The couple that cooks together stays together

MANILA, Philippines - She loves his generosity in sharing his time and know-how to others, even if they may someday copy his recipes and compete with him. He loves her patience and her “cowboy” ways.

China Cojuangco and chef Gino Gonzalez have been going out for the past couple of years, and the romance, which started in the kitchen, shows no sign of ending up like a forgotten leftover dish.

In fact, Gino has joined China in serving up various dishes on Q-11’s My Favorite Recipes, which she hosts Monday to Friday at 10 a.m., 11:40 a.m. and 6:10 p.m., Saturdays at 11 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 5:40 p.m. and Sundays at 11:40 a.m., 5:40 p.m. and 8:25 p.m.

The sweethearts don’t run out of complementing recipes in episode after episode.

“We create one dish each,” says China. “For instance, I’d make an appetizer and he’d come up with a pasta dish.”

It goes without saying that China is as inspired as ever, in the kitchen and outside it.

“I look up to him as my mentor (their family owns Center for Asian Culinary Studies, where China studied after college graduation)” she reveals. “I get his advice when it comes to recipes. I learned that I should not be afraid in trying out new concepts in food from him, to use Eastern and Western cuisine. He has more experience than I do. He studied in the States and he travels more often than me.”

That’s why China treats their partnership on cam as an extension of their personal lives.

“Our director (Ogi Sugatan) reminds us to stop calling each other `Bun.’ He finds it too cheesy,” chuckles Gino.

It was China, he adds, who concocted the name, which is short for “Bunny.”

Unlike other couples whose romance started outside the kitchen, Gino and China take a long time deciding where their next dinner date will be. Not that they’re choosy about the ambiance. It’s just that their taste buds are more discriminating.

“We eat everywhere — in holes in the wall, in fine dining restaurants,” reveals Gino. “What matters is that the food is good and prepared well.”

Oh, they’d spend many delightful whipping up new dishes in the kitchen! But they don’t exchange words as they chop onions or garlic, or stir fry their favorite dish. The only sound you’ll hear is the one coming from the TV set. Why talk when you’re as at home with each other as China and Gino are?

They first met at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies, where Gino has been teaching for years. China was fresh out of college and decided to pursue her childhood passion for cooking by enrolling for a year in Gino’s school.

He marveled at how she willingly cleared the dishes and cleaned them after whipping up a meal with her classmates. Other students dillydallied before doing the dirty job. Not China. Yes, she’s a Cojuangco, heiress of a landed family. But she was as down-to-earth as someone raised in a home where humility and sensitivity to others is a given.

Gino courted her after she graduated from her cooking course.

Today, China and Gino are a tandem, not only in My Favorite Recipes, but at the Center for Culinary Studies, which Gino’s family owns. They have come up with different recipes to teach children during summer school, where China holds weekend classes.

“We accept students as young as five and those in their early teens,” crows China.

The experience will come in handy when she and her “Bun” start a family someday.

So let the pots simmer and the pans sizzle in China and Gino’s kitchen. The merry sound will keep their relationship going strong, not just in the kitchen, but more importantly, outside of it as well.