Category Archives: Celebrations

A BLISSFUL SUMMER CELEBRATION WITH POTTERY BARN AND HAPPY ONGPAUCO-TIU 

#celebratingmilestones

Pottery Barn and Happy Concept Group founder Happy Ongpauco-Tiu, in partnership with food preparation and storage brand GLAD Philippines, recently held a gathering of guests and good friends at Rustan’s Makati to unveil the Spring/Summer 2019 Collections of Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and West Elm, and celebrate Happy’s 20th year in the food industry.

Chef and known restaurateur Happy Ongpauco-Tiu was practically born into the food industry, but upon getting her Culinary Arts degree at Culinary Institute of America, Happy knew she’d want to make it on her own. At 23, she opened a 20-seater hole-in-the-wall called World Topps using just her credit card. And everything just fell into place.

Twenty years after, Happy’s growing food empire consists of dining concepts like Pamana, Hawaiian BBQ, World Topps, Tsokolateria, Bento Box, as well as a bespoke Private Dining service, which caters to a very discerning clientele. But having her own ventures doesn’t mean she’s is turning her back on her family’s legacy. She still helps with Barrio Fiesta and carries with her its culinary DNA of serving “staple yet timeless” food.

“Whenever I start a new venture, it has to be a staple concept with a staple dish. I want my restaurants to be timeless and serve quality food that people will crave for. No need for big advertisements or expensive marketing strategies, just good staple food that people come back for. That’s how I do my businesses,” Happy shared. “I’m just really passionate about serving good food and making people happy.”

Delightful partnerships

And it is Happy’s passion to create happy moments for her clients and the people she holds dear that led to her partnership with Pottery Barn, GLAD Philippines and Rustan’s to celebrate her 20th anniversary in the food business. After all, these brands share the same values in dining and entertaining: infusing quality and comfort to any celebration with lovingly and meticulously crafted products that are, as Happy said, “staple and timeless.”

Guests at the event were served scrumptious canapés from Happy Concept Group and were treated to a live demonstration by Happy herself on how to make a table spread—an inspiration for those who love hosting intimate dinings at home. Music was care of DJ Migs Santillan.

Furniture pieces and décor from Rustan’s Home and Pottery Barn’s Spring/Summer ‘19 Collection, as well as Pottery Barn’s sister companies, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm, were displayed for selling during the event. Shopping proceeds of the day’s sale went to Happy’s chosen charity, MOVE.Org Foundation Inc.

GLAD Philippines, on the other hand, took part in Happy’s milestone—from food preparation to presentation with its array of premium foils, wraps, and bags—by minimizing the mess so there’s more time spent with family and friends and letting the love of the celebration live on. “For me, Glad is part of every celebration,” she shared, “from cooking down to bringing it home.”

In the Philippines, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and West Elm are exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc. Pottery Barn is located at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, at the 4^th Level of Rustan’s Makati, at the 3^rd Level of Rustan’s Shangri-La, and at Estancia in Capitol Commons. Pottery Barn Kids is located at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, at the 3^rd Level of Rustan’s  Shangri-La, and at Estancia in Capitol Commons. West Elm is located at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, at the 4^th Level of Rustan’s Makati, at the 3^rd Level of Rustan’s Tower in Shangri-La, and at Estancia in Capitol Commons.