STAFFORDSHIRE, England—Her bubbly smile, hospitality and love for cooking, especially of native lechon have brought her close to the hearts of not just Filipinos but from many British families in the outskirts of England who love to gather for special occasions.

On weekdays Filipino entrepreneur Bernadeth Moss cooks for guests in her own restaurant, the Hungry Horse Café, situated in the busy shopping district of Leek, Staffordshire.

The meals include full English breakfast as well as roast pork and chicken. Customers, mostly shoppers, police officers and drivers frequent her small cafe not just for the sumptuous hot meals but to have some fun chat with her.

As a struggling mother of three, Tita Bernadeth, as she is fondly called by friends here, started her business of selling roast pork and chicken by the kilo which she delivers to Filipinos in many English towns and even to friends in London. She fondly remembers selling roasted geese at £20 per kilo between 1994-1995.

As a former employee of a private firm in Oman, Bernadeth moved to England and eventually married an Englishman in the early 1990s. She started raising pigs, chicken, geese, cows in their idyllic small farm in Congleton, Cheshire, to help her husband send their three children to school.

“Filipinos are known to be adaptable where ever they go,” said Bernadeth in an interview with the BusinessMirror, adding such is the “secret of many Filipinos” who succeed in their lives abroad.

But it was the native lechon, garnished with herbs inside, that made her popular among Filipino and English families in Congleton and nearby English towns.

“It was during the Christening of little Philip [her 18 year old youngest son] when I prepared lechon for our guests,” said Bernadeth. “Since then, people have started calling on me to cook lechon for their parties. They also ask me to cater for them on occasions like weddings, christening, birthdays and special events.”

Bernadeth, with help from her sister and a number of Filipino staff, now caters to special occasions with guests ranging from 100 to even 500. The last catering she handled was a car racing event with more than 100 guests.

On regular days, Bernadeth receives two to three orders of whole roasted pigs. But during English holidays and December, particularly weeks before Christmas, she gets an average order of five or more pieces of lechon a day.

Bernadeth said she roasts her lechon for six to eight hours depending on the size of the pig. But on winter days, roasting would take at least eight to 12 hours.

A 30-kilo piece of lechon sells at an average of £200 to £300 while a 60 to 65 kilo piece good enough to satisfy the palate of more than 200 guests is sold for £500. She charges an additional £20 for the delivery of lechon outside of Cheshire town.

“English families love to gather for various occasions like weddings, anniversaries, christenings and birthdays. But since most of them are busy people, they don’t have enough time and energy to do the cooking and catering,” said Bernadeth.

Beyond good earnings from catering that helped her raise her three children, Bernadeth is proud that lechon, a known native delicacy of Filipinos for many occasions, is fast-becoming popular and well-loved by English families that it has become a part of their special celebrations.

At 50, Bernadeth is well-loved by Filipino families, especially those to whom she extended help when they were starting their lives in England. “ Filipinos should extend help if necessary especially to their fellow citizens as living abroad can be really tough,” she said.