Get To Know How The Pinoy’s Favorite ‘Mang Tomas’ Lechon Sauce Started

Lechon is a popular dish derived from the Spanish word leche (milk) which refers to a roasted suckling pig. This food makes any makes any Filipino celebration a feast and is common during fiestas, weddings, reunions and other special occasions. Many people would agree that this roasted dish tastes better if you pair it with a special sauce.

Talking about sauces, many Filipinos would also agree that the first on their list when it comes to lechon sauce was no other than “Mang Tomas All-Around Sarsa”

The famous sauce was created in the late ‘80s at a small lechon stall in Manila as a sauce made especially for lechon. However, Mang Tomas sauce has evolved over the years and was enjoyed by many Filipinos as a condiment today.

Aside from roasted pork, the famous sauce livens ordinary everyday dishes like fried chicken or pork chop because of its unique flavor.

But how did this “famous sauce” actually started?

A Facebook page named “Facebook Shocking” recently shared a post about the story of ‘Mang Tomas’.

Based on the Facebook post, it started when Tomas de los Reyes or more popularly known as Mang Tomas, a meat vendor started the lechon dealership in the 1950s.

He began his business by selling pork meat outside his house, which at the time was conveniently located in front of the La Loma Cockpit Arena in Quezon City. The owners of the winning cocks would then go to his shop to buy pork meat to be roasted for their celebratory or ‘pulutan’ while having a drink.

Mang Tomas used this opportunity to sell roasted pork and eventually started with his first ever lechon shop in La Loma in 1954.

He built his own palate and became a “supplier” of lechon at the Malacañang Palace during important occasions and one of those looking for Mang Tomas’ lechon was the former President Ramon Magsaysay.

But aside from the roasted pork, Mag Tomas also created a special liver sauce for his lechon. His customers also liked the lechon sauce he made that’s why the latter decided to place it in bottles, and sell it following the name of its creator “Mang Tomas” as the product name.

After that, Mang Tomas’ relatives sold the rights of the sauce to the owners of “The Aristocrats” restaurant. But in 1991, the product was bought by Southeast Asia Food, Inc, the leading producer and distributor of sauces & condiments in the country.