Today I joined Susan and Epril at the Grand Caprice Hotel to watch Ednel go through the ceremony in which she "graduated" to being a "chef in training", symbolized by getting her first chef's hat — called a toque (pronounced "tuke").I forgot, as always, that Filipinos just love to occasion every one of life's steps, no matter how small. So, first there was an hour-long church service. Then, there was a grand procession of the students and staff. Then the various school administrators gave speeches. Then there was the preferment itself. Then a candle lighting ceremony. Then various students gave speeches. (I swear, one of the students said this: "The secret ingredient? It's love.") Then, to finish it off, all of the chefs-to-be turned, faced the audience, and sang "You Are The Wind Beneath My Wings".
Schmaltz is Yiddish for "Pinoy".
After the ceremony (define irony...), to a group of culinary students and their master chef professors, The Grand Caprice Hotel served what had to be the worst food in the history of the Philippine catering industry... and it was cold to boot.
After that, I took the 3 sisters out to Zax until about 11:00. We had some better food there. Driver Chris got us back to Jasaan.
How long was her culinary experience at this school? What are her future plans?
ReplyDeleteWell, she's finished 2 months or so. She's studied how to measure, how to cut, how to clean, et cetera. Now she starts studying about cooking technique and things like that. Another 6 months or so.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a real culinary program like the Culinary Institute of America or something. It's more of an introduction to cooking. But when she is done, she should have a good foundation upon which to base further studies or even apprenticeships.