Louie’s Dishes: My Mother’s Best Homemade Meals

My mother, Eloisa Espiritu, otherwise known as “Louie”, built her own catering business from the talent of her two hands. Technically, four or six hands if you count the occasional times my sister and I are recruited to help her. Nonetheless, her business, “Louie’s Dishes”,  came to life in the kitchen of my childhood home when my mom decided to put her own twist on the viral “Sushi Bake” recipe that was taking over the Internet at the time. It’s important to note that ever since I was young, I’ve had the pleasure of tasting and appreciating the variety of dishes my mom had a knack for reinventing. From Sushi Bake to Japanese Kani Salad to Chicken Francese, my mom takes dishes from other cultures and swaps or adds ingredients to create unique flavor profiles representing influences of Filipino culture and her personal style and skill as a self-taught cook. These flavors are the basis of the creativity and innovation that her business brings to customers’ plates, and the amount of customers has only grown as a result.

My mom manages a polished, digital archive of the progression of “Louie’s Dishes” on multiple social media platforms. Every week, she announces a menu of dishes that she will be cooking and customers place their orders accordingly, but it doesn’t stop there. My mom individually packages each serving with a “Louie’s Dishes” sticker and neatly writes the customer’s name across the label. She even drives over a hundred miles to hand deliver orders to customers who live out of state. With this level of demand, if I’m lucky, there will be enough for me to try as well! My personal favorites from my mom’s repertoire are Bagoong Rice, Binalot Sa Dahon, Inihaw na Liempo, Chicken Inasal, and her larger-than-life custom charcuterie spreads. These reflect a blend of classic Filipino dishes and reimagined recipes from other cultures, enriching my cross-cultural understanding and appreciation of both my own and other cultures through food.

Before her business took off, I was a little girl who learned the core values of my Filipino culture through my mom’s cooking. The most nostalgic dishes for me are not so picture perfect and mostly dishes my mom doesn’t put up for sale. Whenever I’m sick or when the weather starts getting colder, I request Sopas, a richer version of Chicken Noodle Soup that has a cream base instead of purely broth. I crave a classic Filipino breakfast quite often, so I ask my mom to make Beef Tapa, which is skirt steak with a special marinade served with garlic fried rice and a sunny-side-up egg. My mom always goes the extra mile with that dish by adding pickled papaya, called Atchara, on the side. I know that if my mom sold these they would instantly be a hit, but a selfish part of me is satisfied with keeping them to myself for now.

Although I can’t say I inherited the same level of expertise when it comes to cooking, I can confidently say I greatly admire her unwavering creative spirit and overwhelming generosity in serving others through her passion for cooking. This is the secret, intangible ingredient permeating through all of my mom’s recipes and dishes that can’t be quantified or imitated. As a proud daughter, I cheer her on from the sidelines, moved to see the cultural dishes I cherished growing up reach wider audiences, and watch my mom receive the recognition she deserves.