(First of two parts)
Do you know that the city of Malabon has a most unlikely foodie-influencer? No, not the First Lady of Malabon Melissa Oreta, a respected chef who is also the number one champion of the city’s culinary offerings.
The budding influencer, who now has more than 100,000 followers on Facebook, and whose videos have gathered more than a million views, is no less than the mayor himself, Antolin “Lenlen” Oreta III.
“I’ve always loved eating. Before I married my wife, I used to eat crispy pata every week in Judy Ann’s. But now Melissa cooks healthy food daily, but I still get to enjoy what Malabon has to offer by visiting unlikely establishments and introducing them to my Facebook followers,” Mayor Oreta said.
For his first video, Mayor Oreta visited a hole-in-the-wall establishment that serves chicken and pancakes called Chitis. His staff wondered if the mayor would be comfortable to introduce the restaurant via a live video feed but also decided to record as well.
Even without a script, the mayor’s spiel was lively and engaging, and his constituents were quick to support the video with comments and likes.
“I did this to promote places that serve really delicious food! I encourage people to go out of their way to visit the restaurant.”
The best part?
“The restaurants I visited actually report to us saying their sales spiked! People would visit the restos and order the same food I ordered and then they also end up trying out other items. It’s funny, some of them actually thought I own these places, but really, I just like to eat!”
Another surprising outcome? Many of the restaurants operating in the city feel encouraged to have their businesses registered. “Admittedly, some businesses like restaurants operate without a business permit, but when we started doing these surprise videos, many really go out of their way to have their establishment registered, which is a big help to the city.”
(To be continued)
