This chef plays with his food

A select group of media of practitioners were the most willing participants to this culinary activity. Welcome Executive Chef Andre Karlen of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

To many people, cooking may seem to be a routine aspect of daily life. In the past, so many hours were spent in the kitchen to prepare a meal that seemed to be consumed in minutes. There was then a brigade of house help to make such a meal a reality.

Today, many of this service force have gone to work in factories and went overseas. The ones that are left are very demanding; cash advance to buy that ubiquitous cell phone, extra load, one day off and 13th month pay. Add pa the problem of economic crises, this is the reason why instant noodles including instant pancit Canton have replaced lechon as the national dish of the Philippines.

 Fortunately, some people have specialized in preparing food and this makes the task not just work but art and the culinary arts refer to all the resources that have to do with the cooking of food and other activities related to cooking.

Chef Andre went through the long and arduous route to be an Executive Chef, starting as an apprentice at the age of 18 in the Restaurant Chex Max in Zurich, Switzerland. He has worked his way through the ranks in various restaurants in Switzerland, France, Italy and Austria until he assumed the position of Executive Chef at the Restaurant Schroedel in Bavaria, Germany in 1994. More travel pa gyud was involved, this time to Singapore, Indonesia, Switzerland, Macau, Trinidad and Tobago and finally, whew, to the Philippines.

And now it is time to eat what the Executive Chef prepared because he “actually may not have the chance to do much cooking, although the executive chef will oversee menus, food ordering, kitchen staff, food safety, and the look and feel of the restaurant.” And because business is business, excuse me, he has to be profit oriented.

After whetting the appetites with Italian Parma ham, Chef Andre introduced the soup, Cold Mango Soup with Espresso, Fresh Garden Salad with crispy Lechon Kawali. And your favourite food columnist was instantly on guard to analyze this strange concoction of cold soup made from the mango fruit and flavored with coffee! I had to rely on my past experiences like the Gazpacho Andaluz, a cold soup coming from the region of Andalusia, under Muslim control for eight centuries in southern Spain.

After an initial confusion, my palate was then mellowed by the incoming green salad specially the fresh Inoki mushrooms and the Filipino in me was satiated by the crispy Lechon Kawali. Very playful gyud this Chef in activating all these taste sensations in one single dish!

The main course was then served, the Grilled Parrot Fish Fillet and Seafood with Asian Spices, served with Sun-dried tomatoes Noodles and Assorted vegetables. Chef Andre has recalled his culinary experience in Indonesia and Singapore to present this dish, spicy but not hot and surely a very tasty combination of the jewels of the sea.

Dessert was Fresh Fruit in Brandy Snap, Strawberry Madness in Glass, Chocolate Smores and Mango Wasabi Cheese Cake. With four desserts to chose from, life is indeed very difficult! These are the moments that I wish I could invite my beloved loyal followers to share in the delights.

And your favorite food columnist has an aversion of wasting food. Eat na lang everything from the kitchen under the supervision of my colleague of the La Chaine des Rotisseurs, Executive Chef Andre Karlen of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.