PAMORA FARM, The Home of Free-range Chicken!

Pamora Farm, Inc. is a Filipino-European joint venture that operates a free-range chicken farm in Barangay Garreta, Pidigan, Abra. 

Free-range farming is a method of raising animals where they are left to roam freely in an allocated area with minimum required space. Free-range chickens are raised for a longer period than commercial chickens. They are allowed to develop natural habits and grow the way a normal chicken should -- scratching the ground and roaming the barnyard. They are grown for their flavorful taste.

Free-range chickens are grown naturally. Free-range chickens have low fat content, only 8-10% compared to regular commercial chicken that has 19-29% fat content.

Last April 27, 2013, we had a lunch meeting with the friendly owners of Pamora farm Mr. Gerard Papillon and Tina Morados, in Brasserie Cicou Restaurant at Greenhills. The sumptuous menu prepared by Chef Cyrille Soenen and Chef Summer,  while Gerald and Tina talks and presented to us through with every meal we had.

First we had Green Salad, Pickles and Mustard, Baggette and assorted Pamora Pates. There are six (6) varieties of Pamora pâtés. These Home-made Pâtés are good for appetizers. 

Green Salad, Pickles and Mustard

Assorted Pamora Pâtés

The Roasted Coquelet with Rosemary and Garlic served with Mashed Potato is really flavorful. I tasted it, different chicken roasted from other restaurant, but seasoned simply and roasted to perfection.

Roasted Coquelet

For the dessert, we were served with Trio of Crème Brulee (Vanilla, Chocolate and Green Tea). As the delicious mouth-watering Trio of Crème Brulee main ingredient is the Pamora egg which came from the Pamora free-range chicken.

Trio of Crème Brulee (Vanilla, Chocolate and Green Tea)

Mr. Gerard Papillon and Tina Morados with Chef Summer

As shared by Tina, Free-range chickens are grown longer, thus the meat is firmer, cooking time takes longer for free-range chickens, although you will not need any flavoring additives like broth cubes or chicken stocks. Salt and pepper will be enough, and sometimes even those are not needed.

"You can cook it in any way as you would your regular chicken. But with deep-frying all the natural flavors and health benefits will be lost. Cooking time is always longer than regular commercial chicken."

Gerard and Tina Morados Papillon's hardwork and enduring partnership led them to be awarded by the French Ambassador with the “Order of Merit for Agriculture, Grade of Knight” for promoting the natural and humane way of raising and manufacturing chicken byproducts.

We enjoyed having this sumptous lunch and great conversation with passionate advocate people who gave us combination of French and Filipino hospitality and their combined stories of Pamora Farm. Thanks to Ms. Nana Nadal inviting us to know more about free-range chicken by the Pamora farm brand. I hope to experience Pamora farm at Barangay Garreta, Pidigan, Abra sometime.

Read this for more  information, and enjoy this wonderful world of Pamora Farm. 

THE FREE-RANGE METHOD 

Free-range is a method of farming husbandry where the animals, like the chickens, are permitted to roam freely. The principle of free-range method is to allow the animals to live at their instinctual behaviour in a reasonably natural way instead of being contained in a cage like commercial broiler production where the chickens are forced to grow abnormally fast in just about 4 to 5 weeks (28-35 days).

Free-range chickens roam in a barnyard or field (range) to forage with a minimum of eight (8) hours daylight. Aside from the daily intake of milled yellow corn, they eat whatever organic food they could find on the ground like grass, insects, and the like.

Pamora free-range chickens come from a coloured breed from France. This breed is a slow growing type of broiler. Quality F1’s or first generation offspring are being raised in Pamora Farm.

Two weeks before the scheduled arrival of a new batch of day-old chicks, housing are being prepared for brooding (heating) purposes. Cleaning, disinfection, repairs, and equipment/materials check-up are requisite routine to ensure the bio-security of the flock and of the farm.

Chicks are kept for the first 21 days inside the housing with brooding facilities. This helps them gain strength and get ready for outside life, free-range. The farm grows different trees, grass, and herbal plants for shade and natural feeds for the chickens.

There are several ranging areas operating in the farm. Each range has between 500 to 2,000 chickens. Depending on the topography, each range occupies some 1,000 to 3,000 square meters, which provides approximately 1 to 2 square meters ranging area per bird to freely graze and find organic food available on the ground.

The use of herbal medicines, like oregano, chilli, garlic, ginger, kakawate leaves, caimito leaves, ipil-ipil leaves, guava leaves and many more, is also practiced and given at proper and appropriate times. Veterinary and technical consultants who are experts in free-range poultry practice regularly visit and assist in the farming methods, which applies and implements both local and French technologies.

Pamora Free-range chickens are grown at a minimum of 70 days. Having the chickens ranging for longer period gives the optimum natural chicken taste, firmer meat quality, and much healthier poultry meat with less fat content.

THE FARM

Pamora Farm started raising free-range chicken in March 2000 as a small-scale farm undertaking by the Papillon (Gerard) and Morados (Tina) family, their last names forming the brand, PAMORA.

Pamora Farm is also promoting their farming method the among people of Abra, providing livelihood opportunities for the community.

Aside from the free-range chicken farming for meat and eggs production, the farm also grows organic fruits and vegetables for own consumption and for visitors/guests’ staying in the farm. Using natural fertilizer from earthworm dung (vermin-culture) and composts from degradable farm wastes such as chicken manure, Pamora Farm produces fruitful and high quality crops.

Within the farm premises, reforestation projects, and planting of high quality wood trees like Narra and Mahogany.

THE PRODUCTS

Pamora Farm products are all inspected, passed, registered and certified by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) and Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).

All dressed chicken and chicken meat by-products are processed in the Poultry Dressing Plant owned and operated solely by Pamora Farm, Inc. Accredited by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) and certified Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

Pamora Farm also manufactures traditional French “home-made” pâtés from the free-range chicken. Pâté is a mixture of various parts of the chicken (liver, gizzard, meat) blended (with herbs, black pepper and sea salt) into a paste and sterilized in glass jars. Pâté is a traditional practice in France of preserving meat of any kind.

The following six (6) varieties of Pamora pâtés are creations of Mr. Gérard Papillon using old-fashioned recipes from his grandmother.

·      Chicken Liver Pâté

·      Chicken Breast & Liver Pâté

·      Chicken Gizzard Pâté

·      Chicken Liver & Gizzard Pâté

·      Chicken Breast Pâté

·      Chicken Breast & Gizzard Pâté

Pamora Farm also produces limited quantities of free-range chicken eggs, which are well appreciated for its quality that is comparable to native chicken in taste, color, and texture. They also offer chicken burger patties.

Pamora chickens, eggs & pâté products are available at the following :

Santis delicatessen
Terry Selections
Rustan’s Supermarket
Shopwise
Metro Market! Market!
RFI Farm Outlet (Holy Spirit, QC)
Joji Berry (Crossroad 77 Mother Ignacia, QC)
NCCC – Davao
Champetre restaurant (BGC)
Brasserie Ciçou (Greenhills)
Resorts World Manila
Ilustrado Restaurant (Intramuros)
El Nido Resorts
Amanpulo
Saturday Market, Ayala Alabang Village
Golden Acres Farm, Inc. (distributor)

For more information, visit www.pamorafarm.com

or call (02) 759-2678 / (02) 506-1082 / (0917) 537-5639 / (0917) 591-7391.

View more photos @Enjoying Wonderful World Facebook Page.