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We believe that anything Chef Tatung Sarthou touches turns into gold.
How do you sell 5000 copies of printed books in less than 12 hours?
In a country where everyone is heavily reliant on social media, only a handful of people can surpass this amazing feat. And Chef Tatung Sarthou does this impressively with a simple idea in mind: to make cooking simple for Filipinos wherever you are in the world.
If there would be one thing that we'd like to have this 2020, it's SIMPOL The Cookbook. And here are our Top 5 reasons why SIMPOL The Cookbook is pure genius:
Reason #1: Three words - Chef. Tatung. Sarthou.
A celebrity in the culinary world, successful restaurateur and award-winning cookbook author who calls himself "the accidental chef" was only one of two Manila-based chefs to speak at one renowned gastronomy congress Madrid Fusion Manila. His authenticity and fun-loving attitude in rediscovering Philippine cuisine has led him to tap on a wider audience whether in print, television and digital.
Reason #2: The book's concept is a formula for success.
Recipe books were usually written with a list of ingredients and instructions, but people would still have a difficult time following it especially when they lack the right skills and equipment in the kitchen. Chef Tatung made a simplified step-by-step format to help even those who never lit a stove their whole life.
It pushes the boundaries to tap non-traditional readers, using QR codes for every recipe which leads you to watch the recipe that you wanted to learn. The book has more than 100 recipes, so come to think of it, they produced for every recipe not including all those testing and tasting....AND THAT IS JUST AMAZING.
Reason #3: We still think this book was launched in great timing.
2019 should have been the year for SIMPOL The Cookbook's launch in celebration of having 1 million followers on their Simpol Facebook, but the plan didn't push through after they've been attacked online by hackers.
2020 was no better because of COVID-19, but when the lockdown happened, more people were spending more time in their kitchens and there was more demand for learning. Chef Tatung's videos were already going viral which led him to acquire book sales faster than any living Filipino chef.
Reason #4: Recipes are inspired from both Filipino classics and global cuisines.
All the recipes were mostly Chef Tatung's favorite dishes and all of which are easy everyday dishes for the simple palate and even when trying to make his globally-inspired dishes, most of it can be made with ingredients that are readily available in your local grocery.
Reason #5: It reconnect us to our Filipino roots.
The book is a perfect resource to explore, appreciate and preserve our local and regional cuisines, which had been Chef Tatung's goal since he started working on his books and his shows. This powerful merger of old and new is what we loved the most about SIMPOL The Cookbook, and is also what inspired us to create ManilaStreats as well.
As of writing, SIMPOL The Cookbook already released another 5000 copies and continues to sell successfully online. Click here or here to order. You can also subscribe on Simpol Simpol Channel YouTube, or follow Simpol on Facebook and Simpol on Instagram.