Joel Torre opened up about how he began his journey in the food industry, tracing it back to his family's roots in Bacolod.
In an interview with Maricel Soriano for her latest YouTube vlog, Joel shared that it was his mother who first ventured into the food business.
"Ang pamilya namin sa Bacolod kasi 13 na magkakapatid kami. 'Pag nagluto 'yung nanay namin... so sabi niya bakit hindi ko na lang i-negosyo 'to kasi lagi magpapakain ka ng 13 na mga anak. Siyempre magastos so pagkakitaan ko na lang," the actor-entrepreneur said.
Joel said their food business started right at home, and from a young age, he was already being trained by his mother.
"We had a food business sa bahay, so bata pa lang ako nagte-train na ako sa nanay ko. Dinadala niya ako sa palengke so naging parang second nature sa akin. Sabi ko gusto ko rin sana na magkaroon ako ng isang restaurant," he recounted.
Joel is now a proud owner of the inasal restaurant called JT's Manukan Grille.
"Taga-Bacolod kami eh naisipan namin na restaurant, so awa ng Diyos tinangkilik ng tao, talagang nagustuhan ng tao," Joel remarked.
The actor revealed that they have now expanded overseas. "Now nag-open na kami sa Singapore. Kasi isang simpleng pagkain na inasal, pwede mo palang dalhin sa ibang bansa, ipatikim sa ibang lahi, hindi lang sa Pinoy. Tapos magkakaroon kami ng branch sa Dubai. Kasi gustong-gusto nila 'yung kebab [dun] baka magustuhan din nila 'yung inasal," he relayed.
The actor is grateful to be in the inasal business, which is considered one of the top chicken recipes in the world. "Number five chicken recipe siya in the world... so tamang-tama nandito tayo sa negosyo na ito so thank you Lord talaga," he stated.
When asked how he manages to balance acting and entrepreneurship, Joel explained that both are connected in many ways.
"Ang acting is business din eh. I mean ang acting by itself art ', pero may business side of it kaya nga kumukuha tayo ng manager,” he stated.
He went on: ”Before dalawa ang major ko sa college kasi mahilig talaga ako sa theater. Eh sa theater ang talent fee hindi masyadong malaki. Sabi ko kailangan ko ng negosyo para mag-supplement ng art ko kasi akala ko magiging theater actor ako for the rest of my life. So pinag-aralan ko 'yung negosyo."