Personal chef Noel de la Rama at your service
Many celebrities, tycoons and world leaders have one. A person who caters to your every whim, odd taste or food allergy. In less sophisticated eras, this person was simply called a cook. But in this modern age where kitchen geniuses have attained rock-star status, we have what is now called the personal chef.
Tom Cruise hired a personal chef for Katie Holmes because he thought she was too skinny. Oprah Winfrey had one, chef Art Smith,who revealed in Rachel Ray’s show that Oprah told him his large cooking style could feed the whole of Chicago. (Was that why Oprah has remained larger than life?) Paris-trained Kai Chase was a personal chef of Michael Jackson — she sensed something was wrong one day when Michael didn’t ask for his usual juice and granola — and she also cooked for US President Barack Obama and Jamie Foxx. Long before Angelina Jolie became Mrs. Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston used to find her way to her man’s heart — through a personal chef.
New York City, which is a gourmet/gourmand’s idea of culinary paradise because it has some of the the best restaurants in the world, is also naturally populated by top chefs. Make that top personal chefs. One of them happens to be Filipino — Noel de la Rama — who is personal chef to New York City business moguls and celebrities in the movie industry, as well as private individuals. But the humble and refined Noel would rather know his onions than name drop his clients.
It seems Noel can be on call not only in NYC but in other parts of the culinary universe as well. I was fortunate enough to partake of delicious dinners hosted by a gracious gourmet host last year in Spain where Noel flew in to take over our host’s kitchen. His meals, using the season’s freshest catch, vegetables and meats in the local market, were unforgettably sumptuous. It seems I got doubly lucky this year, having been invited to a dinner in Makati, prepared by Noel again.
I have attended unforgettable dinners hosted by Fe Rodriguez and prepared by her son Junie who is himself one of Manila’s most amazingly extraordinary chefs, aside from being a brilliant architect and interior designer with a passion for art and culture, which is shared by his mom. This passion is seen in their home where every nook reflects a consciousness of Philippine history, every handsome coffee table book is practically dog-eared and not just serves as decoration, and every artwork stirs your pride and respect for Filipino artists.
Like minds congregate, so it was not surprising that Noel and Junie teamed up to produce a feast that looked good and tasted good. Junie laid out a beautiful table loosely following a theme — bounty of the sea — brightened up by ferns, ostrich eggshells, and using seashells as salad bowls, oriental paper collaged into lanterns, and antique Asian textiles as table toppers. It was certainly a relaxed and happy dinner where the courses were served by Noel and Junie themselves, with a little help from their friend Jaime Pineda who volunteered as co-waiter for the night.
“We were lucky that our dear friend Noel was in town, taking a break from his cooking and teaching jobs,” says Fe. “His kitchen wizardry produces one treat after another. No fancy ingredients, no technical fireworks. His secret is simple: an honest, knowledgable respect for the ingredients, coupled with a light-handed proficiency. Dishes are crisp and light yet deeply satisfying.”
For Fe’s dinner, Noel cooked up an amuse bouche of roasted cauliflower puree, a salad of prawns and mixed beans, a risotto with sweet peas and lovely lavender pea blossoms, a main plate of lapu-lapu on a bed of apple potato mash with a drizzle of cider and coconut syrup. The finale was a dessert to live for: caramel budino.
“Most important is to feed the eyes, feed the palate, feed the soul,” explains Fe.
Feeding minds is something that Noel also does. For the past two summers, he has been a visiting chef at the CCA (Center for Culinary Arts), after which he also teaches at NYC. The Atenean in him constantly reminds him to be a man for others. “Teaching has been a rewarding experience for me, especially because it’s my way to share my knowledge and give back. I feel my exposure abroad has been beneficial in the students’ formation.”
Lately, Noel has been in demand in Manila where delicious news travels fast by word of mouth. “I usually meet new clients as guests in dinners that I do. Having a discerning yet nurturing clientele is what challenges me to make my food interesting and new. First and foremost, I am a personal chef. Whether it’s vegan, kosher or contemporary menu that I need to produce, I will deliver what is expected of me. There’s no greater satisfaction to a chef than seeing the plates come back empty. My first clients abroad are still my clients today. I have seen their kids grow from toddlers to adults.”
Noel expresses himself well in the kitchen as well as outside. Here are excerpts from our interview:
PHILIPPINE STAR: Tell us about your work as a personal chef in New York.
NOEL DE LA RAMA: Having been a personal chef/caterer in NYC has enabled me to meet and work with some very interesting and loyal clients. I basically have a free rein on the menu save for some dietary or allergy restrictions. All they need to tell me is the protein — (meat, fish, etc.) — they wish to have and I take care of the rest.
When I was just starting out in Manhattan as a personal chef, I had to teach myself to do kosher food. My Jewish clientele keep me quite busy during their many holidays. I make a mean matzoh ball soup and chopped liver, if I may say so.
Do you find a greater satisfaction in being a personal chef? What is the best and worst part of the job?
The best part of working in NYC as a personal chef is that I have all the best ingredients within reach. Food sourcing is never a problem. I am fortunate enough that my clients trust me to do whatever I feel is appropriate for their needs. While I am respectful of cost and budget, I am never told to hold back. I guess that’s why they hire a personal chef in the first place so they can have whatever they desire. The worst part of my job is when I encounter picky and fussy eaters. Everything else is just part of the kitchen adventure.
What are your favorite culinary destinations?
Paris is my happy place. It is where I am inspired by the food, culture and lifestyle all at once. There’s no way to describe having a freshly baked baguette smothered with the best butter in the world.
