Nature and cuisine, perfect blend

Since the beginning of time, people have turned to nature for their sustenance. They would hunt for wild boars, birds and fowl. They would catch the living creatures in the seas. They would gather leaves and root crops to satisfy their gustatory needs. All done within the area of their respective habitats – a perfect blending of human existence with nature.

Our grandmothers, mostly influenced by the conquering Spaniards, started using the local kasubha as substitute for the expensive saffron. They’d put ginger in their paksiw and use atsuete (turmeric) juice to add color to their lumpia.They began using soy sauce and patis. Then the consciousness for herbs and spices was awakened. We now cook with basil, rosemary, curry powder, tarragon and many others. Then emerged the word cuisine, changing the whole concept of simple cooking. Cooks started to be called chefs and gained well-deserved recognition.

Alain Ducasse, a true blue French chef who came to Manila as guest of the Enderun colleges, professed “before cuisine there was nature." He adds that his knowledge must be transferred, a big departure from the old belief that one’s cooking secrets must be that, secret.

He posed two challenges to his Filipino audience – one is related to education, sharing of knowledge, skills and values through schools, restaurants and people. He says France remains to be the first culinary school in the world with its strong history of cuisine and the fact that many of the renowned chefs of the world trained in his country. He himself established the Alain Ducasse Formation as a center for transmission of culinary knowledge, which found its Philippine partner in Enderun. The second challenge is for would-be chefs to take a good look at the environment, which provides the ingredients they need to perform their job well. Ducasse said there is no cuisine without excellent ingredients, and there are no excellent ingredients without excellent farmers. We must protect nature and look after – and up to – the farmers.  

We appreciate these two challenges and they should be met. Today’s chef is no longer the kusinero, confined to slaughtering chicken, cutting vegetables, stirring broth or roasting a cow. He is a professional manager, who must train his staff to be dedicated and efficient, he must mind the profit and loss sheet, attend to sanitation and deal with whatever rules and regulations are required by government. Quite a big job to prepare for.

Ducasse is one of the masters who knows his art. In his early 50’s, he has 38 years of experience during which time he received three Michelin star ratings. He has restaurants in London, Paris and Monaco. He wrote the book Grande Livres de Cuisine Alain Ducasse (Alain Ducasse Culinary Encyclopedia). He has 1,400 people working for him in more than 20 restaurants and inns around the world. Needless to say, he has trained a lot of professional chefs. He is therefore the ideal partner for Enderun in offering degree programs that combine management theory with practical professional experience. It is envisioned that after taking the course, graduates would be ready for leadership positions in the global community of culinary arts.

Many institutions offer Culinary Arts in the country. Some are big with international affiliations/management. Others are purely Filipino, maybe smaller, but have good track records, having been in operation for years. All one needs to do is make the decision and the path is open.

The fresh and cooked section of Market!Market! is now called Fiesta Market. We notice the flower stalls – roses now come in all sorts of colors, even purple. Valentine’s Day having passed, they still sell at P200 a dozen. There is no more line to the barbecue house, but there are still a lot of people eating in the early afternoon. A few small pieces of tocino, four medium size shrimps with tomato sauce, a small serving of ginisang bean sprouts plus rice and clear soup costs P120, a price common to most of the food outlets there. Capsicum, two pieces, go for P120, as do mangoes and romaine lettuce. Prices apparently have gone up.

E-mail comments and questions to: [email protected].