This MasterChef cooks for love

MANILA, Philippines - People do extraordinary things because of love.

JR Royol has always wanted to marry his longtime girlfriend Ma-Ann Alimagno. In a leap of faith, coupled with Ma-Ann’s belief in the capacity of her boyfriend, JR joined a reality cooking show even if he knew he was not confident in this department, and made a promise that if he won the P1-million grand prize, he would bring her to the altar.

The kitchen gods heard his pleas for recently, JR was adjudged the first (adult) champion of MasterChef Pinoy Edition, a reality cooking competition on ABS-CBN hosted by Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo. And the country’s MasterChef will soon master his promise to the woman he loves by committing his life and love to her before God.

JR and Ma-Ann, both 29, met while they were both working for a call center company. They became instant friends who shared a common denominator: they were both brokenhearted. Soon, they discovered how to mend each other’s heart. Last Saturday, they celebrated the third year of their beautiful relationship.

“I was such a mess when we first met and wanted to do practically everything. Nay (JR’s term of endearment for Ma-Ann) would be that kindred soul who will tap my back and urge me to try — despite the setbacks and frustrations. And she would always be that voice that says, ‘You can do it’,” says JR, who took up Computer Science at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University in La Union.

Even his joining the MasterChef, JR looks back, was partly a handiwork of his beloved Ma-Ann, who egged him to join the contest after she saw a TV commercial inviting Filipinos to take their chance at  MasterChef Pinoy Edition reality cooking show. JR at first brushed off the idea. “Good thing I am blessed with a partner who sees through me and believes in me,” JR says. The next thing he knew, he, with Ma-Ann in tow, was lining up with more than a thousand hopefuls to audition for MasterChef. The rest, as cliché has it, is history. Aside from the “cool P1-million cash prize,” JR also got to take home a Whirlpool kitchen appliance showcase and a scholarship from Center for Asian Culinary Studies.

When their wedding bells start ringing and the aroma of the savory dishes wafts in the air, expect to eat bigorot, the goose dish that made JR win the MasterChef competition. Bigorot, proclaimed the best dish by chef judges Ferns Aracama, Rolando Laudico and Jayps Anglo with guest judges Kris Aquino and Richard Gomez during the final cooking showdown, was JR’s ode to his roots — Bicolano and Igorot.

“Bigorot was my way of showing the humility and simplicity of my heritage during the competition. I wanted to showcase the flavors that I grew up with. I also wanted to give exposure to our produce — showing our kababayans that homegrown ingredients can still be served at fine-dining/gourmet level,” he proudly says. Bigorot, JR says, is a goose dish (“I grew up eating goose in Benguet.”) cooked with etag (cured pork meat), tapuy (Mt. Province rice wine) with sauce made of coconut milk and turmeric.

JR’s discovery of his way to the kitchen was paved when he was barely in his teens. “My mom would always attend these prayer meetings in Benguet every weekend making me the “adult” (I was around 11) who would look after my nephews and nieces. I would take these instances as “practice time” and would always try to make adobo for our dinner.”

His mother Asuncion is from Barlig, Mt. Province while his father Romulo Sr. is from Caramoan. He spent his childhood having to live in different parts of the country — in Benguet, Mindoro, Las Piñas, La Union and Cavite. The reasons for their “nomadic” lifestyle were also varied, among which: they lost their house to a fire, the need to follow family members who study in the city and the necessity to look for better means of livelihood. His childhood experiences and environs, JR says, made him and his other siblings appreciate nature and understand its importance.

“My mom has always had a special relationship with God. More than anything else, she never fails to patiently remind us the importance of having His grace in everything we do.

“My dad had to work overseas most of my childhood — but we would still feel his presence. He would regularly send us cassette tape recordings that were full of wisdom and lessons,” he remembers. 

He adds: “My sisters, Angelica and Veronica trained me to be an ideal Romeo. They both taught me all there is to know about chivalry. More importantly, they exposed me to rock music! [JR is the lead singer of the band called Israfel (the Angel of Music).] Our youngest, Ace Daniel, taught me how to value time. Now that he works abroad, I dearly miss his company.” 

JR says that it is also because of his love for his family that he wanted to win the MasterChef contest. “Of course, a great portion of my winning will also go to my family. I would try to venture into something that would secure their regular income,” JR says.

When JR talks about his three-year-old son (from his previous relationship), he becomes thoughtful, almost meditative.

“My son is one of the reasons why I wanted the P1-million prize…so that I can finally afford a lawyer who can represent me in court. I wish for visitation rights with my son,” he says. To see his son is JR’s fervent prayer. And JR sincerely prays for a peaceful solution.

What greatest lessons has the Pinoy MasterChef so far learned in life?

“Life for me is a never-ending learning process. My attitude and my faith have always kept me afloat. I always maintain a quiet resolve that ‘I can do it’,” JR says.

JR recalls that every time he walked in the set of MasterChef after taking the public transport, he would always recite with conviction this line to himself quietly: “Whenever your enemies are closing in on you, claim victory! Whenever your heart and your flesh fail you, look up and claim victory!”

But with Ma-Ann telling him all the time that “You just have to believe and that God is always good,” JR always manages to win his battles. Ma-Ann, his ladylove from Cabuyao, Laguna, has that effect in JR to turn the negative into positive, the unpleasant  into beautiful, the mundane into meaningful.

And marrying his girlfriend Ma-Ann is one victory JR will claim soon.

(E-mail me at [email protected] or follow me on Twitter @bum_tenorio.)