San Sebastián in Spain is my food Mecca. There really is something about big flavors in small bites. I enjoy being in this coastal town so much that I spent one birthday there all by my self.
When was the first time you tried cooking?
I think I was about 12 or 13 years old. I got sick and tired of the cook’s adobo, so I opened up a Betty Crocker cookbook. I ended up making a ham and cheese soufflé. I have not stopped cooking ever since.
Who were your early mentors or influences?
I didn’t really have any direct influences. My mother never cooked anything in her life but she did know how to entertain and organize dinner parties. So, I was pretty much exposed to food all the time. All I ever wanted really was to be able to cook whatever I fancied. This still holds true until today.
Tell us about your formal training in cooking.
I attended The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY for my Culinary Arts degree and also The French Culinary Institute in Soho, NYC for Baking and Pastry Arts. I try to take cooking classes as well whenever I’m abroad not for the recipes per se but more for the locals’ perspective of their cuisines. This, too, is a good way to go on a supervised market tour of the area. Going to where the locals shop and eat are definitely the way to explore a foreign place.
What was your childhood ambition? When did you realize you wanted to be a chef?
Even before it was trendy, I had always wanted to become a chef. I’ve been cooking for over 30 years. Even as early as high school I would bake and sell my stuff during the holiday season. I had wanted to go to chef’s school after high school but my parents insisted that I get a college degree. So I took BS HRA in UP Diliman since I felt it was related to my dream of becoming a chef. I’m glad I did because everything I’ve learned in university is still applicable to my work now.
Who are your culinary icons?
My all-time favorite chef is David Bouley. He has managed to stay true to his work without taking the celebrity chef route. It’s this same passion that I adhere to.
What are your thoughts on Filipino cuisine? On fusion cuisine? On modern Pinoy cuisine?
I am quite excited with the current interest in Filipino cuisine in NYC. It’s one of the trendiest foods to have right now. While the iron is hot, we should really take advantage of this.
I’m very happy that Doris Magsaysay-Ho and the rest of the Kulinarya team have been working hard to promote Filipino cuisine. As I was telling her during a dinner party a few weeks ago, she should get in touch with all the cooking schools in the Philippines. This way, you can start the education early on with these would-be chefs. Some of them will be going abroad after school, and they, too, can spread our cuisine to the world.
Sadly, some foreigners think our food is not as pretty as our other Asian neighbors. That’s where it ends though because our food is quite an interesting mix of bold flavors and textures as well. We just need to do something to make it more visually appealing.
As for the concept of fusion cuisine, in a way it’s been around forever. We Filipinos have the Spaniards, Chinese, etc., to thank for. While the Indonesians have the Dutch, the Vietnamese have the French and so on and so forth. I’d like to believe that modern Filipino cuisine can simply be had by just tweaking the way it is prepared without going overboard and giving the public a totally different take.
What do you think of metropolitan Pinoys’ current eating preferences?
There are so many restaurants to choose from now in Manila. We are definitely not lacking in choices. The caveat to this is sustainability. We are and always have been a faddish society. Look around you now and notice how many gastropubs, ramen houses, macaron and cupcake places there are. Remember the cronut craze? Even Dominique Ansel had to rein that in. At the end of the day, it is the food that is important and not the gimmicks. Rather than replicate something from abroad, come up with something more unique.
Consistency and quality always go hand in hand.
If you ever open a restaurant of your own, what would it be?
Even after all these years of cooking professionally, I have never wanted my own restaurant. I have found my niche as a personal chef and doing small catering gigs. I cannot do the same thing over and over again. The best part of my job is the ability to be creative on a daily basis. I follow my instinct and try my best to use what is fresh and available. I always tell my clients that I can guarantee them that they are the only ones having what I am cooking. I create a menu based on their needs and wants. I’d like to think this is what sets me apart from the rest. Basically, your wish is my command.
Maybe down the road, I would want to open a private dining room where people can book ahead of time. We’ll see.
Describe your dream dinner with 10 guests.
My dream dinner would be a potluck. I would ask my guests to bring their favorite foods and we will enjoy it all together. This pretend guest list will include: Alice Waters, Katerina de Medici, Auguste Escoffier, Marie-Antoine Carême, Gaston Lenôtre, Pierre Hermé, Julia Child, Joel Robuchon, Elena Arzak and of course David Bouley — my personal heroes.
What are the current culinary trends?
The culinary scene can be quite trendy. So, it is very important to always be ahead of the game without sacrificing your core as a chef. If your foundation is strong then everything just falls into place. You cannot just be good in one thing because just like everything else, the culinary world is constantly evolving. It is a chef’s responsibility to keep abreast of what’s going on but at the same time giving it his own spin.
The one trend I would like to see continue is the farm-to-table movement. Not only is it better for the environment, it just makes sense altogether. Why even cook something if it’s not in season? I have always admired farmers and suppliers who can provide the public with great products. Small batch production of food will always yield better quality, hence the steeper prices but the results are far more superior than, say, big-store products.
Whenever I am in town, I enjoy going to both the Legazpi and Salcedo weekend markets. The organic farm stands are inspiring and full of promise. In a way that’s how I create my menus, I let the products dictate what to make. This time around, I have used a lot of produce and products from Down to Earth. Their heirloom tomatoes were such a treat that I tried to incorporate them whenever possible. Organic farmers and artisans like them should be supported so as to encourage more people to follow their lead. Now is definitely a very exciting time to be a chef, especially in the Philippines.
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For inquiries, email NOELDELARAMA@me.com.
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Photos by Millet M. Mananquil
