Christmas with the CDO family

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CDO’s Holiday Ham

CDO’s Danes Queso de Bola

CDO, one of the country’s biggest processed food companies, celebrated its 50th anniversary at Bonifacio Global City’s Manila House, with the second and third generations of the founding Ong family.

The spread, of course, included CDO’s Holiday Ham, consistently ranked among the best supermarket hams in the country, and their Danes Queso de Bola. Manila House’s menu included Holiday Ham and Pineapple Skewers with Honey Mustard Glaze, Danes Queso de Bola Truffle Croquettes, and Holiday Ham and Queso de Bola Breakfast pan de sal for the Nov. 27 lunch.

Tapping into tradition with the familiar centerpieces of ham and cheese on the Christmas Eve table, they also sought the help of fashion blogger Laureen Uy to discuss tips on table settings, with Ms. Uy using layered textures and linens to add depth, mixing warm neutrals with metallic accents for a festive palette, and adding touches like handwritten place cards and fresh herbs.

Actor and chef Marvin Agustin, meanwhile, said that CDO hams shaped his childhood, because his mother used to sell CDO products — he even served as his mom’s delivery boy. For the lunch, he used the Holiday Ham and the Danes Queso de Bola to make a charcuterie board, placing them at the center. “The rest would be to accessorize, para maganda, para masarap,” he said during a presentation. He used a saucer in the middle of the board to create visual appeal and raise the ham above the board, then added dried mangoes, nuts, and herbs to surround it. “Always consider the colors, and the texture,” he said about assembling a holiday charcuterie board.

After lunch, Bernice Jalgalado, CDO Foodsphere, Inc.’s vice-president for marketing, talked about the popularity of their Holiday Ham. “With Holiday Ham, I’m never nervous when people would try different brands. I’m really confident because we know also the quality we’re giving.”

The secret is using 100% meat, and any proposed alternatives and reformulations are shot down — it is, after all, the recipe of their founder, dietitian Corazon Dayro-Ong (those are her initials in the brand name). From starting with Mrs. Ong’s original pork recipes in 1975, they’ve since expanded: CDO is the flagship brand under the wider CDO Foodsphere, Inc. portfolio, which includes San Marino Corned Tuna and Highlands beef products. “The answer there has always been no,” she said, referring to reformulations. “We want to make sure that the quality we give is consistent, and making Filipinos happy, and they deserve it.”

As for where and how they source their pigs, she said, “It’s a secret of our purchasing team,” she said.

Ms. Jalgalado discussed the possibility of going into plant-based foods, as many of their competitors have done, offering alternatives to their canned meat and processed food variants. “We’ve been studying it. We know that it’s a trend. The question there is how do we make it affordable, delicious, and how we can continue to delight our Filipino consumers?” she said.

As for new launches, she said, “Filipinos are becoming more experimental when it comes to whatever dish they prepare at home. We’ll make sure that we’d be first in the market to be able to cater to what Filipinos want.”

CHRISTMAS AT LOLA’S
A member of the Ong family’s third generation, Janna Ong-Santos, the company’s marketing manager, told stories about how their family celebrates Christmas. “We actually do Christmas Eve dinner at our home. We invite everyone, my mom’s side and my dad’s side.”

“We eat dinner, and then go to evening mass. We all go back to the house. Light snacks: Holiday Ham and QdB, of course. And then we open gifts.” The spread includes the aforementioned ham, their Danes Queso de Bola, pan de sal, and hot chocolate.

“What we do is just fry it for a few minutes, and then we top it with pineapple glaze,” she said about how the family enjoys their own ham.

Still family-owned and operated, Ms. Ong-Santos talked about the advantage of keeping the business within the family for the last 50 years. “You can mix business with fun, or family,” she said. “It’s easy for us to discuss ideas, plans.”

“I find that it’s easy for us to just be honest with what’s happening in the business,” she added. “We’re all involved in the business, and it’s good that I always see them in the office.

“It’s a good way to bond with the family.” — Joseph L. Garcia