MALOU FORES: Little farm to little table
Chef and restaurant owner Malou Fores started her love affair with gardening as a child inspired by her mom who tended to her orchids, ferns and tropical plants. Now Malou has set up her three patios to become her minigarden, or “little farm,” as she calls it. It has also become a habit of hers to always set aside seeds from eaten fruits and purchase seed pockets from stores or from her trips abroad. She even collected seeds from Spanish towns when she walked the Camino de Santiago. When the quarantine happened, these seeds came in handy for patio planting in her apartment. As a food lover and chef, it was second nature to plant produce and ingredients for the delicious meals she whips up.
Malou’s daily routine includes tending to her “crop” after workouts. She has vegetables like onions, ginger, pechay, yellow and red bell peppers, and fruits such as pomelo and chesa. She also grows rosemary, basil, oregano and Italian flat parsley — herbs that are easy to pick and add to the dishes she cooks.
I asked Malou how this ritual of gardening makes her feel. “Planting is something enjoyable and therapeutic to me,” she replied. “I think the same goes for my staff at home, namely Melody, Mila and Elmay. However, we enjoy gardening most when we cook and eat our harvest.”
It also looks like Harry, Malou’s cute Schnauzer, shares this love as he eats the raw vegetables straight from the pots and digs into the soil. Malou will continue with gardening after the lockdown is lifted because it gives her joy. She adds, “I encourage others to save the seeds of their favorite fruits and vegetables and plant it in their patios or gardens. It will become an easy source of ingredients, which you can use in your home cooking.” From farm to table? In Malou’s case, it’s from little farm to little table.