Photo: Klaus Nielsen / Pexels
Cover Photo: Klaus Nielsen / Pexels

What sets apart the best ones from the rest? Creativity and hard work, yes, but also dealing with the challenges of baking pastries in a tropical country and still executing them perfectly

What sets a great meal apart from the rest? Like most of life’s pleasures, it is all about the build-up. Have you ever sat down to dine and had some of the most delicious food you have ever eaten, only to be served a dessert that is more of an afterthought? The decadent treat at the end of a meal is meant to be the cherry on top of the proverbial cake, as they say, and accomplishing this feat takes a lot more than most people know.

The best restaurants always have highly accomplished pastry chefs to ensure that meals are capped off with memorable desserts. As pastry chef and writer Roland Mesnier once said: “Dessert is an opportunity to make something beautiful and delicious.” For this collective of Filipino talents, this seems to be a challenge they have truly taken to heart.

See also: Meet The Sous Chefs From 5 Of Metro Manila's Best Restaurants

Rhea Sycip, Flour Pot Manila and The Fatted Calf

Known for her ethereal naked cakes and innovative bespoke creations, Sycip’s solid Manila following despite being based in Silang, Cavite speaks for the quality of her confections. You would have never guessed that she has always worked professionally in a hot kitchen (La Regalade) and did not put on her pastry chef hat until she retired from hotelier life (as F&B director of Discovery Primea) and started her baking business (Flour Pot Manila) while also being in charge of desserts at The Fatted Calf, her farmhouse restaurant in Silang with husband, chef Jayjay Sycip.

What made you decide to become a pastry chef?

I grew up watching Food Network dreaming of making cakes in a dainty, pastel kitchen when I was younger. I love the creative process that goes with it and appreciate the science behind the formulas and measurements. I’ve traded my whites for coats for a while and would like to believe that I was good at my job. I launched programs that disrupted the food and beverage scene for a while, but I still feel more accomplished making a nice, golden rum cake every Sunday. As cliché as it sounds, I just followed my heart after seventeen years, and now, finally, I am starting to live my dream.

How would you describe your cooking style?

I strive to achieve a well-balanced dessert with the interplay of flavours and textures. The desserts can be fun, yet not too bold, exotic yet elegant, rustic but not shabby. I have high respect for classic and nostalgic confections and make sure that I stay true to its flavours whenever I make an interpretation of it.

There’s always a story for every cake on the shelf, and each cake is a reflection of me. For me, it’s flavour above aesthetics, with no pretensions. At the end of the day, it would be such a joy to see your cakes eaten and enjoyed down to the last bite, eyes closed.

See also: Where To Order The Best Cakes In Metro Manila

Sonny Mariano, Tasteless Food Group

Unbeknownst to many, Mariano began his career in the hot kitchen, honing his skills as a product development specialist in the Pancake House Group straight out of culinary school. After, he was the corporate chef of Raymund Magdaluyo-led Red Crab Group overseeing brands like Red Crab, Teddy’s Burgers, and Johnny Kahuku. Currently, he acts as a consultant for Selecta Philippines but is better known for the stunning work he does as the corporate pastry chef for the Tasteless Food Group (The Workshop, Poison Doughnuts). Mariano describes his style as “very playful,” and yet is very much aware of the technical aspect of his job. “Even the basics need to have a little twist,” he explains, “but at the same time something that can be easily replicated by the staff. Consistency is needed for a brand to thrive.”

What are the qualities that you possess that make you good at your profession?

I am a multitasker, which I believe is very essential for a pastry chef. I can say I am also a creative person—aside from the presentation, which creates the first impression for a dessert, it needs a good combination of flavours and textures that you first ‘assemble’ in your mind before [actually executing the dish].

What are the challenges that pastry chefs have to deal with which other chefs don’t?

In pastry, the temperature is very critical. Especially here in the Philippines, kitchens tend to be too hot, which makes it hard to handle chocolates and other pastries. Time is another challenge—production takes too long. You need to be extra patient in waiting while baking, cooling down, freezing, up to finishing.

See also: 8 Major Restaurant Groups in the Philippines You Need to Know

Ginno Hernandez, Metronome

A graduate of Culinary Arts from DLSU-College of St. Benilde, Hernandez was trained in the pastry kitchen from day one, interning under Chef Nikki Misa at Raffles and Fairmont Makati. He chalked up more experience working abroad, first in Galaxy Macau as part of the opening team at Sebastien Bauer’s Cha Bei, then in Bangkok with chef Paulo Bairan at Seen. Currently the head pastry chef at Makati’s Metronome, Hernandez admits that he has “yet to find his own cooking style,” but for now is more inclined towards French pastries, both classic and modern, under the mentorship of chef Miko Calo.

