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Growing up on his grandparents’ small farm in the Philippines province of Batangas, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Technical Specialist Adrian “Ady” Redondo learned that hard work is a great motivator.
“My father was away working in Saudi Arabia and my mother worked as a midwife, so my three sisters and I spent our childhood helping our grandparents raise chickens and grow rice and corn. I learned that life is hard, and you don’t get to eat if you don’t sweat,” Redondo said. “But my grandparents also encouraged me to do well in school and be successful for them because they had to work on the farm with their parents to make ends meet instead of getting an education.”
At his elementary school, lessons about a Batangueño hero added inspiration to Redondo’s interest in science.
María Y. Orosa was from the same hometown as Redondo’s mother and was considered the Philippine’s first female scientist. She invented the palayok oven to help families bake without access to electricity and developed recipes for local produce, including a banana ketchup formulation that became a favorite Filipino condiment and cooking ingredient. Orosa also used her knowledge of food technology to help save prisoners in World War II by inventing soyalac, a protein-rich powder from local ingredients, that she smuggled into the prison camps. Then, tragically, Orosa was killed in an Allied bombing raid.
At home, Redondo had started cooking rice and eggs by the age of seven and his interest in food and the sciences grew. He was valedictorian of his elementary school class and salutatorian of his high school class. Once again, his grandparents were the catalyst for his next chapter.
“My grandparents always talked with respect about someone who graduated in agriculture from the University of the Philippines in the city of Los Baños, an area also known for its hot springs resorts” Redondo said. “That is where they wanted us to go. When I found that the university offered a degree in Food Science and Technology, I knew I had to pass the tough exams and get in the program.”
Part of Redondo’s university studies included collaborative work with Nestlé Philippines, Inc. The company was looking for ways to develop coffee and coffee mixes that aligned the most sensory appeal for Filipino consumers with its international standards. As a student and during an internship at Nestlé, Redondo helped develop “3-in-1” flavored coffee mixes that were launched commercially to Philippine consumers under the Nescafé brand. Find more...
Source: Online/SZK
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