Chef Miguel Pacheco’s Open Kitchen has nothing to hide

Watching celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay do his thing (in Hell’s Kitchen) on TV has boosted our fascination for what goes on in restaurant kitchens.

The sparkling-clean countertops, proper handling of ingredients, sight of flames and steam, clattering of pots and pans, and chef’s screaming have become part of the “show” of dining out.

Here in the metro, more and more restaurants are following the trend of open kitchens as a sign to customers that they have nothing — horror food stories — to hide. That’s exactly what young chef Miguel Pacheco had in mind when he named his newly opened restaurant Open Kitchen.

“Restaurants with open kitchens connote cleanliness,” says chef Miguel. “I want to assure our clients that here at Open Kitchen, they can dine in peace as all the chopping, the cooking and the plating of food take place in full view of the diners.”

THE ACCIDENTAL CHEF

Situated along East Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City, Open Kitchen serves French/Caribbean-inspired dishes that not only taste good but look good as well.

“Our cuisine has no boundaries, so long as the ingredients are fresh and the flavors are kept straightforward,” chef Miguel says.

The wahoo (mahi) fish cake, for instance, sits elegantly on a bed of wild fern (pako), topped with fresh strawberry and drizzled with mango purée. The colors pop on a white plate, making the dish quite irresistible.

Open Kitchen’s hot and cold pumpkin vanilla soup — with almonds and leeks — perks up the appetite. Instead of cream, chef Miguel opts for vanilla ice cream for added texture and flavor.

“We eat with our eyes first so food presentation (plating) is very important,” notes the amiable chef, who started dabbling in a professional kitchen when he was in high school.

“My dad asked me to work for free at his friend’s restaurant, the Oyster Bar, at Rockwell Power Plant Mall in Makati during summer, so I could be productive,” he relates.

Chef Miguel knew nothing about the kitchen then, but the staff was very patient with him and nice enough to teach him the ropes. When his summer vacay ended, so was his foray in the kitchen, thanks to his newfound fascination for music. But when it was time to choose a course for college, “only food made sense” to Miguel. So he took up BS Hotel and Restaurant Management specializing in Culinary Arts at De La Salle College of Saint Benilde. There was no stopping the accidental chef from then on.

In 2007, chef Miguel went to Canada to further his studies at the Art Institute of Vancouver. In just 11 months, he got an offer from a French bistro, where he worked as garde manger from 2008 to 2009.

“That’s where I mastered the art of chopping and plating,” notes chef Miguel. “The restaurant scene in Canada is very competitive. Sanitation is very important. A single cockroach found in your resto would be strong grounds for closure. Now you understand why I’m so OC in the kitchen.”

In 2010, chef Miguel went back to the Philippines and worked as chef de partie at CCA in Eastwood.

“That experience taught me how to manage a restaurant and the people. I worked with nine cooks, four dishwashers, and four servers. It was tough at the beginning, but it was so worth it,” he enthuses.

His stint at CCA Eastwood was cut short when he got an offer to work at Harry’s bar and restaurant in the Bermuda.

“During my stay at Harry’s, we won the Best Organic Restaurant award, and got a citation as the Cleanest Restaurant. I was really happy with that. We served 120 diners a day even if we were only four in the kitchen,” chef Miguel relates.

“I got paid really good,” he adds, “But then again, it wasn’t all about the money. It’s about where I wanted to be ... and I terribly missed home so I decided to go back and try Manila out once again.”

Miguel started his catering business — 48 Concepts — in 2011. When he realized that his foray in the kitchen wasn’t purely accidental, he decided to put up his own restaurant, the Open Kitchen, in December 2013.

FLAVORS OF THE TROPICS

Chef Miguel conceptualized Open Kitchen’s menu while he was still working at Harry’s.

“I love to eat. So whenever I tasted something good, I would jot down the name and ingredients of the dish on my notebook. In fact, when I compared the menu I did for Open Kitchen with that of my Bermuda notes, 80 percent of the dishes were the same. Actually, everything on the menu is local except for the rib eye and the dairy products.”

Open Kitchen has an al fresco dining area with an organic herb garden where chef Miguel gets his supply of dill, basil, tarragon, etc., to flavor his fish or pasta dishes.

Open Kitchen’s menu is inspired by what chef Miguel had or prepared everywhere he worked or travelled. 

For example, the anise pork belly with honey mustard reduction and chopped nori was inspired by a pork dish chef Miguel loved after work hours in Vancouver.

“It was so good it left a lasting impression on my palate,” he says. “The pork belly is slow-cooked (soaked in beer, ginger, and herbs) for four hours in the oven. The meat is so tender and juicy.”

The dishes served at Open Kitchen are far from the ordinary as chef Miguel loves to experiment in the kitchen. If the rabbit fish with chili chocolate, strawberries and torched mallows flatbread pizza (inspired by champorado with tuyo) doesn’t tickle your taste buds, what else will?

Soon, all these yummy ideas from the Open Kitchen will be an open secret to foodies in the metro.

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Open Kitchen is at East Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City.

For reservations, call 738-0102.