What made you decide to become a pastry chef?

Ever since I was a kid, I was surrounded by people who love to make good food. My mother’s family owned a local bakery in Batangas before they moved to Parañaque. Meanwhile, on my father's side, they own a local ice cream shop in Parañaque that serves traditional Filipino dirty ice cream. I grew up helping them in the kitchen and that encouraged me to learn more about—and eventually love—pastries. In college, I was fortunate to have been mentored by chef Peachy Juban. She was my professor back then and I owe her almost everything I know about being a pastry chef.

What are the challenges that pastry chefs have to deal with which other chefs don’t?

I think all chefs share the same challenges in their own respective fields. For me, the only challenge that I encountered in my recent job was the temperature of my workplace, storage, and the equipment. But, personally, I don’t see it as a disadvantage. I told myself that I just need to manage my time. In making puff pastry, you need to have a cold kitchen to make sure that the butter won’t melt. Since I make my puff pastry from scratch and manually with a rolling pin I need to make sure that the kitchen is cold with the doors closed. These challenges are inevitable so now I plan my schedule ahead and make sure to work efficiently.

See also: Nostalgic Recipes with Chef Miko Calo: Try Cooking Buntáan Crab Dish

Jessica Panoy, Helm

After completing her culinary arts course in Global Academy, Panoy did her internship at Crowne Plaza Manila, which then hired her as a pastry kitchen staff. Her stint at chef Josh Boutwood’s Savage landed her the dual role of garde-manger and pastry chef wherein she was tasked to prepare appetizers, salads, desserts, and pastries. She then decided to study abroad and took a patisserie course in Melbourne, Australia in 2020 right at the brink of the pandemic. After eight months, she decided to go back home and is now heading the dessert program at Helm wherein Boutwood admits Panoy is “very much my right hand.”

What made you decide to become a pastry chef?

I grew up watching Cake Boss and it amazed me how they could make such beautiful cakes and pastries. I told myself that I wanted to be like Buddy Valastro, Cedric Grolet, Amaury Guison, and Dinara Kasko. I started baking at the age of 12 and made money out of it by selling cakes to my friends and family. That hobby turned into a passion. The eagerness to learn never stops.

What are the challenges that pastry chefs have to deal with which other chefs don’t?

Being precise and understanding the science behind every ingredient and their reaction to the dish. Once you forget one step or ingredient, you can't go back, you have to do it again. There is an old saying that a chef is lost in a pastry kitchen but a pastry chef can walk right in and take over the hot side.

See also: Ember by Josh Boutwood Brings You Uncomplicated Excellence

Kevin Ian Udtujan, Gallery by Chele

Ever since he was young, Udtujan has always wanted a career in culinary arts. However, this was unattainable at the time for financial reasons. Instead, he took up architecture in college, but the allure of cooking and baking was just too much to ignore so he started learning more about them through video tutorials. Self-taught now and with the support of communities on social media, Udtujan took “a leap of faith” and started a small business baking customized cakes, which gave him the confidence to abandon his architecture course and pursue culinary arts. With the money he saved from the business and a little help from family, he was able to graduate from Global Academy. While he admits his current style is traditional, inspired by his mom and grandmother’s home cooking, he aspires to be more avant-garde as they are in Gallery by Chele.

What are the qualities that you possess that make you good at your profession?

Pastry, as many know, is an exact science. It also requires a person with passion, dedication, and hard work. While I would like to believe that I have all of that, I do have something that I put on the table that I have always been proud of—the sensitivity to and mindfulness of my surroundings that allows me to execute the recipe to its best potential. And I try to set my standards high so I can always challenge myself to create something amazing.

What are the challenges that pastry chefs have to deal with which other chefs don’t?

Different levels of difficulties are present in every different station in the kitchen. One of the main challenges that I think is unique to us is the precise food preparation, from the mise en place all the way to finishing the dish. As I have said, an exact science that only allows minimal mistakes. It requires a deep understanding of techniques and how the ingredients react to one another in order to create eye-catching and heart-melting dishes. We’re practically modern-day alchemists that try to bring forth fantasy through food.

NOW READ

Top Bartenders in the Philippines Share Their Favourite Cocktails

The Best Food Photographers in the Philippines

Mango Mania: Where to Order the Best Mango Desserts in Metro Manila

Topics