Sau del Rosario

The restaurateur ‘fesses up on the one food he can’t live without.

Sau del Rosario

food consultant and owner of Food Garage and Marmalade (opening soon)

How I became a chef: Whenever my mom cooks in the kitchen, I’d have my own chopping board and I’d steal a couple of prawns, a little bit of this and that. She would allow me to do that. And then she would fry something and I would make omelet out of it. She would give her food to my siblings and leave it on the table. When we’d sit down, she’d look for what I cooked. Little did she know that my guinea pigs are my puppies. I would feed my food to my puppy. I love dogs so much. And when she found out, napagalitan ako.

Culinary pedigree: I finished with a Film Management degree in UP then I took my apprenticeship program in the south of France. Then I worked with top restaurants in Paris. From there I moved to Shanghai then Raffles in Singapore then I came back and opened M Café and Chelsea.

If not a chef, I would have been… a film director or an athlete or an artist. Probably a dancer. I wanted to be a film director. Parang chef din yun, I want to give direction and come up with a good product. When I watch a movie, I observe the lighting and costume. I want to be in control of a lot of things.

Childhood food memory: I grew up in a family of cooks and chefs. My father and grandfather are chefs. I come from a family of aunts and uncles who all cook. Consciously, I was brought up in that kind of environment. Parang fiesta at home. We love food so much. My mom and I used to go to a lot of restaurants and go on picnics. We always gather together. Typical probinsyana family. At a very young age, I was already brought up with really good food.

His dining-room décor: It’s a very typical dining room. Very straightforward. Nothing fancy. Pots and pans all over. It’s a mess. I usually cook adobo, leave it in the pot and put it on the table. And use my hands [to eat]. Old-fashioned. I’m a cowboy.

Favorite off-hours hangout: I’d spend time with clients. I want to see how they’d respond to my food. Probably grab a beer if I get a bad day. I always like to please people.

What I learned in the kitchen the hard way: It’s always hard to blend with others. Sometimes I can be difficult to deal with. Palaban ako. I fought with my boss even. I always had tampuhan in the kitchen but now that I’m the boss, I learned from that. I learned the hard way from other people and I try to apply that to the people I work with now. I know how to work with them.

Favorite restaurant: I have always liked El Cirkulo by J Gamboa. I’m a big fan. Also chef Henry of Good Earth. I’ve been to Henry’s Place. It’s fabulous. I don’t usually go for a hotel restaurant type of thing because I think I’ve outgrown gourmet food. I always like comfort food.

One food you can’t live without: Rice. I’m a rice person. Even when I was in Europe, I would cook rice. Now I use a lot of organic rice.

Favorite bread: I like crusty breads. The European brands. I’m a fan of French breads. Traditional rustic baguette.

The last thing I ate before this interview: This morning, I had corned beef with potatoes and garlic fried rice.

 

• jonathan Jan 21 2010 @ 07:40pm Report Abuse

     

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