Start them young

By Chef Ed Dychauco

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

NOW that everybody seems to be interested in the culinary world, more and more people are now engaging in cooking and baking businesses. And I salute these individuals who learn through their own efforts, mostly through self-learning. I, for one, learned it "my" way.

I can proudly say I took quite a lot of knowledge from my late sister, Gloria, since I was always her "critic." But as I get to know more about the field, it sparks more interest in me. I should say the "gene" was inherent in me. My maternal grandma, Maria Tuante, was a good cook (as what I have been told by my mom's friends in Camiguin) and my mom Pacita excels in home cooking. And take note, they never went to "cooking" schools! These were unheard of in the "olden" times!

Through the years, I get to hone my skills in a lot of ways. Through books, practice, observation, attending seminars and lectures. Before I knew it, I am now the one giving demonstrations and classes to individuals who are eager to learn the art of cooking, baking and more.

And in my humble existence, I should say, all these years I have grown to intimately love the culinary arts and trying to nurture it and give my mature culinary life more meaning. I have made mistakes, I must admit, but every time I make one, I take it as a challenge and try to do my best the next time and learn from it.

I love my craft and I make a lot of people happy. And now, it is my turn to share my God-given talents to willing people who wants to know more about this art.

The last few weeks I conducted a few classes, usually on a one to one basis. I did this because it was kind of hard to group people together for a certain class. Guess I also try to make this learning very personalized and individualized. And so far, I noticed that they do indeed absorb better and are able to duplicate what they have learned, at home almost exactly the way it should be. Although I told them that it is perfectly alright to make some changes as long as they still turn out to be "edible." The students are not ashamed to ask questions and I am glad they do ask because that means they are learning!

One of the challenges I faced last week was when I did a hands-on cooking and baking class to a group of seven to 18 year olds who are children of Nestle Employees in Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City as part of their summer learning program. Young, eager and fresh, these kids were amazingly and extremely interested. I kind of taught them the proper way of measuring ingredients, how to tackle recipes, substitutions, etc. on the first day so they can then work on their own the following days.

And was I surprised to see them measure, mix, stir, beat, fold and bake their first cookies, bars, cupcakes and pizza in their own simple but correct ways. Well, there were a few flops, but that was acceptable since most of them were first timers. I had the "older" ones "guide" the younger ones and they did pretty well. It was really so astonishing and wonderful to see these "future" chefs do their things! And remarkably enjoying every minute of it, too!

Guess the fun part was sampling their finished baked and cooked products. I can see how thrilled they were and added to that, they also get to bring some home. I heard that their parents and siblings, to their delight, got to taste them, too! And some has already tried making them at home. And in doing so, I can positively say I was successful in sharing my skills to them.

For those who are still interested to study and learn culinary arts, please check out our website for more class modules & information.

By the way, World Food Expo (WOFEX) Mindanao will be held here for the first time in Cagayan de Oro City come June 8 to 11, 2011 at the Atrium of the Lim Ket Kai Mall.

(Email: potsnpans1976@yahoo.com; website: www.potsnpans1976.weebly.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on May 19, 2011.