel nervous. Own it. Work hard and be the best you can be,” he recalls.

He also loved listening to his grandmother’s stories about her career. “She would tell me about the time she opened for The Beatles and worked with Sammy Davis, Jr. Everyone at home would be singing,” he says.