COFFIN GRILL. Photos show a casket converted into a custom barbecue grill in North Cotabato. Photos courtesy of Vincent Levi Bayona Doletin/Facebook
A man from North Cotabato who skillfully transformed a casket into a one-of-a-kind barbecue grill recently went viral on social media for his clever creation.
Last Feb. 27, Vincent Levi Bayona Doletin, who runs a funeral home business in Pigcawayan town, posted photos and a video featuring the casket grill that they assembled at home.
“Coffin ihawan/sugbahanan. Legit ang lasa,” Doletin wrote in his post.
Dubbed “Coffinasal,” Doletin’s coffin grill, which is an imported Matthews casket from the United States, has a cover, a charcoal smoker made of stainless steel, and is equipped with angle bars for it to stand, as well as storage space on the side.
The 210-centimeter-long and 70-centimeter-wide coffin was given to him by his friends Gotgot and Ariel Fabian from Santo Tomas, Pampanga, who are also his suppliers of metal caskets for his shop.
He told the Inquirer in an interview that the dancing pallbearers’ video that went viral during the pandemic inspired his concept for a coffin grill.
It took him two days to build the coffin grill with the help of his cousins, Ronnie Bura-ay and Taloy Bayona.
Doletin confirmed that the coffin they transformed into functional cooking equipment has never been used.
The unique coffin grill has received overwhelming approval from netizens, with his post garnering more than 9,400 shares as of this writing.
When asked if he was planning to venture into a grilling business soon using his “coffinasal,” Doletin responded in jest: “Ito pong coffin grill ko ay for personal use lang po at wala po akong balak mag-grilling business. [Baka walang kumain] sa grilling business ko kasi taga punerarya po ako.”
(My coffin grill is just for personal use, and I have no plans to start a grilling business. Perhaps no one would eat at my grilling business since I come from a funeral home.)
RELATED STORIES:
Man who pays for strangers’ funerals, medical bills: ‘I can’t bring my money with me when I die’
Tulfo wants free funeral services for poor families
Funeral for Thai teen rescued from flooded cave held without his body