Chef Theo Zaragoza: Food is where his heart is

MANILA, Philippines - Each chef has his signature dish, one that he can whip up even with his eyes closed. It may not always be an original culinary creation, but it’s something that will leave a mark on the palates of those who have sampled it. For chef cum food stylist Theo Zaragoza, that would be his kare-kare wrap, the beefy goodness of kare-kare wrapped in tortilla flour for that one mouthwatering appetizer. The dish is dear to the young chef’s heart because kare-kare is not only his wife’s favorite dish but also his mom’s specialty.

“My mother is my culinary mentor. Every dish she knows, she would teach me except kare-kare. One day, she asked me to cook kare-kare for dinner. I had no idea how to do it. I just relied on a cookbook and my taste buds. Thank goodness, I managed to whip up the dish from scratch,” chef Theo recalls.

Aside from cooking, chef Theo also dabbled in designing, creating and building things — from model planes, motors, to machines. In fact, he was simultaneously studying industrial design at De La Salle University-College of Saint Benilde while trying to earn his Private Pilot license at the Flight and Simulator Training (FAST). Needless to say, chef Theo finished his degree in industrial design and earned his Private Pilot license with flying colors, but the heat of the kitchen proved to be stronger than the thrills of designing.

“I knew what I really wanted to become — a chef. Growing up in the kitchen already gave me a background on culinary arts. I even had cookbooks to help me started but these weren’t enough. I wanted to learn the science and the art of cooking from the masters,” he relates.

Chef Theo took up culinary courses at the Makati Shangri-La Culinary Academy and Maya Kitchen Culinary Arts Center. He didn’t stop there. He wanted something more interactive and hands-on, so he went to Triple V for his on-the-job training.

“Chefs who are experts in Japanese, Filipino, and Continental cuisines served as my mentors,” chef Theo adds. Well, that’s how his journey to the world of taste began.

The Chef’s Got Style

In 2001, the young chef opened Cucina Maithe, a café and catering company. He also started teaching basic cooking for teens during summer. The young chef was contented with the life of a caterer and café-owner until he met photographer Anton Feliciano who introduced him to the world of food styling.

“He was interested in photographing food, while I’m a chef who has an eye for design. That’s how I got into food styling. What I love about it is that I’m able to combine my two passions — cooking and designing. My background in industrial design really helped. In 2005, we put up Resultado Gourmet Designs, Co., a food styling firm,” chef Theo enthuses.

Food styling is the art of enhancing the appearance of food to make it look more appetizing and presentable despite environmental conditions. When food styling was first introduced in the food industry, it was considered an important aspect of advertising, marketing, film, and photography.

Today, more and more food service establishments are competing to entice their market not only through their taste buds, but through visual appeal as well. Resultado Gourmet Designs, Co., the brainchild of chef Theo Zaragoza, is a food styling firm that has been serving the food industry for more than four years.

Right after the name was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, they started calling potential clients, bagged a few projects, and partnered with several big names in the industry.

“To improve my craft, I enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America and studied food styling under food styling prodigy Dolores Custer,” relates chef Theo.

It was also through food styling that chef Theo met his wife Sam Ramos-Zaragoza, who is also a foodie at heart.  “I met Sam at The Bellevue Manila where she used to work and where I used to be a food styling consultant,” he shares. 

Sam’s background is also related to culinary arts so it’s safe to say that cooking, food, and the industry were easy conversations for the couple during their courting period.

Resultado Gourmet Designs, Co. has worked with various food companies, one of which is Alaska Milk Corporation.  “When we started working with chef Theo two years ago, we didn’t really know how far he would go since he was just starting. At that time, we were looking for a chef who would develop recipes for Alaska Milk,” explains Blen Fernando, VP for marketing, Alaska Milk Corporation.

What Blen and her team like about chef Theo is that he’s “young, talented, and hardworking.”

“He would bring samples of his dishes in microwavable containers to the office for taste test and evaluation. At first, I was a bit disappointed when he started unpacking the dishes. Some chefs kasi when they do product demos for us engrande yung presentations to impress the panel. Chef Theo is different. He’s very simple. He believes that the taste of the food is enough to convince us that he means business,” shares Blen.

According to Blen, chef Theo is a good listener and doesn’t get discouraged or offended when they criticize his creations.

“When he was still starting, chef Theo’s dishes were all peppered with spices. He likes food with flavors that pack a punch. Parang Middle Eastern. So I asked him to tone down the use of spices to entice the Pinoy palate. We even have a score sheet. Kapag hindi maganda ’yung feedback, he would whip up a new batch for us to try again. In terms of food styling, he’s the best,” notes Blen.

For three years now, chef Theo has been providing culinary services to Alaska Milk Corporation — from food styling, cooking demo sessions and recipe development.

“My work with Alaska Milk is quite challenging because I handle different facets related to culinary. But since Alaska products are so versatile, I don’t have a hard time coming up with delectable dishes that will surely whet the appetite of Pinoys,” notes chef Theo.

