Alden Richards has been on a roll lately with various projects coming his way. But this does not mean that the Asia’s Multimedia Star has not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic himself. Like most celebrities and as a business owner, the Kapuso star experienced how this invisible enemy has taken a toll on various industries.
This is why Alden can relate to his upcoming project with GMA Public Affairs. Airing on September 27, “Lockdown: Food Diaries” is a documentary that offers a glimpse into the lives of various workers in the food sector and highlights their courage and determination as they put their safety on the line just to keep the supply chain running.
“Lockdown: Food Diaries” is Alden’s first project since the lockdown that involved on-location shoots. And since the special was shot after the metro was placed under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), Alden and the show’s production team had to deal with the challenges of shooting, making sure that they follow all the protocols of taping on location.
Alden, who was recently named as Department of Health’s Anti-COVID-19 Awareness Campaign Ambassador, notes of everyone’s ‘new normal’ way of preparing to go out: “Dati noong nung wala pang COVID, ‘pag aalis ng bahay lagi lang nating sine-secure mga dadalhin ‘yung pitaka natin, bag, susi ng kotse. Ngayon, nasanay na tayo na may face mask, face shield, alcohol.”
In the docu, Alden features quarantine food trends. From burnt cheesecake to ube cheesecake, and sushi bake, he samples these “quarantine-born” food items. But beyond taking a bite of these sumptuous food items, Alden looks at how the pandemic has made a dent on the food industry, taking note of how Filipino ingenuity arises amid adversity.
Being a restaurant owner and a food chain franchise owner, Alden also shares how his businesses suffered and how he adapted to the changes. “Nagkaroon lang ng certain adjustments and scheduling,” he says. “Kasi para sa amin po, mas importante yung tao, yung staff more than income na nage-generate ng mga restaurants namin. Kasi hindi naman po kami kikita kung hindi din dahil sa mga taong nagtatrabaho at naghihirap every day.”
Alden takes viewers to his restaurant and shows them the changes they had to implement to deal with the new normal. These included making sure the area has foot mats, disinfection zones, logbook for contact tracing, checking of body temperature, providing guidelines to dine-in customers, and observing physical distancing.
In doing “Lockdown: Food Diaries”, Alden also found inspiration from people who pivoted amid the pandemic. He said these people have shown him how no one should let the pandemic dictate our lives but instead endeavor to push ourselves further so that we can rise above the situation.
“Saludo po kami sa inyo at binibigyan ninyo kami ng inspirasyon na ‘wag sumuko sa laban ng buhay ngayon. Kasi dun talaga natin makikita na yung mga Pinoy, hindi talaga mapride e. Gagawin natin lahat para magsurvive, para makapagsustento sa mga mahal natin sa buhay.”
“Ako, ito yung quote ko every day ‘the only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude,” he ends.
“Lockdown: Food Diaries” airs on September 27, 3:45 p.m. on GMA Network.
