What's cooking, Jobim?

“When Jobim told us at a young age that he wanted to be a chef when he grows up, I have to admit that I took it with a grain of salt. After all, when he was two years old, he wanted to be a banana and when he was five, he wanted to be a T-Rex,” says Wendy Jalbuena of her son Jobim.

Jobim, 13, has recently achieved some celebrity status after placing fourth at the Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition aired on ABS-CBN and hosted by Judy Ann Santos.

I am a huge fan of Jobim Jalbuena as I followed his journey all throughout the grueling Junior MasterChef competition. I also saw how his family went all out in their unselfish and wholehearted support. Today, I wish to share with you the behind-the-scenes story of the lovable Jalbuena family and all those who helped Jobim achieve his dream. 

The dream of becoming a chef has always been ingrained in Jobim, who was only 12 when he joined the cooking game competition. Wendy says, “Sure he also wanted to be a great football player but also a chef. He wanted to be a Hollywood actor at the same time a chef. He wanted to be a movie director, a scriptwriter, the President of the Philippines and, yes, a chef. In all his dreaming, the ‘chef’ part was the most consistent one.”

Her son’s penchant to become a chef was all the more heightened when Jobim, together with his siblings Anton (25), Audrey (14) and Simone (nine), became hooked on watching Junior MasterChef Australia Season 1. So it became pleasant news for them that ABS-CBN was bringing the show to the country.

How did Jobim’s desire to join the cooking game show come about? “Audrey, whose interest in cooking was influenced by movies like No Reservations and Julie and Julia, signed him up. She wanted to join Junior MasterChef but she was over-aged, so she signed up her brother. Our youngest, Simoné was very excited when they broke the news to Jobim when he arrived from school that day,” says Ricky Jalbuena, father of Jobim.

Wendy admits that while everyone in her family was excited for Jobim, she held some reservations. “I shrugged off the idea, their enthusiasm, thinking that it’s one of those things. The novelty will wear off.” Or so she thought.

Then, March 13, 2011, someone from ABS-CBN called for Jobim to report to the audition with a dish he made. The Jalbuena siblings, especially Jobim, were so excited. Jobim did his research and decided on salmon fishcakes with tartar sauce. With this dish, Jobim made it through the first round and was made to stay for the second round. The second round required the kids to cook pancakes from scratch. Wendy somehow heaved a sigh of relief because, for two weeks prior to the audition, Jobim kept cooking pancakes from scratch at home.

Jobim Jalbuena with one of his mentors, chef Florabel Co-Yatco.

From the hundreds who auditioned, Jobim had made it to the Top 60. Then, Wendy became more involved. She helped Jobim research and tested dishes with Jobim in the kitchen. But she knew this was not enough. She, however, was fortified that God would always be there to help her son.

One afternoon, as Wendy was researching for possible dishes for Jobim, out of nowhere, she thought of driving to Resorts World for halo-halo at Crisostomo. She met a lady in that restaurant who turned out to be the owner — Chef Florabel Co-Yatco. Wendy took the opportunity to ask for an appointment with Florabel after Holy Week and she agreed.

“All I wanted were cooking tips and suggestions from Florabel. But then again, I guess, when the Lord answers prayers, God gives the whole package. All I wanted was a chicken but God gave me the whole farm — figuratively speaking. Florabel was incredibly kind and gracious and took in Jobim to train from basic knife skills, to mise en plus, food preparation and cooking. She made Jobim an apprentice at Felix in Greenbelt 5 for almost a month,” Wendy says joyfully.

With each passing day, Jobim’s prowess in the kitchen improved. He made it through the Top 30. Then to Top 20. 

To harness more Jobim’s craft, the whole family watched videos of MasterChef, Top Chef, Hell’s Kitchen. They read books and magazines about food and cooking, like 50 issues of Art Culinaire. Jobim spent hours and hours researching on the Internet, reading, testing and practicing on his own. He was trained to beat egg white manually with a whisk until it was foamy. He practiced on lobster, scallops, the basic cakes (butter, sponge and chiffon), bread without yeast. He did not focus on recipes. He focused on skills and techniques. He worked with various core ingredients like chocolate, sugar, bagoong, root crops. He experimented with herbs and fruits, sauces.

“We were mentally prepared for this but I guess Jobim was more prepared. He had an unwavering level of commitment and determination. The condition we gave him when he joined Junior MasterChef was that he couldn’t forego his studies. He wanted to make it in this competition that in between shoots, he still practiced and reported to school. He was physically drained. Wendy and I were just waiting for him to give up and quit but that never happened,” says Ricky.

Wendy adds: “By the time the kiddie cooks of the show were down to Top 15, Jobim had a 38.9-degree fever during their vegetarian dish challenge. We wanted him to stay home and rest but he was insistent so we made arrangements with the production staff. He was ‘quarantined’ between takes and made to sleep. He didn’t win the challenge but he said ‘I put a good fight. I tried.’ He insisted on cooking even with a 38.9-degree fever – and that is heart!”

Loco over lobster, a dish prepared by Jobim.

Wendy and Ricky tell me that their son’s dedication shown at the Junior MasterChef was beyond his years that whenever he got a cut or burn, he still went on.

“As the kiddie cooks narrowed to the last Top 6 going into the Final Four, I thought he’d never make it. Their core ingredient: crab — something he’s allergic to. He had never eaten crab or worked with crab in the kitchen. To my amazement, he managed to make crab wonton with aligue sauce and crab chawan mushi without tasting it,” says Wendy.

In between tapings for the Junior MasterChef, challenges and sacrifices were inevitable. “The most painful sacrifice of all was when we all had to make a decision about Jobim’s studies. During the competition, he was in Grade 7 at Xavier School. By October 2011, we had to make a decision to withdraw Jobim from Xavier and enroll him as first year high school in a homeschool program. Xavier is Jobim’s second home. It’s the only world he knows aside from home,” reveals Wendy.

But with the sacrifices came the joy. Wendy says, “The real joy came after the finale. As Jobim placed fourth, we saw how much his siblings cared for him. How deep their relationship is. I have seen Jobim’s relationship with God grow as his prayers became more personal and selfless.”

Her entire family is grateful to Chef Florabel Co-Yatco and her father Felix Co, Chef Eugene Raymundo, the chefs of Iscahm like Hanz, Ulrich, Humphrey and Ernie Babaran. The family is also thankful to Chef Martin Kaspar of Le’ Entrcote, and Intercon executive Chef Alisdaire Bletcher. Special mention goes to Manulife’s Indren Naidoo and John Curtis, ABS-CBN’s Lauren Diyogi, Merce Gonzales, Chloe Bayot, April Avila, Peng Balase and director Connie Macatuno. Their gratitude, too, to Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo and chefs Fern Aracama, Rolando Laudico and JP Anglo.

“From Jobim, I learned what real commitment and passion is. My son taught me that quitting is not an option, walking out is unthinkable. He showed me that building resilience is a daily pursuit. And Jobim taught me to always wear the face of a champion,” Wendy concludes.

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