Chef on call

Last Sunday, I was like a mother attending her eldest son’s graduation. The truth of the matter was it was a dear friend, who is about two years younger than I, who was participating in a "Legacy Buffet", a splendid culinary feast that was going to feature the "works" of students at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies in San Juan, Metro Manila. My friend Robert "Bitoy" Clemena’s piece was roast lamb, a mouth-watering, most tender crowning glory that was just a sampling of the skills he learned to merit an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from De La Salle University-College of Saint Benilde.

There were about 20 graduating chefs belonging to the eighth batch trained at the CACS, said to be the "better" of the existing culinary centers in the country. CACS started out as an apprenticeship program in Café Ysabel for budding chefs who wanted professional training. Gene Gonzalez, who was formerly one of the founders of The Gallery for Culinary Arts, designed the curriculum and co-founded the school in a quest for a center that would provide internationally acceptable standards of learning and world-class methods of teaching. Graduates of the course are a variegated lot, high school graduates, cooking hobbyists and professionals who want to open their own restaurants, teach others to cook, or – become chefs on call, which is exactly what Robert has been doing.

The culinary center offers a six-month training course leading to a certificatein culinary arts. It also offers one-day classes on a fascinating range of cooking methods, from how to make coffee, crab dishes, appetizers, Korean specials, Chinese dishes, sausages, pastas, tapas, Spanish meals and special everyday meals.

The nine-month associate degree puts students side by side with the six-month course to learn about the world’s cuisine – Russian, French, Italian, Asian. But those on the nine-month course take academic courses at the College of St. Benilde for menu-planning, nutrition, table setting, bar tending, sanitation, and culinary math.

The man behind CACS, Gene, is Robert’s idol, of whom he says, "I dream, even at my age (50-ish), to be like Chef Gene. He probably is the best chef in the Philippines, ahving been a TOYM awardee, being well-traveled, and never stopping to learn about cooking. He writes. He has that strong sense of smell. He can recognize from afar what is lacking in the seasoning, just by the aroma of the food, or name a vintage with a simple whiff of the cork." Robert says he has not developed this talent yet, but he has had a nose for news, having been in the media as reporter, covering the defense department beat, for the now defunct Philippines Herald.

* * *

Bitoy was cooking in the family kitchen in Bicol when he was that high, developing early a taste for Filipino ingredients, like coconut milk and siling labuyo. His formal education in cooking was at the TESDA under Executive Chef Bert Francisco. Then came his culinary experience at CACS, which has set its graduation exercises for June 18, with another feast that Robert says is a hundred times better than last Sunday’s.

People he admires in addition to Gene, are the instructor/chefs at CACS – Grace Aspiras, whose specialty is Italian cooking and who has her own cooking school, and Junjun de Guzman, who is tops in pastry-making.

Robert says he is fortunate that he has lived for sometime in countries whose regional cuisine is well established, such as France, England, Australia, Oceania, and the Far East. "I learned to appreciate the taste of their food, became familiar with their techniques in cooking, and got to know their soul by mingling with the people in the wet markets." He says Gene Gonzalez has given him and his classes unexpected wisdom; he knows wines and cheeses, herbs, and gives them access to places for the best lamb and beef, duck liver.

* * *

He says his master’s degree in national security administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines, and his training in a religious community with a degree in theology, helped him "become more aware of my mission in life as Chef: to teach Filipinos the value of eating health foods, enjoying our natural ingredients, and caring for them, and to prepare meals on the table of families that should unite the members, bring them joy, and inspire sharing images of what the Kingdom of God is, as Jesus has pictured it to us."

He continues: "I have had many turns in my career/life. I planned my route. I have been there, done that, as the saying goes. But this career of cooking is the best – so far. I intend to teach, write books. And cook, especially for my first, only and last love (Rose) and the family."

Already, Robert is a much-in-demand chef on call, his clientele gourmets living in plush villages. (His CP, by the way, is 0916 557 4576.) They share his passion for European cuisine "because of the interplay of the best ingredients, cheese and wine and foie paté de gras." But he makes use of a lot of herbs and local materials as the malvarosa, guava and coconut milk for sauces, thus giving his dishes an exotic flavor.

As chef on call, he consults with his clients on the menu, and he asks them to provide all the ingredients. He cooks, supervises cooks, looks at the table arrangements, makes sure the food, as well as the ambience, is a memorable experience.

* * *

My e-mail: [email protected]