Old Manila's new recipe for success

MANILA, Philippines - Old Manila Chef de Cuisine Gavin Sellars first felt the faint stirrings of what turned out to be a life-long passion for cooking in the family kitchen.

“I remember as a boy in Melbourne, Australia, making the best herb, bacon and grilled cheese toasties and tasty frozen fruit ices,” he recalls.

Born in Melbourne, Gavin left his hometown for Sydney in 1996 to pursue a culinary career.

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide comes out an annual list of restaurants that have been assessed according to a stringent rating system, and those who perform at the peak of the industry are rewarded with the highest Australian restaurant accolade: one, two or three chef’s hats, Australia’s equivalent to the Michelin star. Gavin was lucky enough to have began his career working in Area, a one-chef’s hat restaurant in Double Bay, Sydney.

“It was there that I received my first compliment from a guest – Nicole Kidman! She had my chocolate brownie with whisky-chocolate ice cream,” he remembers. It was this, plus the passion, inspiration and excitement that had him falling in love with his craft.

His next mentor, Chef Genevieve Copeland, taught him the importance of quality and using only the freshest local farmer’s produce. “She also allowed me to be bold with my flavors and colors.”

Throughout his culinary career down under, Gavin worked in award-winning fine dining restaurants, giving him the opportunity to cook for many famous people like Hollywood movie stars Tom Cruise and Will Smith, former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Senator Hillary Clinton and Australian superstar Bryan Brown. He also worked alongside British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

He was part of the opening team for Salt, top Australian chef Luke Mangan’s highly acclaimed restaurant in Sydney and one of the city’s top 10 restaurants. Working with Mangan for three years and assisting him in the 2001 Melbourne Food Festival still remains one of the high points of his career. “He inspired me with his great passion for sophistication and refinement which is a fusion of different cultures over a classic French base.”

After spending 11 years working in Australia he worked for two years at Ritz Carlton’s Sharq Village & Spa in Doha, Qatar. Now 35, he has found his way to the Philippines as the chef de cuisine at The Peninsula Manila’s signature restaurant, Old Manila.

Gavin is all praises for his staff in Old Manila and says “They have got great enthusiasm and that alone makes my job easy. It’s very infectious and inspiring.”

In terms of the menu, he praises Old Manila for retaining traditional dishes favored by longtime patrons. “I like using familiar ingredients and giving them a new twist, combining fresh, light textures with bold flavors,” he shares.

“There are two dishes that I believe people will come back for,” he shares. “Both are elegant and sophisticated in their presentation, and bold in their flavor and textures – an appetizer of rabbit and duck foie gras terrine with celery root salad, baby carrot truffle essence and a main course of peppered pan-roasted lamb loin with baby artichoke and mushroom ragout, charred eggplant and thyme jus.”

Chef Gavin is confident that he will succeed with his plans for Old Manila. “At the end of the day, people always go back to quality,” he says, “although I’d also like to elicit comments like ‘Wow! How did he do that!?’ as well.”