Zao Chow

Chefs are now the new rock stars. Culinary craft is the present hype. To enrol in a respected culinary school is mostly what kids dream of after drawing inspiration from the computer-animated film, Ratatouille. Although Paolo Christian J. Ong was in his early 20s when this movie premiered in theatres worldwide, he pointed out that cooking came to be a passion when he was already a sophomore. And there was no little mouse hiding in his toque! What pushed him to pursue his culinary calling was his passion and strong motivation to make his dream come true.

In 2006 Paolo earned a diploma in Culinary Arts and Patisserie at the Philippine School of Culinary Arts. He also earned a degree in Associate of Occupational Studies at the California Culinary Academy – Le Courdon Bleu, San Francisco, California in March 2008. This young lad of 25 has quite a number of notable experiences under his belt. His work as chef in Makati Shangri-La Hotel (Manila) in 2006 and Poleng Lounge (an Asian cuisine and tea lounge known for modern plating) in San Francisco, California from 2007 to 2008 have given him a chance to expand his craft. He presently holds a junior membership at the American Culinary Federation. He is currently the leader of the band Zao, err, the head chef for their family-owned Zao Resto Grill.

While in the US to pursue culinary studies, Paolo prepared his own meals at home. This daily experience propelled him to discover his own flair. South American cuisine such as Mexican cuisine impressed him most because of its tasty and spicy characteristics. Aside from Mexican Burritos and Fajitas as favorites, Filipino good eats like Monggos with Gata, Kare-Kare and Sinigang are among Paolo’s much-loved comfort foods.

Zao (Greek word for life), located in Andres Abellana, Guadalupe, offers lunch and dinner Mexican dishes with a homegrown twist, using locally-sourced ingredients. For appetizer, 3 Cheese Quesadilla is the bestselling specialty, which is good for sharing. Must-try main dish is the Beef Kebab with Garlic Mushroom Cheese Dip – the meat is marinated in coriander, cumin, paprika and lemon mixture. Since the Cebuano foodie also loves Italian fares, as well, Paolo added pasta choices in the menu such as Carbonara, as well as other varieties. Also, you’ll never go wrong with beer match staples such as Sisig and Calamares that are considered as regular orders of patrons. Moving forward, he takes the challenge of filling up the 120-seating capacity room with warm earth-colored walls and wooden accents.

His principle? “You have to be one of a kind in your craft to be a one-of-a-kind chef, but you can’t deny that people will always love food that they’re familiar with. I meet both beliefs by taking basic, traditional recipes and fusing them into something different yet not quite new yet classic. It’s about satisfying myself and the people I cook for.”

When not too busy with Zao, Paolo dabbles in surfing and skateboarding where he gets the same thrill when he’s in the kitchen. Like these extreme sports, cooking also requires one to master tricks and techniques for him to be considered great, he said. Well, the challenge continues for Paolo as he is whipping up new exciting things for Zao. Rectangular 7x16 pizzas will soon be available aside from sandwiches as afternoon match. On a personal note, this young chef is presently fascinated with Vietnamese cooking and yearns to further his basic knowledge on such Asian cuisine. But his goal is similar with other kitchen rock stars – that is to master Molecular Cuisine.