Another fun summer of cooking lessons

Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another. —Marva Collins

Seasons have always fascinated me. In the States, you experience the entire four seasons: autumn, spring, summer, and winter. In the Philippines, we only have two seasons: wet and dry. For the former, you’re gasping for breath to keep yourself from drowning in flash floods; the latter, you’re gasping for air because of the hot and humid weather. Weather and season changes may be different in the States and the Philippines, but in time, you learn whether you need to bring a life jacket or just an umbrella.

Time teaches us many things, from riding a bike to managing our first salary. And both time and teachers become our forge that eventually molds us into the person we ought to be. That is why in my school, I have strived to find the best of the best, the cream of the crop, to provide the life-changing education we all need to succeed in this life. It is a slow and careful process by which I invite a chef to teach in my school. Why? Because learning is a life changing experience, and a student given to the wrong kind of instructor — with only monetary gain and personal prominence as motivation — makes for a poor mentor, and eventually, a poor student as well.

That is why I feel blessed with my staff and guest faculty. Through the years, since I established the school back in 1985, providence has found a way to give me talented and well-motivated chef instructors, who are not only willing to teach but also have a passion for molding individuals as well as motivating them to have a great work ethic, and to strive for their dreams with humility and discipline. Character building and values education are not usually topics covered in culinary education, but I think they should be, because if you look at the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Anthony Bourdain, it is safe to say that there is so much more they need to learn in the finer arts of proper motivation and human relations.

On my roster of guest instructors, one of the people I admire is chef Carrie Madrid. Aside from being trained in one of the excellent culinary institutes in the world, she has blossomed into a caring, sincere and personally invested chef instructor at my school. I say that with all humility, because God knows the difficulty of trying to teach young adults cooking and baking techniques, let alone toddlers. But in the past years that she has been teaching during our summer Little Chefs program — both cooking and baking — I have received wonderful reviews from the parents and students in her classes.

Children do not automatically grow up; this is a fact we know all too well. And in my time as a culinarian and instructor, I have witnessed the development of many of our current culinary icons — ordinary people who have evolved from learners into teachers. It takes a while to find them, but when you do, these diamonds in the rough shine with such brilliance. You are grateful for all the hard work they have put in to make you into a better version of who you are.

It may not seem to be much, but when you think about it, a culinary education can change your life. Take, for example, chef Patty Loanzon, once a dedicated advertising executive. For years she would slave over servicing ad agency clients with their army of needs. A great marriage and great sons followed. Then she took our 23-day Essentials Cooking Series course, Batch 2, where she graduated with our highest award — the Silver Spoon of excellence. Patty is one of my devoted instructors capable of not only dishing out innovative culinary classes but also delving into full academic instruction even with teenagers with special needs, since she is not only a chef instructor but a SPED instructor as well.

With chefs Carrie and Patty, I am looking forward to hearing the buzz of children learning new skills with fun and excitement. As humans we all encounter different seasons in our life. But how we understand and experience those seasons is really up to us. This summer, my school is taking on the challenge of giving frisky kids and impatient teenagers a whole new life experience — an experience not very far from summers at the beach and adventurous road trips. A trip of culinary lessons where teenagers can bring their friends and learn

practical life skills together, where instead of surfing they can learn sautéing, and instead of tantrums, toddlers can learn how to make cookies. It is an unconventional approach but it is worth a try.

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For more information on the summer courses, call 726-5316 and 412-7792 or visit 33 Boni Serrano Avenue, Quezon City.