Meet Xandra Rocha of Something To Chew On
Meet Xandra Rocha, food entrepreneur, travel enthusiast, and now the host of Solar News Channel’s upcoming food and travel show, “Something to Chew On.”
A perfect mix of beauty and brains, shefirst caught our attention with her cool creations in Pinkerton Ice Cream—a venture that all happened by accident. As she said, “I just wanted to make the perfect ice cream.” Four years and a couple of unique flavors later, she now provides these sweet treats to a dozen establishments all over the country.
And now, she’s taking on a new adventure. As an “entrepreneur who wants to pay it forward,” she’s on a mission to show the world the hidden marvels of the Philippines. And she’s doing this one province at a time! With her passion for food, travel, and people is sureto capture your hearts.
Dying to know more about her?You’re in luck because we’ve got the scoop on your soon-to-be favorite host!
What’s your favorite place?
Xandra:The beach. And I’ve gone to lots of beaches, but the ones in the Philippines are just so beautiful—so naturally beautiful…and you’ll definitely see some of our beaches [on the show].
What’s your favorite food?
Xandra:That’s so hard! I love sinigang. I SUPER love, like reallymaasimsinigang. What else? I love Bicolano food. It’s hard for me to choose one!
Can I choose one from each province [we’ve recently been to]?
- Vigan – I loved their pakbet. I love the Pinakbet of Ilocos. Pinakbet and their Bagnet.
- Marinduque-Crispy pata! Hands down, that is the best crispy pata I’ve ever tasted. [It was] in the home of this manang, of this lola, and she had the best crispy pata…and you’ll be seeing about that [on the show].
- Masbate -It was a lot of seafood. They have good seafood. So, it was more of their ihaw-ihaw and scallops.
- Ilo-ilo – The batchoy there was insane! They served me the super special batchoy, and it had bone marrow on top.
- Cagayan de Oro – [I had the] sinuglaw! That, for me, is actually a great dish for the Philippines because you have the fresh seafood and the meat also.And, especially, I can see it being perfect for the beach. Like, someone’s grilling and then the fresh catch of the day comes in. It’s like our [own version of] surf ‘n turf.
- Capiz – That turned out to be a very adventurous foodtrip. It was mostly seafood [since] they’re the seafood capital of the Philippines…I really enjoyed a very simple dish there, because we went out to a boat, and they caught fresh lapu-lapu, and they threw it in to a caldo—an arrozcaldo, but instead of chicken, they put the fresh lapu-papu. …And it was really good! I didn’t have to add anything to it; it was very comforting.
What are your hobbies?
Xandra: In my free time, I enjoy being active. I like exercising; I like to try and be healthy.
I love to do stuff like water sports, like river rafting, those are things that I really enjoy. I enjoy kind of, like boy-things, I really enjoy doing that. So slowly, they’ve been kind of putting things in, more active [sports], so it’s the overall experience, along with the food.
What’s your favorite find on the show?
Xandra:Ohhh, the chicharon in Cagayan De Oro! The brand is SLERS. It’s very, very tasty! They’re marinated very good! And the way they cook it, when it comes out, it’s not very oily. I [can] say it’s one of the best in the country. I wish it was more accessible so that I can give it more as regalo.
Other than that, I mean, there’s always something special from each place you visit. That’s just an example. And I also like the story behind it, it was one of those housewife-turned-entrepreneur by accident. That’s something you can look forward to on the show.
What are you most excited about the show?
Xandra: I’m most excited about, hopefully, getting people inspired to see more of the country ‘cause it’s beautiful. And there are so many places that aren’t so popular that some people wouldn’t even think about visiting. They’re not sure of what’s there, they’re not sure [of] what to do, how to get around, so I hope it really does inspire them to explore more of it.
I’m also excited about…[how Something To Chew On] is about promoting the country, showing people what there is to do, and of course the different food, and the wonderful people you meet along the way.
What should we be excited about?
Xandra: I hope they like the honesty, it’s very organic. You know, they don’t give me a script so sometimes I say things that are wrong. I try to say something in Tagalog and it’smali…and I hope they laugh along with me. And enjoy my adventure. I want them to feel like they’re with me, or I want to inspire them to do the same; to get out and explore.
For more of Xandra, don’t forget to tune in to Something to Chew On starting July 27 only on Solar News Channel!
Meet Xandra Rocha of Something To Chew On
