MANILA -- Five Pinoy food vloggers Ellaine Bernardo; Ran Uy Mamangun aka Ran Got Away; Naomi Peña; Jayzar Recinto and their leader Manuel Olazo recently formed a group, calling themselves Team Patakam.
In an exclusive face-to-face interview, the five said they didn't expect to become successful.
Pena started as a bit player or “extra” for Kapamilya teleseryes and got her biggest showbiz break as one of the 26K Girls during the third season of the hit game show “Kapamilya Deal or No Deal”.
“Dati pa talaga gusto ko maging artista, gusto ko sa showbiz. Ito (food vlogging) na siguro ang naging way para makilala ako. Sinasabi ko talaga kapag hindi masarap ang kinakain ko kaya madalas naba-bash ako. Ganun talaga,” she said
Mamangun is a professional seaman whose early contents in his YouTube channel cover his day-to-day activities at sea.
“Nanghinayang ako kasi kapag wala ako sa barko, ano ilalagay ko na content. Kaya naisip ko mag food vlog mahilig kasi talaga ako kumain”he said.
Recinto, meanwhile, is a proud Batangueño who started vlogging about the local popular dishes of his beloved province. Netizens eventually noticed his unique way of presenting his online stories.
“Lumalabas po talaga ang puntong Batangueño ko kapag gumagawa ng content. Marami lalo ang natatakam kapag pini-feature ko ang masasarap na bulalo, goto at kung ano ano pa sa amin” he said.
Bernardo started as a flight attendant and a commercial model. Makeup tutorials and tips were among her first interests as a vlogger but soon she discovered a bigger audience as a food vlogger.
“Gusto ko 'yung mas malaking market na walang age at gender na pinipili kaya food ang naisip ko. Kapag nasa Quiapo talaga ang location ko sa video for sure hit po 'yan kasi andami talaga naghahanap ng masarap at mura na kakainan doon,” she said.
Olazo, the leader of Team Patakam, is an established hotelier who resigned and opted to start his career as a food vlogger. He got his first hit content with his “two-peso lugaw” that news networks picked up.
“Nakakatuwa kasi sa ganito propesyon busy ka nga pero hawak mo oras mo at nag-e-enjoy ka. 'Di mo nararandaman na trabaho kasi masaya,” he said.
Team Patakam revealed plans of going provincial to taste and promote regional dishes and perhaps even out of the country for international contents.