- Rogue Magazine on Chef Gaita Fores and Pepato
It's been exactly a year since I browsed a local foodblog. Over the weekend, I remembered there's more to Manila's food scene than clickthecity.com and random citations in Preview magazine and High Life.
I clicked on Dessert Comes First and remembered what it was like to breathe, eat, and shit gastronomy. All of a sudden, I remembered who I was and what I have always wanted to be - a chef/food writer/gourmet nomad. And I also remembered Our Awesome Planet. I joined their Pampanga tour last February and had the best and most memorable breakfast spread yet: Italian sausages, smoked salmon, steak, fritatas, yogurt, cereal and fruits, capuccino and fresh fruit juices. Well, those are the only ones I can remember tonight.
I'm sure there are more Pinoy blogs like those of MarketMan but I haven't had the chance to browse them yet. I've seen enough to be reminded. I am glued to AFC and the Travel and Living Channel but I guess, I've become a passive viewer.
Anyway, as stated in my previous post, I've decided to take a short culinary course next year. So far, I've found two schools in Manila: ISCAHM and CIA. International School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management along Katipunan Avenue has a longer history than the Culinary Institute of Aristocrat along Roxas Boulevard. Both offer the short course I'm interested to take: weekend classes spread through 2-3 months providing basic culinary training. Right now, I've got a biased preference for ISCAHM. :)
It feels good to be inspired. Tomorrow, I'm getting copies of Rogue Magazine (because Lori Baltazar of Dessert Comes First is featured this month) and Travelife (because I must get my travel writing act together and it has features on Buenos Aires and Macau- two places I want to visit).
This weekend is the beginning of something good. I love the fire of inspiration!
For the longest time, I've always been comfortable in the kitchen, both cooking and eating. I've been blessed to share that joy with family and friends through the years, although not as much in recent times.
I've been longing to rekindle my passions and cooking always comes first. After browsing NYtimes for some inspiration, I stumbled upon Mark Bittman''s article on Paris bistros.
Opening up my own place has always been a dream I shared with my mom, and expressed to K. It has always been a retirement option, and retirement seems a long way to go. Lately, I've been thinking of what I really want and how to get it.
I want to open my own bistro by employing out-of-school youth who share the same passion for food. I want a gourmet-charity-bistro of sorts. And to make that happen, I'm planning to enroll in a short culinary course in March. I know it seems so far away but that's when my weekend teaching post ends (more on that next time).
Yup, school again. Instead of dole outs, I believe in skills transfer: the VSO way.
One day, it will come full circle: all the eating, all the traveling, all the learning, all the helping. One happy fulfilled community. :)
- My favourite painting of all: Salvador Dali's Muchacha en la Ventana
Crossing over timelines.
Musings over realistic imaginations.
The mundane, the grand and everything in between.
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Same old thoughts in a new home.
It's my first time on wordpress, and first time to commit to public blogging all over again in a year. Yup, hello world! Again.
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It's been a slow week, and I've been thinking how cooking really fulfills me. Tonight, I made onion soup at home. I caramelized onions with butter, then added chicken broth, salt and pepper. Meanwhile, I toasted some bread covered with a generous heap of cheese. I heated the bowls, put dollops of mozarella, poured the boiling soup over, and topped it with toasted bread with cheese. Et voila! homemade onion soup!
I know for sure I can cook. And any one who's lived with me and welcomed me into their kitchen knows I've got what it takes. But somehow, the daily grind of concrete jungle life has distracted me from pursuing my passions. Must find a culinary course after work or on weekends soon. :)
Or dance classes. Anything but intellectual pursuits for now.
Dobrou noc!
