From child star to chefreneur of Orange Whisk

MANILA, Philippines – Korinne Lirio’s business no longer involves klieg lights, tapings, and contracts with one of the country’s largest television networks.

Lirio, a former child actress, now dons the hat of pastry chef and owner.

She creates breads and desserts while her business partner and fiancé, chef Isaiah Ortega, takes charge of the main courses.

She and Ortega run a restaurant and patisserie called Orange Whisk, which has two branches in Parañaque, amid the flourishing food service market south of Manila.

Finding passion

Orange Whisk was not their original idea though.

They had wanted to put up a simple diner that offers fried pork – and name it “Oink Oink” – but re-conceptualized it to cater to the demographics of their community.

When it comes to last-minute or life-changing choices, even false starts and challenges, Lirio has had sufficient practice.

She found happiness in something she believed she was good at.

Her parents, friends, co-actors, and directors noticed, and FAMAS (Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences) gave her a best child actress nomination for a role in Star Cinema’s Puso ng Pasko (1998).

On the flip side, she had to deal with emotional pressure from show business up to her teens.

“My charisma faded, I stopped growing taller, I couldn’t give up my eating habits, and I started to lose focus,” she said.

She quit the entertainment industry, went on to complete a communication arts degree at De La Salle University, and eventually landed a job at an information company.

Her second job was a short stint at a search engine optimization firm because, one day on her way to work, she realized she wanted to put up a coffee shop. Baking had become a hobby by then.

“I would make stuff at home and bring them to the office the next day. I realized how happy I was to do it, and how happy my colleagues were upon tasting my creations. I thought to myself, ‘This is it. This is what I want to do.’”

Pursuing excellence

Lirio took a course in Baking and Pastry Arts at Global Academy, the first culinary school in the Philippines recognized by the World Association of Chefs Societies.

It was during her internship that she reconnected with long-lost high school classmate Ortega, who had training at the Center for Culinary Arts.

The couple built their first branch in June 2013 in Better Living Subdivision, tucked in distant spot not readily within reach of customers.

But day by day, they kept serving well-crafted food that soon became widely talked about in the neighborhood.

“It was the quality of the food that did the marketing for us. We barely exerted any effort for other means,” Lirio said.

Journalists, foodies, and bloggers, the likes of Our Awesome Planet’s Anton Diaz, have raved about their diverse menu of Filipino and international dishes.

The first branch reached stable profits during its 6^th months and has been generating income consistently since then. They opened their second branch in BF Homes in late 2014.

Taking risks

Although she tends to be more realistic than idealistic, Lirio said she has been teaching herself how to be a little bit of both. Ortega is more of the ideas guy.

She told the story about his idea of combining “Oink Oink” and Wingsanity – a wing joint they conceptualized at the last minute – in their BF branch.

She agreed to it, thinking this would spark interest in the community. But customers seemed to be confused about the existence of 3 establishments in one big place.

Seeing it was doing more harm, she suggested they take down the other two signs and incorporate the other offerings into Orange Whisk’s menu. They are working on these changes at the moment.

On the rare occasion that she comes up with the idea and he pins it down for being impractical, she re-evaluates it and together they find ways to make it possible.

Overall, Lirio’s journey has not been a smooth-sailing one. Up to this day, she admitted she is still finding her way. But she believes in taking risks over and over.

“Working in the corporate world is indeed a very fulfilling source of income, but for that extra ‘oomph’ in life, it’s best to listen to your heart, to see what your true self aspires to be,” Lirio said. – Rappler.com


A freelance business writer, Shadz Loresco follows stories on entrepreneurs, technology, and finance. Her background includes 5 years of writing and editing for online business-to-business (B2B) marketing and reputation management.



Restaurant and food photos from Orange Whisk’s Facebook page