Preparing them young

We used to think we started training rather early in kitchen chores, from going to the wet market to actual cooking. Today we observe that "trainees" have become much younger, with parents letting their kids from age three or seven–or as soon as they can tell what would burn them and what would be safe–work with them in the kitchen. Our own gourmet started as a barbecue assistant to his father (an executive chef) when he was barely four, helping set up the barbecue griller in their patio, controlling the fire when it got unwieldy, checking when the steak was done. By the time he was 8, he was inventing recipes and a couple of years later, surprised us by preparing dinner for the family. He is not alone. There are many young boys and girls who love kitchen work and there are schools who start them young.

Among them is the Sacred Heart School chain, located in San Lorenzo Village, San Antonio Arcade in Forbes Park, Sun Valley in Parañaque, Shangri-La Plaza and Malabon. On its second week now is Vicky Veloso’s The Tiny Kitchen for children aged 3 to 7. Like us, Vicky learned the rudiments of the culinary arts at a very young age, having been raised by a family that recognizes good food. This prolific cookbook author ( we reckon she has published three) conducts the classes three times a week and the whole course covers three weeks. The sessions are premised on fun and safety, featuring no-bake recipes like Dinosaur Salad and Oreo Brownies. Find out if your kids have the talent for cooking and encourage them. They can develop into respected and gainfully employed culinary experts in the future.

About three years ago golden tilapia (so called because the family is engaged in jewelry, although it looked like the typical fish with black skin) was introduced to us by the Domingo family in Bacolod. We regret that we have not kept tract of whether it is available in the market. A few days ago, at the Gotianum Farm in Mission Hills in Antipolo, we encountered the same fish. This time, while called Golden, it looked lovelier with pinkish skin. They were big, plump and yummy. Unfortunately, because of limited harvest, they are only sold to Chinese restaurants in the city. Maybe someday soon, the technology could be transferred to more gentlemen-farmers so that the fish can be available to consumers. Tomatoes, eggplants, upo, ampalaya, cauliflower are also raised on this farm, whose owners have introduced residential farming to meet not only the demand of families but for extra income.

There was another fish we discovered at a recent lunch at the Marina restaurant on Jupiter in Makati: Mapagat, raised only in Iloilo and flown fresh daily to this eatery. It is found on the shores of Panay and can grow to as big as two kilos. It can be steamed, deep-fried or grilled. We had daing, marinated in Marina’s Iloilo mixture of seasonings. Immediately, our group went gaga over this new fish. Fleshy but soft, its texture is between lapu-lapu and bangus, having a rather milky consistency and taste. It costs P65 per 100 gms. They also serve cultured seabass and, if you are not worried about cholesterol, Iloilo lechon with a salty-sweetish sauce.

We dropped in on Landmark supermarket recently and found they have this corner of organic vegetables and herbs. Their fresh catch section has an extensive selection–giant bangus at P110, black lapu-lapu at P350, pampano at P180, tilapia at P75, prawns at P580 and sugpito at P500. Prepared food like chicken and beef bulgogi are sold at P180 a kilo and sisig at P50 a pack. From Jupiter’s the baby back ribs are tagged at P190 a kilo, ground sirloin at P140 while at the Monterey counter kasim goes for P133, lamb chops at P158 and ground beef at a low of P99 a kilo.

Landmark should perhaps tell or instruct their staff to avoid sorting out/arranging merchandise during shopping hours. If one is not careful, one is likely to trip over scattered cartons and bundles and even the merchandisers themselves.

Lydia D. Castillo’s e-mail address: inmybasket@hotmail.com