Cooking with inspiration
Like they say, if you’ve got too much time misbehaving since you started microwaving, then it’s time to go back to the kitchen to whip up some real meals the old-fashioned way. Sure, reheating take-out food is easy. But after a long spell of quick fixes, you may want to flex your culinary creativity once again. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the range of memorable dishes possible with the help of products from Unilever Food Solutions (UFS.)
The best part about the UFS brand is that their products make it so much easier for you to be a cooking stand-out. “UFS is like an imaginary chef who works with you when you cook,” says chef Cyrille Soenen, owner of Restaurant Cicou. He explains that the brand’s products allow for efficiency and consistency, so that more time is freed up to imagine and experiment with new dishes. This is a bonus for professional chefs, especially, who cannot risk being caught up with the boredom of mundane kitchen chores. Success in their métier, after all, is highly dependent on being inspired to cook excellent meals each time; on surprising even the most jaded diners with new dishes; on raising the bar for culinary excellence.
“You have to be inspired when you are a chef to be able to bring something different to the table,” confirms chef Cyrille. As to why professionals like him trust the UFS brand, he says, “Both of us have the same medium and put the same value for quality and excellent service.” Unilever is a company that is widely known to be close to its customers in terms of recognizing their needs.”
“Our commitment doesn’t end in providing partner operators with quality, convenient products,” says Pinky Laurena, UFS managing director. “We are also dedicated to helping their businesses thrive in meaningful ways. The UFS brand has always represented reliable and innovative products and solutions. Its history consists not only of providing professional ingredients but also of giving relevant insights and ideas on how those involved in the food business can ‘taste success.’”
Team Paupau is Team Powwow: Nina Daza-Puyat, Fe Cabasis-Callao, Trish Elamparo, Stephen Apetrior, the author Joy Subido, and Chef Paulo Sia She sums it up, “The UFS brand offers culinary products, services, and knowledge to food industry operators that altogether inspire and propel success as well as create meaningful consumer patronage.”
Chef Joanne Limoanco-Gendrano, UFS executive chef, explains that the company also inspires its clientele through key programs. Among these are the Culinary Academy that provides food business partners with continuous education to further improve kitchen operations and menu; and the research-based World Menu Report of global dining trends to keep food businesses in-sync with what the diners like. Currently, there is a worldwide preference for healthy food choices.
Likewise, the year-long Sooo Pinoy Movement is ongoing. This is a UFS program that promotes local cuisine by encouraging restaurants to come up with a Sooo Pinoy signature dish every month. This will compete with signature Filipino dishes prepared by other top restaurants.
To give food writers a feel of what it’s like to be in UFS’ Culinary Academy and be inspired to create great dishes, a cooking day was held for media. Teams were guided by the chefs of UFS like Janice Lazaga and chef Ryan Lastra. However, our team felt extra fortunate to have chef Paulo Sia assigned to us. He guided us every step of the way through the “Asian-Yuppie” dish that we named Kung Pao Luau. The amiable chef Paulo inspired all in the group to do their share, so that when asked to come up with a team name, we called ourselves Paupau/ Powwow — both in chef Pau’s honor and because this cooking powwow was a great way to renew inspiration to cook outstanding meals.
