Eat's showtime

“I just enjoy this (vlogging) because it's like wearing different masks for me. I can do it. At the same time, I go through different battles. You need stability in your [corporate] job, while in your vlog, you need creativity.”

THE pandemic allowed a number of people to embark into something productive and new, most likely just in the confines of their home.

Some did it briefly, but others became successful when they made a career or venture out of a hobby meant to ease cabin sickness.

IT (information technology) manager Kevin Michael Garcia started vlogging with his Eat's a Small World at the beginning of the pandemic.

“I was super bored when the lockdown started in 2020,” Garcia told The Manila Times. “Since 2016, I have been blogging. I just decided to document everything through video by 2020. I had so much time. Then the vlog inspired me to continue.

“You could do very few things at the start of the pandemic. You wanted to eat, watch TV and bond with your family. I think that became the key to feature a lot of food vendors.”

He started ordering simple food preparations online and vlogged about it in his house. When the vlog post came out, his neighbors were the first ones to order what they saw on his vlog.

“What happens after I feature a certain vendor, I will get messages that a lot ordered from them,” Garcia said. “That was where I got fulfillment.”

He started with the coffee shop that former Manila mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso endorsed at the LRT Central Station in Arroceros, which he turned into something like “Greenbelt.”

“That was my first vlog, coffee,” Garcia proudly said.

Four years after he started vlogging, Garcia does not treat his vlogs as business. He has yet to go full time as a vlogger, since he is still preoccupied with his corporate work.

“I just enjoy this (vlogging) because it's like wearing different masks for me. I can do it,” Garcia explained. “At the same time, I go through different battles. You need stability in your [corporate] job, while in your vlog, you need creativity.”

One year later, because of consistency, Garcia's vlog thrived in the pandemic.

“The people were always looking for something new to eat. They were always hungry. They want to know where they can buy food online.”

There are vlogs that didn't attract as many viewers, while there were those that amassed as many as 15 million in just one video upload.

“Like when I vlogged the halo-halo in Bebang in Mandaluyong City,” Garcia shared.

“They allowed me to enter the store [in Wack Wack] and showed me how the halo-halo was being prepared. I even saw the operations.

“The owner told me no non-personnel had entered their store before. I was the only one they trusted. I got to shoot how they really prepared the halo-halo. The long table was really filled with around 500 cups that they assembled. The whole place was very clean.”

Garcia's goal is to help the business prosper.

“In the restaurant, I present the food that they cook, entice the viewers and make them cringe with envy as I eat and enjoy. They might be convinced to also buy. I don't serve anyone.”

Undoubtedly, Garcia enjoys food vlogging tremendously. “It's like wearing different masks,” he said. “At the same time, it's like getting into a different battle every time. Stability of your work is important, in my vlog, it's creativity.”

Three hours before he starts working at night, Garcia makes it a point to vlog in the afternoon. After work, he manages to vlog again, then he goes straight to the office early in the evening.

Surprisingly, Garcia is not really too adventurous to try anything outside. But he ate everything exotic, like frogs, crocodiles, snakes and fried crickets.

“In Sta. Maria, Bulacan, there's a place there that sells all those exotic foods, like in Vietnam or Thailand,” Garcia shared. “Crocodile meat is a bit hard to chew, but healthy and medicinal.”

He explores anything about food.

“Of course, I always look for the bestseller. I always look for that. I have this certain mood where I do the opposite. I look for the least popular product. After I tried it, I will just convince myself the reason it became such.

“Sometimes, I discover really good food outside. That gives me more inspiration to vlog. If that product registered strong sales for a particular product, the more I can measure when the owner will message me and tell me the good news.”

Most memorable for him is this steak house in C. Raymundo in Pasig.

“There's this affordable restaurant that serves really good steak,” he shared.

“They don't use imported meat, though. The price of their steak starts from only P350.

“But when they transferred to Kapitolyo, their sales dropped. I guess the place was not too accessible and traffic was bad. But STK remains successful. They simply transferred to Kapitolyo.”

There was also this bakery in Pasig called Panaderia Dimas-alang. “I found out it's the oldest bakery in the Philippines,” Garcia informed.

“They bonete, di ko inakala, pan de regla — all bread. The one that became a bestseller in my features was the giant brazo de Mercedes.”

Garcia also features high-end and “pricey” dining and posh places. He has covered Solaire, Sofitel and Okada restaurants. He also balances it with very affordable places in the nook and cranny of Manila (Balut, Tondo, Divisoria, Binondo, Banaue).

