11 Facts About Engracia Cruz-Reyes

Engracia Cruz-Reyes was a Filipino chef and entrepreneur.

Engracia Cruz-Reyes was an active promoter of Filipino cuisine, especially through the restaurant chain she founded, The Aristocrat Restaurant.

Engracia Cruz-Reyes was born to a poor family in Navotas in April 16,1892.

Engracia Cruz-Reyes's mother was a street peddler who sold food sauces and fruits, and who later managed a small neighborhood eatery popularly known in the Philippines as carinderias.

Engracia Cruz-Reyes developed her cooking skills at a young age, having to prepare the meals for her five younger siblings while her parents were out working for a living.

Engracia Cruz-Reyes was able to complete only four years of primary education.

Engracia Cruz-Reyes named her eatery Lapu-Lapu, adopted a native motif as interior decor, and served primarily Filipino fare.

The popularity of Aristocrat helped usher a renewed popularity of Filipino cuisine as worthy "first-class" fare, a reputation Engracia Cruz-Reyes enhanced by her insistence of serving such dishes in the dinners she was often called to cater at Malacanan Palace.

Engracia Cruz-Reyes is acknowledged as a pioneer in the Philippine food and restaurant industry.

Engracia Cruz-Reyes's clan has remained active in the food industry, not only through The Aristocrat Restaurant, but in the manufacture of mass-market processed food products.

Engracia Cruz-Reyes was active in the cause of women's suffrage until Filipino women were granted the right to vote in 1937.