[jwplayer mediaid=”1064″ bufferlength=10]MANILA, Philippines – Local restaurant Max’s has launched its first coffee table book which showcases how a family’s love for food and entertaining friends have evolved into a homegrown and well-loved brand.

Aptly titled “The House That Fried Chicken Built” the book is written by writer Robert JA Basilio and Sonia Pinto Ner, niece of Max’s founder Maximo Gimenez. The book has a 196-page narrative that tells the story of how Gimenez started Max’s Restaurant as a small café in Quezon City in 1945, serving Filipino dishes to friends and American soldiers.

“Max’s coffee table book is a celebration of the Filipino’s love not only for fried chicken, but for family, celebration and tradition. Max’s enduring legacy is encapsulated in the book as the ‘House That Fried Chicken Built’ continues to capture the hearts of Filipinos worldwide, generation after generation,” said Jim Fuentebella, Max’s Vice President for Corporate Marketing.

In an interview during the books launch Max’s president, Robert Trota, said that it took them nearly five years to finish the book but it was well worth the wait.

“It took time but it was very well worth it,” Trota told INQUIRER.net

The book is filled with brilliant photos: from Max’s first restaurant in Scout Tuason, Quezon City; the newly renovated flagship store which stands in the same address and exudes an elegant and modern architectural design made by Budju Layug+Royal Pineda Design Architects; and the delectable array of Max’s traditionally home-cooked dishes that Filipinos truly love.

The book, priced at P2,500, will initially be sold at Max’s flagship store in Scout Tuason and part of its proceeds will be used for the restaurant’s scholarship foundation, Trota said.

“It was something that we learned from him, from our grandmother, from our great grandmother – education is key to them. Work hard, study hard. And one of our advocacies is to make sure that even our employees have a chance to get proper education,” Trota said.

Currently with 119 restaurants nationwide, Max’s has recently opened nine other branches abroad: one in Toronto, Canada and eight in the United States, Trota said. He added that they have plans of opening a branch in Dubai within the next two to three months and also in Vancouver, Canada and Australia soon.

“We know that Max’s has built enough heritage and tradition and the brand has built itself on Filipino pride. We are very happy to be sharing that pride,” Trota said.