“I like working with Alaska Milk because it’s a family-oriented corporation,” he adds. “The company values strong family ties, and the brand represents a Filipino product which cares for its consumers and workers. This is also one of the reasons why I work hard for them. That’s the least I can do for a company which gave me the trust and opportunity to shine.”

A Chef’s Dinner To Remember

Alaska Milk started its Chef’s Dinner series late last year to introduce TV host and Alaska Milk endorser Janice de Belen as a certified chef. Chef Janice recently graduated from the Center for Asian Culinary Studies in San Juan. She took up a professional culinary course under chef Gene Gonzalez. Her sumptuous mardi gras feast was to dine for.

Chef Theo, who was one of the guests, was so impressed with what chef Janice did that he volunteered to host a Filipiniana-inspired dinner for Alaska Milk’s next Chef’s Dinner.

“I was surprised when he told me about his plan. I was worried na baka hindi umabot for 2009 because his schedule was fully booked for the holidays. But chef Theo insisted. He was very confident so we gave it a go,” says Blen.

It took chef Theo, his wife Sam, and their staff four days to conceptualize everything. For chef Theo, nothing beats the taste and aroma of Pinoy food. And contrary to what most people think, Filipino cuisine is not as easy as it seems.

“What we consider delicious may not appeal to others.  Filipino food is my specialty so I wanted to showcase what I’m really good at. I also wanted to experiment on how Western ingredients blend with Filipino cooking,” he explains.

The exclusive dinner was graced by chef Theo's wife Sam, chef Hannah Herrera, general manager of H Cuisines Catering Service; Oswald See, national sales operations manager of Alaska Milk, and his wife Neneth See; commercial director Teddy Catuira and wife Portia Catuira of TBWA-SMP Ad Agency; advertising guru Adie Pena, and gracious homeowner Lito Yabut, who agreed to use his house for the exclusive gathering.

The six-course dinner started off with a plateful of interesting and delightful treats for pulutan. There were chef Theo’s signature dish, kare-kare wrap, the bringhe sushi, and aligue ravioli served in bite-sized portions.

The bringhe sushi is chef Theo’s Pinoy version of the paella. The dish normally calls for coconut milk but chef Theo used Alaska Evaporated Filled Milk instead to show that milk is a good substitute for gata. Presenting bringhe as a sushi also worked well because he managed to combine all the right flavors in one bite.

The aligue ravioli was simply delish. For this dish, chef Theo added Alaska Créma All-Purpose Cream to balance the saltiness of the aligue.

Some people think that milk and cream are good only for desserts. What they don’t realize is that one can actually whip up a complete meal using these ingredients — from appetizer to dessert just like what chef Theo did.

“The flavors of the milk and cream enhance the overall appeal of the dishes,” enthuses chef Theo.

For some, a meal isn’t complete without a bowl of hot soup. Chef Theo’s sinabawang malunggay and kalabasa doesn’t disappoint. The creamy combination of pureed squash and malunggay leaves a taste so good you’ll forget you’re having soup. It’s like a complete meal in itself. It’s also a good way of introducing kids to the healthy goodness of veggies.

“I gave the usual pumpkin soup a twist by adding malunggay leaves and fried longganisa. Of course, it’s made creamier by Alaska. The cream wasn’t too overpowering and enhanced the natural sweetness of kalabasa,” explains chef Theo.

The ensalada with kesong puti, and alugbati with ebiko was another hit. The enchanting mix of Filipino staples gave this dish a refreshing twist.  A symphony of flavors exploded in our mouths with every bite. And so before indulging in the main course, chef Theo served lime lambanog sorbet with a heady kick to cleanse our palate.

When the gastronomic star of the night was served, the dining room was enveloped with silence. We just couldn’t take our forks off chef Theo’s three-way adobo — lamb adobo, pork adobo, and chicken adobo flakes — and the lobster gata, “sauce pa lang, ulam na.”

“What makes these dishes extra yummy is the milk. I soaked the chicken in it prior to marinating to make it succulent and creamy. The same goes for the lamb,” relates chef Theo.

We finished off the extravagant fiesta with a yummy concoction of East meets West for dessert. And since halo-halo is Alaska Milk’s signature panghimagas, a meal won’t be complete without it.

Chef Theo teased our palate with his halo-halo shooter served in a small cylindrical glass container. I hate to admit it but the serving wasn’t enough to satisfy my sweet cravings. Thank goodness for the bite-sized servings of panna cotta Filipina, and green tea palitaw, which were equally superb.

“One thing’s for sure, you can’t whip up these treats without Alaska products,” notes chef Theo.

Well, every dish that comes out of chef Theo’s kitchen is a work of art. It’s amazing how he manages to combine different flavors and create something that can definitely stir emotions.

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For inquiries, visit www.alaskamilk.com.