EXCLUSIVE: Makisig Morales is proud of his online food business in Australia

Rhea Manila Santos

Even before the pandemic started, Makisig Morales and his wife Nicole had already started their online food service as early as last year in the city of Sydney, Australia where they are based. Their online business NikMak Sweet Pack sells and delivers traditional Filipino food to Pinoys in their area.In an exclusive interview with <a href='https://push.abs-cbn.com' target='_blank'>PUSH</a>, Makisig said their business keeps him and his wife busy for most days of the week because they do the actual cooking. “Actually, nag di-deliveries na kami last year pa starting with pastillas and puto bumbong muna. Then nagsimula na kami ng parang full food menu nitong March, and sa awa po ng Diyos it's doing really well. Especially dahil kaming dalawa lang po ni Nicole ang gumagawa. It's very draining lang sometimes,” he admitted.It’s been six years since Makisig moved to Australia with his entire family after he bid goodbye to Philippine showbiz (but temporarily returned in 2018 to play the part of Dumakulem in the fantaserye series Bagani). After relocating, Makisig shifted to learning culinary arts, which is helping him with his food business now. “Before pa po ako mag aral ng Commercial Cookery dito, naiinspire na ako sa pagluluto dahil sa family ko. I always wanted to make good food for my family especially for my siblings. Natutuwa ako pag nasasarapan sila sa luto ko. At dun nabubusog na yung puso ko. Kaya ngayon natutuwa ako pag may mga good feedback yung mga costumers namin,” he said.With their current bestsellers the crispy ulo, crispy pata, and baked California roll, Makisig said he and Nicole practice teamwork in the kitchen to get all their orders cooked and delivered more efficiently. “I do most of the cooking for most of the food. I boil the pork for three hours to prepare it for frying. After that, napupunta na lahat ng cooking work kay Nicole pag nag-start na ako sa mga deliveries starting from 8 to 9 am. Nung nakaraan, we were doing it Tuesdays to Sundays pero due to high level of orders, hindi na namin kinakaya so we decided to do Friday, Saturday and Sundays lang so that we have some rest days din,” he explained.After one year of marriage, Makisig said he is so proud of how his wife has adjusted to their new means of livelihood. “Nicole is the heart of NikMak. She handles the food orders, talks to the costumers, arranges every order accordingly sa time na gusto nila at arranging them for the delivery. She's doing all the budgeting as well dahil siya nag ku-compute ng lahat ng sales and money going in and out. Siya din ang nag-ma-marketing. Kaya kung wala si Nicole, wala ang NikMak,” he explained.Makisig met half-Australian, half-Filipino beauty queen Nicole Watts through their common group of friends in Australia before getting engaged in 2018. They tied the knot in 2019 and celebrated their first wedding anniversary just last January.

With their current bestsellers the crispy ulo, crispy pata, and baked California roll, Makisig said he and Nicole practice teamwork in the kitchen to get all their orders cooked and delivered more efficiently. “I do most of the cooking for most of the food. I boil the pork for three hours to prepare it for frying. After that, napupunta na lahat ng cooking work kay Nicole pag nag-start na ako sa mga deliveries starting from 8 to 9 am. Nung nakaraan, we were doing it Tuesdays to Sundays pero due to high level of orders, hindi na namin kinakaya so we decided to do Friday, Saturday and Sundays lang so that we have some rest days din,” he explained.After one year of marriage, Makisig said he is so proud of how his wife has adjusted to their new means of livelihood. “Nicole is the heart of NikMak. She handles the food orders, talks to the costumers, arranges every order accordingly sa time na gusto nila at arranging them for the delivery. She's doing all the budgeting as well dahil siya nag ku-compute ng lahat ng sales and money going in and out. Siya din ang nag-ma-marketing. Kaya kung wala si Nicole, wala ang NikMak,” he explained.Makisig met half-Australian, half-Filipino beauty queen Nicole Watts through their common group of friends in Australia before getting engaged in 2018. They tied the knot in 2019 and celebrated their first wedding anniversary just last January.

Even before the pandemic started, Makisig Morales and his wife Nicole had already started their online food service as early as last year in the city of Sydney, Australia where they are based. Their online business NikMak Sweet Pack sells and delivers traditional Filipino food to Pinoys in their area.In an exclusive interview with <a href='https://push.abs-cbn.com' target='_blank'>PUSH</a>, Makisig said their business keeps him and his wife busy for most days of the week because they do the actual cooking. “Actually, nag di-deliveries na kami last year pa starting with pastillas and puto bumbong muna. Then nagsimula na kami ng parang full food menu nitong March, and sa awa po ng Diyos it's doing really well. Especially dahil kaming dalawa lang po ni Nicole ang gumagawa. It's very draining lang sometimes,” he admitted.It’s been six years since Makisig moved to Australia with his entire family after he bid goodbye to Philippine showbiz (but temporarily returned in 2018 to play the part of Dumakulem in the fantaserye series Bagani). After relocating, Makisig shifted to learning culinary arts, which is helping him with his food business now. “Before pa po ako mag aral ng Commercial Cookery dito, naiinspire na ako sa pagluluto dahil sa family ko. I always wanted to make good food for my family especially for my siblings. Natutuwa ako pag nasasarapan sila sa luto ko. At dun nabubusog na yung puso ko. Kaya ngayon natutuwa ako pag may mga good feedback yung mga costumers namin,” he said.

Australia-based actor Makisig Morales and his wife Nicole have expanded their food business during the pandemic.

EXCLUSIVE: Makisig Morales is proud of his online food business in Australia | PUSH.COM.PH