Church worker shapes Filipino healthy lifestyle’s future
By Armon Perez Tolentino
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An Adventist started the first vegetarian, fine dining restaurant chain in the Philippines at 213 Tuyugan Street, Del Pilar, San Fernando, Pampanga, adding vive to the growing national media attention given to Seventh-day Adventist diet.
Bong Guevara, the leader of the Guevarra Entrepreneurs Center located in Central Luzon, Philippines, spearheaded the opening of Nature’s Bounty Vege Cafe which shall be a tool in serving and educating more especially urban-class people.
“We are not commissioned to feed the world, but we are instructed to educate people,” Guevarra quoted one of his favorite writers, Ellen G. White.
Explaining more about his conviction, Guevarra, also the Publishing director for the Adventist Church in Central Luzon, said that the concept of the restaurant focuses on ‘eating right’ and ‘cooking smart.’
“Nature’s Bounty Vege Cafe will serve vegetarian dishes and sell health foods,” Guevarra said. “We will also give seminars, lectures, cooking demonstrations and workshops in health topics.”
The educational concept attracted franchisers that even before the inauguration, four branches are already in the line up—Dasmariñas, Cavite; Binagonan, Rizal; Sta. Rosa, Laguna; and Tagaytay City. These places are urbanized areas where classes A and B citizens reside.
“The facilities are designed to be of such high quality that men of wealth who have responsible places in the country might be influenced [of the Adventist way of life] so that they may lend their powers and means to help others,” Guevarra said.
As a family dream, the restaurant started with the desire for the health reform to be achieved through following the city evangelism program set in the pioneering days of the Adventist church. As early as 1900 in San Francisco, California, the Adventist Church established what were called hygienic restaurants which consisted of food stores and treatment rooms.
According to the president of the Adventist church’s administrative region for Central Luzon, Carmelito U. Galang, Jr., much public interest on Adventist diet has heightened due to media exposures and Nature Bounty Vege Cafe shapes the future of healthful foods for Filipinos.
“We are ready to offer the healthy lifestyle Filipinos are looking for,” said Galang. “By God’s grace, there will be branches all over the country to educate everyone.”
Meanwhile, Amelia Soriano, the Adventist Layman Services and Industries (ASI) director for the Central Luzon administrative region, told that the big, national network of restaurants would be for sure as ASI members have seen the great promise and purpose of the business.
According to Guevarra, “As stewards of the blessings of God, we hope to be able to take full benefit of this facility for the progress of God’s work and the benefit of mankind.”
Health Director Richard Mendoza said that the cafe is a big milestone achieved; surpassing many attempts of the past to have a wide vision that is intended to lessen the suffering happening in the world through healthy diet.
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