In Filipino culture, it’s good luck to eat noodles on special occasions like birthdays, weddings, and graduations. The lengthy noodles or “Pancit” represent the threads of life and must be eaten without being cut to preserve the fortune of a long life.
Chef Irene Santos of Spring Roll Supper Club brings a little bit of good fortune and a whole lot of distinctive flavor to every dish she makes—whether it be for her much adored weekly meal prep delivery (iykyk!), her delectable dinner party catering, or her standout stall at the Ridgefield Farmer’s Market.
Chef Irene’s journey started on a farm in the countryside of Tarlac, a landlocked province in the Philippines. Her mother left when she was very young to work as a nanny abroad and support the family back home. With her mother gone, Irene, the youngest of four children, was tasked with doing much of the housework and cooking for the household from a very young age.
At 5-years old, Irene cleaned the house, washed everyone’s clothing by hand, and did the dishes after every meal for the extended family; at 6-years old she was cooking eggs and rice for her father and brothers for breakfast over an open fire. At 10-years old, she rode her bike to the watering hole a few miles away, filled a bucket with water and rode back, balancing the bucket on the top of her head.
At just 8-years old, Irene’s father and older brother began teaching her to cook a few family favorite dishes. This is when Irene learned her maternal grandmother’s closely guarded recipe for Pancit, the Philippines’ most famous noodle dish.
Irene’s family’s version begins with making homemade chicken soup using a whole fresh chicken first, and then boiling the noodles in the soup instead of water so they retain all of the freshness and the flavor of the produce.
Irene still cooks Pancit using this method and age-old recipe today, and her tantalizing noodles sell out every weekend without fail at the Ridgefield Farmer’s Market.
When she was growing up, everything Irene’s family ate was fresh and organic. They had a flock of chickens and pigs for meat, picked vegetables and herbs from the garden, and ground spices and minced sauces and spreads by hand. Any ingredients they didn’t have in their own garden were traded with the neighbors and vice versa, creating a bustling community centered around fresh food.
Irene’s love of cooking and natural ability to care for children took her to Hong Kong, where she worked as a nanny in the homes of Korean and Chinese families and learned their native recipes and cooking styles.
She landed a position in the home of an Australian family where the grandmother owned a Malaysian restaurant, and the father was an Italian chef. It was here that she was informally trained in both Asian and European cooking techniques, perfecting some of her top recipes including her Malaysian Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce and Vegetable Lasagna made with Fresh Tomato Sauce.
Irene also learned the importance of impeccable hygiene and carefully selecting ingredients, as she cared for a child who was immune-compromised with severe special needs.
When this family left Hong Kong suddenly to return to Australia, Irene found the Berlin-Barroso family, who she came to the US with and still works with today. She helped raise their two daughters from birth, through a move from Hong Kong to the US, ensuring that they had fresh and delicious food for every meal.
When the family arrived in Ridgefield in the middle of 2021, Irene noticed that many parents in town were busy with work and rushing their children to activities and didn’t have time to prepare healthy and delicious meals for their families, so she thought she would try to help fill this gap.
In the fall of 2022, Irene’s meal prep and catering business, Spring Roll Supper Club was born, with a focus on using traditional recipes from her childhood in the Philippines, combined with the best possible locally sourced and organic ingredients.
News of Irene’s meal prep and delivery service has spread via word of mouth and it has become quite popular, with dozens of families ordering dinner from Monday through Thursday each week.
“My customers appreciate high quality food made with love and care,” Santos says. “I hope to make their lives a little bit easier and ensure that more Ridgefield children and adults can enjoy a tasteful, well-balanced diet.”
Going back to her agricultural roots, Chef Irene sources her ingredients locally whenever possible with pork procured from Henny Penny Farm and eggs and vegetables from The Hickories Farm—both located right here in Ridgefield.
In 2024, Irene landed a coveted spot at the Ridgefield Farmer’s Market and started selling Filipino-style Spring Rolls, Filipino-style Empanadas, and “Pancit” Stir-Fried Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables.
After weekend upon weekend of snaking lines and sold-out dishes, Irene has now branched out to sell at other farmers markets in Connecticut and the upper Hudson Valley.
What’s next for Spring Roll Supper Club?
“My ultimate dream is to have a food truck or a small grab and go café selling delicious lunch food in Ridgefield,” Santos shares.
With all the lucky noodles Chef Irene is whipping up, a Spring Roll Supper Club Food Truck just may be heating up Ridgefield’s Main Street before we know it.
Follow along on Instagram @SpringRollSupperClub.