Katrina Ponce Enrile’s culinary journey
With a warm hug and wide smile, Katrina Ponce Enrile welcomed me to her home—one that I remember well from many moons ago. Though the interior has changed, the essence of it remains the same: a welcoming space for her friends, where she takes delight in cooking and serving them fresh, homecooked meals.
Ponce Enrile was one of my very first students, and what stands out about her vividly in my memory is how much she loves food. She recognized early in life that cooking was how she expressed care—and to this day, she continues to do so with passion.
Growing up with cooks
Ponce Enrile hails from a family of fine cooks. Her maternal grandmother, Lola Pilar Castañer y Garcia, and her uncle by marriage, Tito Alfredo Rocha (married to her mother’s sister, Mari), trace their roots to Madrid and the Basque Country, respectively.
Both had a magical way with food. Not lost to Ponce Enrile’s recollection were the times when she watched them prepare Sunday fare that consisted of slow-cooked bacalao, callos, and croquetas. It’s also why part of her youth was spent in the company of her paternal grandfather, Lolo Alfonso, in Malabon. And it was during that time that her fondness for Filipino cuisine flourished.
Her mother, Cristina, was a wonderful cook, but was always mindful of her figure. Chicken curry was the first dish little Ponce Enrile learned from mom, whose specialty was pote gallego.
Her dad, chief presidential legal counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, was her cooking buddy. Together, they conquered and lost. Their rice wine experiment failed, while their escargot and dishes made with eel turned out incredible.
The father and daughter tandem even had a longganisa project. Part of the procedure was to sun-dry the sausages. So they did, in their garden—the hanging longganisas attracted so many flies! Not quite the success story they were hoping for, but a cherished memory.
Cooking up a storm
As a young adult, Ponce Enrile honed her skills by playing mother hen to her friends. “I love to feed people,” she quips. After dancing the night away, Ponce Enrile’s house was everyone’s last stop for a homecooked meal—whipped up by her.
The menu was created from whatever she found in the fridge or the pantry. It was nothing fancy, she’d claim—adobo, tapa, and sinangag. But it was the gesture of doing it herself that made it special.
She shared how her dad used to walk in on them. He would ask, “anong ginagawa niyo diyan?”
To which Ponce Enrile would reply, “We’re cooking dad, we’re hungry!” “Little did he know that we were also raiding his bar,” she says with a chuckle.
When motherhood beckoned, she became a cook with a greater purpose. More than friends, she had daughters to nourish. Amazingly, all of her girls share her penchant for cooking and for food.
Ponce Enrile’s favorite is butter—to eat as is, to have with bread, and to add to her sauces…on everything!
She also prefers her food spicy and a little sweet. Her favorite comfort food is Filipino spaghetti—yes, the one with hotdogs and sweet sauce. There’s a secret to her Filipino-style spaghetti sauce, and it’s anchovies. It makes it taste even better. “Try it,” she dares.
A taste that hits close to home
Ponce Enrile’s cooking style is one that relies on memory. She cooks as she remembers her favorite dishes to be. Over time, she accumulated a repertoire of her own. In fact, her years spent in the kitchen has made her a very confident cook. Confident enough to develop her own carne norte.
Ponce Enrile intimated that Delimondo corned beef was born out of her dad’s craving for carne norte. “Yung carne norte gaya ng dati,” was what he wanted—referring to the corned beef from the American period.
She researched, explored, and kitchen-tested—until she resurrected the corned beef recipe that was to her father’s liking. The canned corned beef became her personal Christmas giveaway; with her handing them out in tin cans that had no label. Her friends clamored for more, much to her delight. And many were astonished when they learned that the carne norte was made in her kitchen.
That household experiment now comes in eight variants.
Multifaceted woman with many talents
Always thinking of ways to improve her products, Ponce Enrile is intently looking into the possibility of using plant-based preservatives for Delimondo.
Her love for food makes opening businesses related to it irresistible. It’s why she established Ladera—a catering company that serves the needs of Splendido Hotel and Country Club and the two Delimondo cafes.
Ponce Enrile’s plate is full. As an entrepreneur she remains deeply involved in every facet of her ventures. What’s more, she currently serves as the administrator and CEO of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.
Beyond her professional role, she is a devoted daughter and a loving mother. Her grandchildren affectionately call her “glama.” She is also a proud fur mama to 70 dogs and a feather mom to 100 birds.
When I asked Ponce Enrile what’s next, she paused and said, “bird food?” She laughs. “I don’t know if I should make that!”
“Seriously, I am thinking about making dog food, but I don’t know if I should name it Delimondo!”
With a hearty laugh, we headed to the kitchen where Ponce Enrile and chef Hermie Hernandez prepared Spicy Tinapa Pasta with Aligue Sauce for merienda.
