Body & Soul

MANILA, Philippines - When Josefina Cruz Sincioco was growing up in Angat, Bulacan, she wanted to become a nun. It was very clear to her at an early age that she wanted to help in giving people spiritual nourishment. Somewhere along the way, her childhood dream was not realized. Instead, by some stroke of fate, or much faith, she was led into the kitchen. She found God in the food that she prepared. She found God in the flavorful food that simmered in her kitchen. She saw God on the faces of people who found delight in her cooking.

She is now more popularly known as Chef Jessie. Instead of a habit, she now wears a chef’s uniform. The kitchen is her convent. And her covenant is cooking food for the soul. She believes that when people eat good food, more than their stomachs, their souls find joy, bliss, fulfillment. In every dish that she prepares is a prayer that is said — for people’s nourishment. And this is nourishment for body and soul.

Chef Jessie’s culinary gift, just like many miracles, was just under her nose but she did not recognize it right away. Her foray to the kitchen was, in the beginning, settled at the back burner, so to speak. After finishing BS Commerce major in Banking and Finance at the Manuel L. Quezon University in Quiapo, Manila, she began working for the hardware and construction business of her aunt’s family (Lita Sincioco Dy), who also took Jessie into her wings to live with her and her family in Quiapo. Jessie was assigned at the human resources department, in charge of the payroll.

In 1983, her aunt Lita, who was enrolled at the Maya Kitchen, coaxed her to join in the dessert category of the Great Maya Cookfest with Nora Daza, a cooking contest held at the InterContinental Hotel in Makati.

“I was crying because I did not want to join the contest. I knew I had no talent in the kitchen. But I knew good food because my aunt prepared good food in the house,” she recalls.

Nevertheless, Jessie joined the contest, presented her on-the-spot dessert entry she titled “My Tita’s Special Treat,” which was a moist mango cake whose sponge had whipped cream. At the end of the day, she was adjudged the winner by the judges that included Glenda Barretto, Chitang Nakpil and Joy Virata. Part of her prize was to train at the Maya Kitchen School in Japan. Back in Manila, InterCon offered Jessie a three-month training at its pastry section. From there, everything became a sweet success for Chef Jessie.

Now, her name is already a brand. She has three restaurants under her name. One restaurant that people flock to is Chef Jessie  at Rockwell. “It was Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manolo Lopez, chairman of the board of Rockwell, who gave ‘Chef Jessie’ as the name of my restaurant,” she says.

“Rockwell has always been very good to me. It’s always a pleasure doing business with the people behind it. I am very grateful,” adds Chef Jessie of her 10-year-old relationship with the company.

Gratitude was ingrained early on in Jessie and her five younger siblings by their parents Juanito and Carmen. “I inherited from my father his being hardworking; he was a farmer. I also learned from him the genuine love for fostering relationships with other people.

“My business sense and my culinary skills came from my mother. She made the best kakanin in Bulacan like sapin-sapin, biko and candied condol. Her business sense came when she would transport to Manila all the produce of our farm. She also taught me love for family,” says Chef Jessie, who goes to Mass at 7 a.m. daily.

Chef Jessie’s everyday life is centered on two things: love and faith. Because of these traits, plus, of course, her delicious kitchen creations, she was chosen to be the chef to serve Pope Francis during his visit to the Philippines last January. She and the Pope have fostered a good relationship that when she visited him last May at the Vatican, she was received by the Pontiff with a warm embrace. 

When she was a child, she wanted to become a nun. She became a chef instead. And she still has the same faith that every ingredient that goes in the preparation of her food is a celebration of God’s gift to her talent.

She is blessed. And Chef Jessie shares her blessings with anyone who partakes of her sumptuous food.

Photography by RITA MARIE • Creative direction and overall styling by Luis Espiritu Jr. • Makeup by BABA PARMA • Hairstyling by RONNIE TUMAMAK

• Shot on location at CHEF JESSIE AT ROCKWELL, THE ROCKWELL CLUB