Dr. Augusto S. Besa, Dad to Binky, Wee, Tris & Amy Besa
My Dad passed away in Oct 1995 several months after Romy and I opened Cendrillon in SoHo, NYC. It was sad that he never got to see Cendrillon as he loved food and loved to eat. He was also my unstinting fan as I tried to cook and bake when I was a teen-ager at home in Manila. Even though the cakes I baked turned out to be hard as bricks, he would manfully chew and swallow them and say, “Very good!” so that I would not be discouraged and continue to do what I loved to do in life. His parenting style and skills were not as elaborate or labor intensive as the ones I see today as present day couples raise their kids, but it only needs simple, heartfelt gestures like that from a parent to communicate to a child how much he or she cared for you. And that was enough to send me out in the world willing to be an adult and face the challenges of a sometimes cruel world.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you so much for sharing this story, Tita Amy. Lolo was such a good man and it warms my heart to hear what kind of father he was.
Nice picture of Dad. You look like him.
He would have loved your restaurant.
happy daddy day.
j
Thanks John, that’s a real compliment!
Yes, Emily which is why you have a good Dad, too.
So true, so true!! Weren’t they brothers just the best in the world? I felt very close to T. Tits and T. Lilit. He did my back surgery a million years ago!
love to all, Nini
Hi Amy,
I was your classmate at UP under Mr. Casambre’s speech class together with Francie Castaneda and Bethel Diokno. I was planning to visit your Cendrillon restaurant but did not get the chance to do so. I heard your interview on Splendid Table. I hope to visit your new restaurant when I am in the area…
I remember your stories about your Dad when we went to summer school in Baguio…I knew then how much you honor and love him.. I also remember tasting your apple pie when we were living at Kamia Residence Hall..it was soooo good. Never thought then that you love cooking and everything about food.. Good luck with your Purple Yam restaurant. My niece told me about it..
Hi Sonia, of course I remember you. Hope you are fine and maybe we can see each other again at PY!
Hi Amy,
Definitely… I was wondering if your chef Perry Mamaril is from Aringay, La Union.. Would be nice to meet him when we go see you at PY. As you know, a half of me is Ilocano and I love those Ilocano dishes, I grew up with. The other half is Bicol and I hope you have that in your menu..
Looking forward to seeing you soon. Will call you first because, I have a big family coming along…
I once met a girl named Dinky (Binky?) Besa, who was a cousin of my best Linda Peckson Petersen, who now lives in South France. Would you be related to this family? I do so enjoy reading about your restaurant and often post the link on my Facebook account. Proud of Pinoy food making it in New York!