What was the first dish (sweet or savoury) you learned how to cook/bake?

Something I used to cook a lot for my family, especially during Christmas time was foie mi cuit: foie gras, very French classic style, then you add your own forest berries marmalade and toast. It’s something that I liked to do a lot when I started to learn the more technical chef processes. But the first dish I tried to replicate at home was mejillones tigres. I bought a book and I really tried to replicate this dish because it sparked a mind-blowing chain reaction inside me. 

What is one dish or ingredient that you couldn’t stomach growing up? How do you feel about it now?

Now, I eat everything. I love to eat. But there’s this dish that, to this day... is not one of my favourites, and I would always fight with my mum about it. There were times she even made me stay at the table for two to three hours because normally, for lunchtime in Spain or at least in my area, you’ll have two courses. The first course is usually a soup, like lentils, beans, or garbanzos—essentially, legumes. So this is typically lentejas con chorizo (lentils and chorizo)— and I hated it. (Laughs.) I didn’t like it! So before I move on to the second course, like the steak and fries, I need to finish the first course. Sometimes my mum didn’t bother and she’d allow me to go to the second course, but sometimes she’d say, “Okay, you don’t eat the lentils, you don’t get the steak.”

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What is your favourite food memory from your childhood? Why is it so special?

I just lived with my mum for most of my childhood because my sister was at college. One thing we always had at night was fried eggs. This was very common in Spanish culture—you have a fried egg in an abundance of olive oil and you can put sausage, you can put chorizo, you can put chicken wings, you can put whatever. Omelettes and eggs are connected to my childhood, my family, my traditions, and my mum.

What is a childhood breakfast you loved? 

Spanish breakfast is very different. We don’t necessarily have eggs, we don’t have fish, we don’t have mainly protein. But every two days they’d bring a metal bottle of milk fresh from the cows. There was no pasteurised milk at the time, so to be able to drink it safely, you have to heat it slowly. So all that fat, we call it nata, goes up— and with that, we make our own butter at home, or you can spread that nata on bread. So my childhood memories are filled with our homemade butter or this nata with a little bit of salt. That and hot chocolate.

What is a childhood after-school merienda you loved?

That was also a fight. (Laughs.) Merienda was a must in Spain, especially when you are a kid— you know, the parents always tell you that you have to have five meals. Normally we eat bocadillo or sandwiches. So one of the things I really liked that we have now launched at Deli by Chele is bocadillo chorizo. Another one that I like— it’s weird, but it’s also part of Spanish culture— you put chocolate bars in between bread and you eat it! (Laughs.) So my favourite ones would be the ones with chorizo and the ones with chocolate.

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Is there a particular person, friend or family, that you associated with food and eating while growing up? Tell us about them and how they influenced you.

In my family, of course, my mum. She was always a big influence on the way I eat, also because I could really feel that she loves to eat. So I think what really influenced me was a lot of the food cooked in my home, more so in my home than going out to restaurants. And another is this chef whose restaurant has Michelin stars, Oscar Calleja. He was a big influence on me because I was able to understand haute cuisine and fine dining, even from a close friend of mine.

What is the one dish you miss the most from your childhood—something you used to always eat while growing up but don’t have so much of nowadays?

Something that I consider to be really special and magical is baby lamb sweetbreads. The way you cook it is very simple in a pan: olive oil, pan sear, and a little bit more olive oil and sea salt. Nothing else. It’s just about the ingredient itself. When I used to live in Spain, before I went to the Philippines, that was something I would eat maybe once a month. But you need to go to a store and order in advance because it’s such a delicacy and difficult to get. It’s something that in the Philippines we don’t really have, but it’s something that I really love.

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