Photos by Ram Cambiado
At Sol Victoria’s Tagaytay, the former IT professional turns his career, his family, and a bulalo that beat the odds into a tasting menu
TAGAYTAY CITY: Chef Ben Cruzate usually lets his food do the talking. On a recent evening at Sol Victoria Tagaytay during songwriter Ramelyn Francisco’s second album launch, he did both, introducing each of ten courses with the story behind it. The menu, which he calls his “Culinary Story,” traced the road from an IT career to one of Tagaytay’s best-known family restaurants.
“Savor the moment,” he told guests, “and try to feel every flavor of the food that will come out tonight.”
Sol Victoria’s and sisig
Sol Victoria’s carries the names of Ben’s grandparents, Soliano and Victoria. The family-owned restaurant opened in 2014 in Paranaque, added a second Tagaytay branch in 2019, and builds its menu on modern Filipino cooking with a twist.
The first courses nod to that identity. A sun-kissed fruit starter with gazpacho sauce opens the meal, followed by the restaurant’s reimagined sisig, served as a soft taco with crunchy pork, avocado, salsa, and calamansi.
Sisig has been part of Sol Victoria’s success from the start. “Friends, family, even the regulars, they always look for our sisig,” Ben says. “We can’t miss that tonight.”
The kitchen as a gathering place
Ben’s idea of becoming a chef starts in the family kitchen, where meals were also the moment to share stories and laugh at the end of the day. “It was a happy place,” he says.
His lasagna, made with handmade pasta sheets, pesto, ground beef, and sausages, honors a dish that first made him want to cook. It came from his late mother, who also encouraged him to study when he decided to leave IT and become a chef.
Another favorite is chicken inasal, it’s smoky and savory and would always remind of home and family.
From IT to culinary school
That decision is one of his proudest. With modest savings, Ben enrolled at Moderne Culinaire Academy, then entered the 2016 Philippine Culinary Cup, where he won bronze in the Local Fish or Seafood category.
The saffron coconut crab risotto, a dish with a scent that carries across the room, recalls that competition. Ben treats the medal as a challenge as much as a prize. “If I had the chance to compete again,” he says, “maybe I can do better this time.”
Ceviche, noodles, and lamb
Years working in Australia gave him other lessons. Cooking ceviche daily at a dinner-show venue turned an unfamiliar dish into a favorite, and he now blends it with coconut milk for a Filipino finish. A request in Sydney for a special lunch led to his Hokkien noodle pares, beef pares over soft noodles with garlic, crispy onion, and bean sprouts, a hit with guests.
When the head chef went on vacation, Ben took over the main course, cooking lamb daily for a month. The result is the pulled lamb shoulder on his menu, a dish he says will not taste like lamb at all.
Of coming home, a volcano and a pandemic
Ben returned to Manila in 2020, during the pandemic and the eruption of Taal Volcano. The last dish of the night, a Volcano Mousse he names “Beautiful Disaster,” marks that year. “Times were challenging, but it led to where Sol Victoria is today,” he says. “The volcano is a witness to all of it.”
Tagaytay’s best bulalo
The most telling chapter is the Kimchi Bulalo. Ben had the idea long before any competition, and he says some customers hesitated at the pairing. He kept it on the menu anyway, convinced that spicy kimchi and a rich beef soup suit Tagaytay’s cool weather. Homemade kimchi goes into the beef and broth.
On September 14, 2024, it won the Grand Prize at the Creative Bulalo Challenge, hosted by the Tagaytay City Tourism Office, beating 14 other restaurants. For Ben, the lesson is about patience.
“We never know the timeline of our success,” he says. “We stick to what we do, and God will lead you to the right timing.”
The dinner also launched Love Stories Retold, Ramelyn Francisco’s second album of five original dance tracks, each paired with a course. Her songs retell love stories shared with her, from her own point of view. The album is streaming now: https://album.link/LoveStoriesUntold
Sol Victoria is at Barangay Maharlika East, Nagsubu, Tagaytay City, in front of Wind Residences. Order the Kimchi Bulalo and the sisig, and ask the chef what story is on the menu that day.
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