Yummy.ph Easy Meals Everyday

What’s your coming-to-Manila story?

I came here for a Danish trading company back in 1983. I stayed for eight years, then I was away from 1991 to 1999 but I’ve always wanted to return to the Philippines. I did and I started my own company in 2000.

And that’s how Gastro-Chef was born?
I began by importing Danish-designed products, but I wanted to do trade both ways. One of my suppliers, Eva Solo, asked if I could find Philippine mahogany to make a cutting board for them. I’ve always wanted to do something like that. In sawmills, I’d see short pieces that went unused. I thought we could better utilize the forest by making high quality products made in the Philippines.

What drives your design process?
I’m inspired by Danish design—they keep things simple and functional without sacrificing quality. Form follows function. We don’t do anything without a reason.

Do you develop your products based on your own experience in the kitchen?
Yes, in fact, I get my inspiration from the needs that arise when I cook, from what I would like to use. So I made them basically from my cooking needs—I needed a small cutting board, then a bigger one, a board for meat, for vegetables, etc.

Have you always enjoyed cooking?
I’ve always liked good food. And in Denmark, cooking is part of the school curriculum—we have to learn how to cook and do carpentry. Also, I’ve lived on my own for many years so I experiment, improve, and buy cookbooks to find out how to make certain dishes, and then I add a little bit of what I like.

Stangegaard’s must-haves include the Gastro-Cheaf cleaver and these items:

Mangoes “I have fresh fruit every morning and mangoes have been there ever since I came here. I never tire of them. Philippine mangoes are just so wonderful. I eat them in cubes, either with banana or kiwi.”

Oranges and pure natural honey “I drink fresh OJ in the morning with a little bit of natural honey if it’s too sour. It’s for my vitamin and carbohydrate intake.”

Garlic “Having traveled around the world, I think my taste has become a little bit more ‘international’. Garlic is one of the spices that I really appreciate in a lot of dishes.”

Onions “No matter what I cook, I use onions. They add the right kick.”

Cayenne pepper and curry powder “They go together with garlic that I really enjoy—to spice up the food a bit.” (How to use cayenne pepper and onions?

Tomatoes “Because they’re so versatile. You can use them in almost anything—whether in cold or warm food or for sauces.”

Olive oil “I come from a country where we always use butter. But as I grew older and more health-conscious, I started to use olive oil instead, which is good for salads, for cooking, for everything! If it were priced better, I would use coconut oil because it’s local.”

Gastro-Chef cutting board  “I use different cutting boards to be more hygienic—one for vegetables, one for raw meat, one for cooked meat. What makes the Gastro-Chef chopping board great is that it’s made of solid wood that, through its enzymes, kills bacteria. A plastic board can’t do that.”

Eva Solo spatula set “No matter what I cook, I can use something from the set and it won’t scratch the pan. It’s complete! I’ve used mine almost every day for five years now. It’s really very strong.”