How the stars of ‘Replacing Chef Chico’ perfected their kitchen skills

CEBU, Philippines — After a one-week culinary crash course and working on her food-centered Netflix series, there’ll be no persuading Alessandra de Rossi to take charge of a professional kitchen.

While she’ll consider being second-in-command as sous-chef, she calls her immersion “seriously stressful” that she’s crossing out Head Chef among her list of possible career fallbacks.

For one, even when she slipped into footwear specifically made for chefs, standing around all day amidst the chaos of a kitchen still took a toll on her feet and her posture.

“Ang sakit pala sa paa!” the actress, 39, quipped during a press conference at Shangri-La Makati’s Rizal Ballroom for “Replacing Chef Chico”, the first Philippine Netflix production in a series format that premiered last month.

Tasked to train de Rossi and Sam Milby, who plays the titular role, was Chef Mae Montalban, a teacher at Magsaysay Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts (MIHCA) in Manila.

For seven days, the stars had to learn how a chef typically works in a kitchen – starting with knife skills, and then on to cooking methods.

On their final day, Montalban had them simulate a restaurant service with series creators Dan Villegas and Antoinette Jadaone serving as guests. A menu was created, and Milby as head chef and de Rossi as his sous-chef had to cook their order on the spot.

Their mentor’s verdict? “Actually they did well,” Montalban told The FREEMAN. “There were just instances that were frenzied because they have their own craziness in the kitchen, so ako yung nawawala minsan sa nangyayari kasi gumagawa sila ng sarili nilang mga eksena.”

“For example, I tasked them to cook caramel kasi gagawin namin siyang sauce. One of the actors was doing that and I said, bakit parang umangat? Looks like there’s something wrong with what you did. Maybe you mixed the sugar so much kaya bumalik siya sa sugar state. Tapos biglang na-realize namin bandang huli, binulungan niya ako, ‘Chef, hindi pala sugar nalagay ko, asin.’ So umangat yung asin. Sabi nga niya para siyang nagluto ng shabu.”

“So boo-boos like that.”

An appetizer featured twice in “Replacing Chef Chico” is brûlée squash with oyster – prepared under intense time pressure as “insensitive” guests drag in more than the number of pax on their reservation –  and so Montalban trained the actors how to properly pry open the shells.

“So that they will realize how difficult it is to open oysters. In the script they had to do it in five minutes, right? There’s pressure in opening one oyster, let alone seven or nine,” Montalban continued.

“They started from zero and everyone was scrambling to open them and they were doing it wrong. No, I can’t accept this, you have to return this. Give me another one, paulit-ulit. Lahat sila, ayaw na nila. Eventually nakabigay sila ng dalawang maganda.”

Montalban was emotional during the advance screening of the series at the Glorietta 4 Cinema – not only because she saw her name during end credits, but also because her celebrity trainees managed to absorb the vibe in the kitchen and acted like the real deals on screen despite just seven days of classes.

De Rossi and Milby, as well as the other actors playing kitchen staff in the eight-episode series, now have a better appreciation of restaurant crew.

“For non-chefs, you just order, you eat it, you appreciate it,” said Montalban. “Naranasan nila yung trabaho behind it at iba pala talaga siya. There are different things that can happen in the kitchen that you can’t anticipate. Kagaya niyan, you have to re-do it because the guest complained. It’s how you adjust to the situation.”

Milby, who portrays the volatile Chef Chico, had fun training with Montalban but said everything he learned is now out the window. One thing he did not enjoy doing: letting out a volley of swearwords in his every other dialogue.

“In real life, I don’t curse. And I probably have never cursed more in my life because of this series. I felt bad, so I would apologize after every scene,” said Milby, who also got carried away in one of many tantrum scenes that he broke more than the one plate indicated in the script.

Are head chefs typically inclined to throw fits in the kitchen? “Most of the time it’s really chaotic. But it depends on the attitude. There are chefs who really absorb the stress, and then they have to burst out to the people under them,” shared Montalban.

“And then there are quiet chefs like Ella [de Rossi’s character] na sige kaya natin ito, let’s do it slowly. Different personalities. But the purpose should always be to serve the food correctly.”

Directed by Villegas with assistance from Joi Bayan, written by Jadaone, and produced for Netflix in association with CS Studios and Project 8 Projects, “Replacing Chef Chico” lets viewers inside the high-stakes and competitive culinary world while tackling a wide range of societal issues such as misogyny, LGBTQ acceptance, workplace harassment, influencer culture, and elderly neglect.

Hain, a fine dining restaurant that specializes in personalized menus, is left in the hands of sous chef Ella (de Rossi) and newly hired consultant Raymond (Piolo Pascual), when its Head Chef Chico (Milby) gets into an accident, leaving him in a coma.

Providing capable support are actors Joel Saracho, Yesh Burce, Angie Castrence, Paulo Angeles, and DMs Boongaling, plus standout guest stars sprinkled throughout the episodes, including Gina Alajar and Max Eigenmann.

Filmmaking couple Villegas and Jadaone are both fond of degustation menus even before developing “Replacing Chef Chico”, that pre-production for the series was, while tedious, a delight for them.

They interviewed numerous chefs and observed them inside their kitchens. One episode features a former top chef now suffering from Alzheimer’s, and so they also consulted with a doctor and someone else who has a family member with the disease.

“We know how important it is for chefs in real life to see that the show looks authentic,” said Jadaone, “so we were very diligent in our research.”

Pascual, who also starred with de Rossi in the 2021 Netflix film “My Amanda”, is proud to be part of a “contagious” series.

“You get to really feel our culture, our dishes, and working with these actors and those behind it was a good experience. It’s a great feeling to be part of something like this, and I hope this is the beginning of something bigger not just for us, but for Philippine content in general,” he said.

Milby said it was a “huge honor” to be part of history, this being the first Filipino-produced Netflix series.

“On top of that, they wrote an amazing story, that’s why I’m so excited because we get to showcase not only our cuisine, but there’s so much heart in the story,” said the actor, who boasted of perfecting the Kare-Kare Risotto that is featured in the show.

Asked of their favorite food in the series, the creators and actors have their preferences but all seemed to agree that the Laing (dish made from taro leaves) was particularly enticing. An episode highlighted the dish in various forms: the traditional, the modern, and even a Laing ice cream.

“Weirdly, nagustuhan ko yung laing,” said Jadaone. “When you look at it, it’s not visually appetizing. But when we were shooting the episode, nakakatakam talaga siya.”

Echoing Villegas’ sentiment of how Filipino cuisine is world-class, Montalban said that “Replacing Chef Chico” hopes to show how it can be very well “at par with modern cuisine.”