“So, I touched every group,” Garcia said.

“I also bring along friends to validate the taste of the food. We really discussed it. I get their pulse and opinion.

“I mimic the life of a normal citizen, so I also get to experience their problems and travails. The service, how slow or fast. When they know there's a food vlogger, they make the dishes taste really good.

“Sometimes, they even waive the bill. I hate that when it happens because I get indebted to them just for the food. I am forced to give a good review. I had that several times. What happens is that restaurant owners follow up when the vlog comes out.”

It is to Garcia's advantage that he is not a full-time vlogger.

“You don't go after the money,” he reasoned out. “You don't go after the freebies. You don't go after the restaurants. You can say no.”

To date, Garcia has graced a number of TV shows that featured and interviewed him. He has guested on GMA 7's daily morning show, “Unang Hirit.”

“We shot in Antipolo where my call time was 3 a.m.,” Garcia recalled. “It was live on the morning show. I presented and demonstrated how to eat the food.

He was also in “Eat, Bulaga!” where he joined “Pinoy Henyo.” Moreover, he got star-struck after he saw Carmina Villaruel in “Sarap, Di Ba?,” where he judged what they cooked.”

Garcia guested on the defunct CNN Philippines and was interviewed by “The Final Word” anchor Rico Hizon. Hizon also joined him in vlogging an eatery in Taguig, where the Cagayan food, pancit batil patung, was served. “It was so easy to feed him and he enjoyed what we ate.”

In future episodes, Garcia expresses his desire to guest actress Ivana Alawi and collaborate with her.

“I always wanted to collaborate with vloggers because we belong to the same space,” Garcia said. “But I also want to feature celebrities. It's my dream to see Ivana and share the dining table with her.”

Surprisingly, Garcia, who admittedly doesn't know how to cook, manages to present his food on video. I'm always around to eat what was presented, enjoy the food, make the viewers green with envy and eventually make them order and buy.

“I always want to introduce a new eating place, help the business to sell. Video bolsters my mood to try anything new. I'm more daring. If there's no video, I can say no. I can give way to invitations I want to attend. I can say no to others, especially at night.”

After he started vlogging, Garcia subsequently learned the important details he needed to do. “You can learn everything, from editing, camera angles, direction, storytelling, scriptwriting, technical, post-editing,” Garcia shared.

“You can touch on any aspect that concerns your vlog, even SEO (search engine optimization). You need to come out on Facebook and Google, so more people can see you.”

He terms his exposure as “friendly competition” as far as other vloggers are concerned.

The advantage of being a vlogger is freedom.

“No one dictates what I need to post,” he said. “No filters, no censors.

“The disadvantage is that when you extend your freedom, you can be canceled by society. You get more prone to bashing. At first, I found bashing seriously hurting. Everything you worked for, they simply threw it aside.

“Somebody previously created a meme and called me autistic. I'm a jolly person, so in the videos, when they extend to the accepted level of being jolly, they call me that (autistic).

“My friends and those who know me got mad at me. That validated how I felt that I was also hurt. But I've gotten over that. Today, I simply laughed it off. I no longer take that seriously. It hits your mental facility. To think that I worked hard for everything I did.”

* * *

QUICK QUESTIONS

What is your biggest fear?

To lose my family.

What really makes you angry?

When there's fake news circulating around and people support it, although I have not been a victim. Thank God. It has been a long time since I really got angry. I just know how to control myself.

What motivates you to work hard?

My goal and motivation is to really get recognition in the food industry and for my vlog.

What makes you laugh the most?

Funny videos online. Cute pets doing funny things.

What would you do if you won the lotto?

Start a business. Still food, because I already know what will click with the public. I also want to diversify, but the majority is still food.

If you could share a meal with any individual living or dead, who would he/she be?

Michael Jackson. My mom, and I like him. Especially after he died [in 2009]. I was only 18. His biggest hits were revived. His records went trending. I didn't get to really admire him when he was still around. There were so many allegations after he died. I want to know the truth. I want to get insights.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Businessman. Become senior management in our IT company, if I'll be given a chance.

What celebrity would you like to meet for a cup of coffee?

Netflix food presenter Phil Rosenthal. We share the same passion.

What is the most daring thing you have ever done?

Sing and dance in front of many people.

What is the one thing you will never do again?

Eat like there's no tomorrow. Eat without limit. I was very slim before. But I was in every Samgyupsal around or anything unli (unlimited) offers. I gained weight. That was gluttony. I don't want that to happen again.