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Songwriter Ramelyn Francisco launched her second album, Love Stories Retold, on October 2 at Sol Victoria’S Tagaytay. The evening paired her songs with “Culinary Story,” a ten-course tasting menu by Chef Ben Cruzate, the restaurant’s owner-chef.
Love Stories Retold is a five-song set of original electronic dance music built from relationship stories friends have shared with Ramelyn, retold from her own point of view. The tracks are “Red Flag in a Suit,” “Loving an Alpha,” “Love for Two – For Now,” “My One,” and “My Goodbye Song.” The album was produced by Noteline Productions’ Chona Borromeo and Al Kaz Borromeo.
Love Stories Retold turns stories recounted to Ramelyn Francisco into five electronic dance tracks, told from her point of view.
The release follows her first album, RAMdom Thoughts (2025), which began as a tribute to her late son, Coco. The new album is a deliberate move toward lighter, more danceable music.
“These are not my love stories,” Ramelyn said. “They are stories of some people recounted to me in conversations, and this is my point of view.”
The launch dinner, billed as “A Culinary Storytelling and Thanksgiving,” began with cocktails at 5 p.m., followed by a seated dinner at 7 p.m. Ramelyn introduced each song between courses.
Chef Ben’s menu traced his career, from a Sun-Kissed Garden fruit starter with gazpacho sauce and a reimagined Sisig soft taco to a coconut-milk ceviche, Comfort of Home Lasagna, saffron coconut crab risotto, Chicken Inasal, Hokkien Noodle Pares, and Pulled Lamb Shoulder.
Dishes drew on his training at Moderne Culinaire Academy, his bronze medal at the 2016 Philippine Culinary Cup, and his years cooking in Australia. The Kimchi Bulalo, which won the Grand Prize at the Creative Bulalo Challenge in Tagaytay on September 14, 2024, was the centerpiece, and a Volcano Mousse closed the evening.
Each course came with a short story from the chef, from the family kitchen where he learned to cook to the dish that took years to find its audience. For Ben, the menu was less a showcase than a thank-you to the people who shaped his path.
“We share food with our loved ones. That’s the most important thing,” Chef Ben said. “We never know the timeline of our success. We stick to what we do, and God will lead you to the right timing.”
Listen to Love Stories Retold: https://album.link/LoveStoriesUntold
