HOSPITALITY SUPERSTARS: Culinary Icons
- Vic Alcuaz
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
This has been the generation of culinary icons.
In the Philippines and the world over, food is defined by the what, by the how, and by the who! A couple of decades back, “the who” did not matter so much as it matters now.
But who elevates chefs to this iconic stature to be known as “the who”?
Anyone who loves food and has a passion for all things culinary is qualified to express their own opinion. You see, taste is and will always be relative, a highly personal thing. What I say is scrumptious might not be so for another. So there are no wrongs in this department.
Take, for instance, Sau del Rosario. Do you know that Sau was about ready to leave our country to take on an assignment in one of Sydney’s most renowned restaurants when “celebrity chef” status was about to rain in on him, with offers left and right knocking upon his door? If not for these offers, Chef Sau would have been making Australians very pleased with his genius in the kitchen.
And then there is Pedro “Boy” Logro. Do you know that before Chef Boy became the household name he is now, he was the favorite in-house chef of the ruler of Oman? Chef Boy has many amusing stories about his days in the palace of the ruler. But these stories would be better told directly by Chef Logro.
Who has not heard of Chef Martin Kaspar? Now the chef patron of L’Entrecôte Manila, a classy French restaurant in Burgos Circle at Fort Bonifacio. Martin, who is married to a Filipina, first came to the Philippines in the mid-80’s when he was just starting his culinary career. He joined Hyatt Regency Manila as sous chef and worked his way up, moving to other hotels, among them the Manila Hotel. L’Entrecôte is now a by-word of food-loving people with a refined taste from all over the world.
And who would ever think that one of our country’s most admired chefs was once a banker and martial arts black belter? Yes, Chef Gene Gonzales of the iconic Cafe Ysabel almost did not become the celebrated chef he is if he did not pursue his childhood passion for the kitchen.
And finally, at one of the country’s most exclusive culinary schools, Enderun Colleges, the culinary chief is Chef See Cheong Yan, a Malaysian who is also married to a Filipina. Chef See has been in the country since the mid-80s, upon his return from hotel schooling at one of the world’s finest, Les Roches in Switzerland. Chef See speaks perfect Filipino and is well loved by his students. I featured the good chef in my listing of ten “Hospitality Superstars Book 2,” published in 2024.
This is just the “tip of the iceberg,” so to speak.
