From beef Wellington with prosciutto and kaldereta demi-glace to mango mulberry sampuita cheese pie, Casa Luisa’s five-course Filipino feast (with meticulous French techniques) are easily worth the drive to Laguna
The pandemic had something to do with Jen Gerodias’s beautiful and homey restaurant in San Pedro, Laguna.
Back in June 2020, she started making naturally cured meats such as tapa and sisig, sans extenders and preservatives (in other words, a cleaner version like red beets for tocino’s natural colouring), and sold them via Instagram and Viber groups. It did really well and helped her earn income in the middle of a nationwide lockdown.
Two months after, she extended her line—by accident. “I had frozen pie dough from a past project as well as some leftover French onion soup. I was trying to think of a way to use up these ingredients to make something for lunch for my kids, and this was when the first Casa Luisa empanada was born,” she recalls. “I posted the first French onion soup empanada on my personal Instagram story and friends and family asked if they could order. From there, it organically grew. At that point, it just made sense to add it to my existing brand.”
In case you missed it: Where to buy the best empanadas and meat pies in Metro Manila
Armed with professional experience, culinary talent and a creative mind, she was able to come up with playful variants for her hand pies such as ham and cheese, and spinach and bacon with the use of her smoked meats. Utilising the same dough, Jen also added bigger savoury and sweet pies to her repertoire, like chicken pastel and the mango sampaguita cheese pie. “We are lucky to be surrounded by fruit trees, which inspires us to create seasonal specials regularly.”
In 2021, when travel restrictions loosened up, she swung open the doors to her family’s heritage home, where she does her baked goods, and perhaps to make up for the years-long absence of her loved ones, decided to host private events for close friends and family.
And soon, as the country opened and people became more comfortable dining out, Casa Luisa got swamped with a ton of inquiries about dining in, especially since the restaurant, which is just minutes away from the metro, makes for an ideal, safe and intimate setting, away from paranoia and the crowd.
See also: 5 beautiful Michelin-starred restaurants by acclaimed designers worldwide
