Beginning
It began with one man's pursuit of a passion that led to a visionary achievement.
Having traveled the world and sampling a variety of unique recipes from many food establishments, bringing home these experiences and reinventing the recipes became a challenge for MR. ERNEST DE LEON ESCALER.
His favorite hobby of cooking and constant encouragement from friends and family led to a successful business, aptly called Gourmet Farms Inc.
Beginning in 1987 from a remarkable bean that has produced one of the most popular soothing beverages on earth …. Gourmet began as a roaster of high quality COFFEE BEANS on a limited scale. Also producing herbal teas and organically grown exotic herbs and vegetables, Mr. Escaler’s passion flourished into a business that is the first of its kind in the Philippines.
Moving Forward & Expanding
Taking a different approach in addressing the growing demand for organic produce in the market Mr. Escaler established a small café, Gourmet's cafe where customers could enjoy freshly brewed coffee while waiting for their fresh harvest. The café not only attracted customers to the produce it also showcased what the farm had to offer.
What started as a 30 seater café soon expanded to house over 200 guests eager for the healthy & hearty recipes created by none other than the founder himself together with his chef and team of creative employees.
A salad bar, embellished with an assortment of herbs, highlighted freshly packed farm produce such as leafy lettuce varieties, all-natural home made dressings and pre-packed salads, all introduced to a curious and adventurous market. Soon the simple menu grew to include, authentic Italian dishes and a variety of popular sandwiches.
This continuous growth gave birth to Gourmet"s “Kitchen Exclusives product line”, enabling satisfied customers to bring to their homes Gourmet’s Café’s pioneer dishes, Dressings, sauces and spreads all bottled, using only the finest ingredients, natural oils, herbs and wine vinegar , sold at retail prices. To date Gourmet is one of the most productive organic farms in the country.
In the words of Mr Escaler himself… “call it destiny”, In short …one man's journey paved with sheer determination and passion finally leading to a successful destination…the story of GOURMET.
It all began with coffee…Gourmet Farms Inc., started in 1987 as a roaster of high quality coffee beans and, on a limited scale, and a producer of herbal teas and organically grown vegetables and exotic herbs. It did not take long for GFI to build a small café right on the farm itself to serve as an outlet for its sought after freshly brewed coffee as a showcase for its “fresh produce”. Thereafter, by word of mouth, it enthusiastically drew urban dwellers seeking the farm fresh, all natural dining experience gourmet’s Café not only promised but delivered as well.
Gourmet Farms, Inc. was incorporated in Dec. 1987 as a wholly owned subsidiary of ECI Trading Corp. (ECITC), which is the flagship of a group of companies of owned and operated by Mr. Ernest Escaler . ECITC had the privilege to become one of the top 1,000 corporations in the country. The vision for GFI is to be part of ECI group of companies’ long term plan of making a conscious effort to develop an asset based vehicle which will provide a stable source of profit and continuous growth fro ECI Group. By doing so GFI absorbed the coffee roasting operations of ECI trading and initiated an agricultural pilot project for salad vegetables on three parcels of land in Tagaytay City. During the last quarter that the commercial potential of organically grown salad vegetables became evident. It was in the last quarter of 1989, GFI acquired a two hectare farm site in Lalaan, Silang, Cavite. This was developed to produce organically grown salad, herbs and spices on a commercial scale. The farm then became fully operational by the second quarter of 1990.
Today, GFI continues to deliver to its clients the freshest and finest Gourmet products right at their doorstep, which includes:
1. The finest quality of freshly roasted coffee beans
2. All natural, caffeine free herbal teas
3. Preservative free salad dressings, pasta sauces, spreads and dips
4. Organically grown salad vegetables, herbs and spices
GFI has proven to be one of the premier suppliers to leading supermarket, hotels and restaurants.
Over the years, Gourmet’s has become one of the key destination places in the Southern Luzon area. Patrons of the Farm Tour include schools (local and foreign), tour agencies, tourists (local and foreign), government organizations, and private companies/corporations.
Gourmet’s Farm showcases its organic lettuce/herb farm, coffee roasting facility, Refresher’s Café and deli shop, and processes in producing its popular Kitchen Exclusives and Herbal Tea Lines.The Farm Tour Program is the gateway to a unique company approach, “from the seed to your plate."
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