By- Ricky Laxa/ Staff Writer
Cecilia Alvarez, a Filipina household helper, working for her employers for 25 years published a recipe cook book sponsored by her employer. A 59 pages cook book containing international recipes she personally collected with her employers hope to inspire other household helpers to appreciate kind and generous sponsors and employers to return the favor by treating their workers as household family members.
“I came to Kuwait under a household helper’s visa sponsored by my employer Nabil Awad in November of 1997. They were my first employers in Kuwait 25 years ago and never thought of transferring to others” stated Alvarez. Kind, generous, caring and good hearted are qualities Alvarez described her employers when asked why she opted to stay and work for the family. A native of Dipolog City Philippines with four children Alvarez initially worked for Japanese Couples and Filipino as house helper prior to her employment in Kuwait. She described her experiences as difficult and tough which is an exact opposite of her present job conditions. “I have travelled with my employers to different places such as Lebanon, Cyprus, Thailand and Syria and vice versa they have toured Philippines on several occasions both for hiring workers for the company and leisure” added Alvarez.
The Cook Book with Alvarez’s face profile and her name. Forty seven recipes handpicked and personally cooked by Alvarez contain the whole cook book. “I started collecting them from five years back with the help of my employers. They urged me to itemized details and finally published the book. It’s not currently on sale at any books stores but given out to personal friends initially. We hope that the book will make it to the stands sooner” added Alvarez. All recipes have been cooked and prepared by Alvarez personally and handpicked the best among her products to include in her book. Alvarez admitted that she never had formal culinary education but experience taught her to develop recipes she picked up from different sources. “I took a cooking lifestyle course for Thai cuisine in one of the Kuwait’s Thai restaurant which offered brief course and the experience somehow boosted by self-confidence to try other international dishes with twists and they came out savory and delicious” explained Alvarez.
Opening a restaurant of her own in the future is her goal when she retires, a restaurant that will serve her dishes based from her own recipes. “Having this cook book is a testimony of an ideal relationship between good employers and hardworking household helpers. I thank Mr. Nabil and Mrs. Sahar for this life changing experience and for not once treated me a subordinate but a true family member and I am forever grateful for these 25 years that I had the chance to send my children to universities and finished their education. My only advice to other household helpers to be always grateful for the kindness shown by employers and not abuse, they can always help you in difficult times. And to the employers, to treat their household helpers as essential member of the family and treat them fairly with kindness and compassion” ended Alvarez.
Alvarez will be presenting her book to the Philippine Ambassador and other officials in the coming month and scheduled to be featured on Philippine television. She hopes that with her story she can inspire both workers and employers to work together harmoniously paired with appreciation and compassion.
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