Hot mommas in the kitchen

Happy Quarantine Mother’s Day to my mother, Carmelita “Baby” Salcedo, my food and travel buddy … and to all mothers out there!!!

Today is for our moms. I would like to greet all mothers today: To my gorgeous mother Carmelita; my Inquirer Business mother Tina Arceo-Dumlao; for the Catholics, a special shout out, too, to Mama Mary since today is the feast day of Our Lady of Peñafrancia; and to mothers of all nationalities, religions and even genders. Thank you for all you do!

Here’s a special shout out to some mothers who have been shining online with their cooking and other gourmet skills:

Happy birthday to Bettina Osmeña, wife of Sen. Sergio “Serge” Osmeña III and founder of Gourmet Corner at the San Antonio Plaza across Sanctuario de San Antonio in Forbes. She just turned 60, even if she just looks 30.

Gourmet Corner is a specialty store that carries products from all over the Philippines. They also now offer cooked meals for takeout such as “callos,” Wagyu “kare-kare,” lamb curry, Thai chicken curry and other specialties. Call 0998-5696849 for reservations.

Another hot momma who has been really impressing everyone with her cooking skills lately on Instagram and who also celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago is Charmaine Lagman. Follow her on Instagram @charmainelagman.

She is known in lifestyle circles for her impeccable fashion sense. Lately, she has been showing her followers how to make pasta, “pandesal” and even “siopao” from scratch.

Another momma I have been stalking on Instagram because of her surprisingly impressive cooking skills, aside from design and ikebana skills, is Nix Alañon. All the meals she posted online look as if they were plated in a chic restaurant—from simple Filipino food to Japanese to Korean to Indian. Sometimes I wish I could order. Follow @nixalanon on Instagram.

Foodies, of course, all know the mom behind the 80 Breakfasts blog, Joey de Larrazabal. She is an absolute online treasure as she whips up her own recipes and shares where to find produce and food products online.

From making cupcakes with her kids to making sukiyaki, she is the ultimate must-follow if you love to cook at home. Follow @chichajo on Instagram and do check out her story highlights tagged “Food Delivery” to find out where to buy chocolate, vegetables, fish, fruits, vacuum-packed meals, frozen food and other “essentials.”

I already mentioned her a couple of weeks ago but I would be remiss to not mention again @priaskitchen. Scroll through her feed to watch her make pear bread, pesto sauce, French apple pie, Thai shrimp and pomelo salad, etc. If you prefer to just eat, she accepts orders, too.

My favorite internatio­nal celebrity mom to watch of late is actress Jennifer Garner with what she calls her “Pretend Cooking Show” on her Instagram. She gets recipes from various cookbooks and demonstrates how to cook these.

It is refreshing to watch her because she makes it look real, with all the struggles of a mom in the kitchen, like how to convert measurements, the waiting time, prepping ingredients overnight. Follow @jennifer.garner on Instagram or look for the hashtag #pretendcookingshow so you can watch Jen make pizza, English muffins and chocolate sheet cake.

Garner’s inspiration is the iconic Ina Garten who continues to inspire with her cooking while making it relatable and even attainable even for those who can’t really cook. From simple roast chicken to potato gratin, she’s got you covered.

She also shares recipes from other celebrities. Recently, she shared a recipe for roasted potatoes from actress Emily Blunt.

I hope you have somehow improved your cooking skills while in quarantine. Maybe this virus is Mother Nature’s way of grounding all of us to force us to reeducate ourselves in home economics.

Or perhaps it is also God’s way of making our dear Mother Nature heal. I hope she comes out of this refreshed, recharged and ready to embrace us all again. In the meantime, enjoy all the pretend cooking shows. Happy Mother’s Day! INQ

More from the author at margauxlicious.com. Follow @margauxsalcedo on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.