I LEARNED about the concept of a Chef’s Table when I worked as Public Relations manager in the now defunct Cebu Plaza Hotel. A Chef’s Table is located beside the hotel’s kitchen, next to the Executive Chef’s office. It is a very exclusive area, usually off-limits. I remember dining with the executive chefs and their team on special occasions by invitation.
So when Rica Rellon, Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa’s assistant marketing communications manager, invited me to be a guest for lunch at Executive Chef Joris Rycken’s Chef’s Table, I was elated.
As privileged guests, Rica escorted us to the deluxe resort’s back of the house that meandered to the main kitchen. Rica revealed that I was the first food writer to sit and dine on their Chef’s Table, which was set for four persons. Aspiring chef, Camp Cebu’s Vicki Pastoriza, who joined me, was giddy with excitement to experience dining at a Chef’s Table. General Manager Joachim Schutte and his wife, Christina dropped by to welcome us before we took our seats.
Executive Chef Joris Rycken, to my pleasant surprise, was our gracious host, and he enjoyed the full and sumptuous lunch prepared by his junior chefs with us. The 39-year-old Dutch chef, who earned his degree in Kitchen and Service in The Netherlands and further culinary studies in Belgium worked his way up starting as first cook in the Netherlands and banquet chef in Belgium. His adventurous spirit brought him to the United Arab Emirates and eventually joined Shangri-La Barr al Jissah Muscat and Spa as executive sous chef where he met his Filipina wife. Rising from the ranks, Chef Joris understands the challenges of being a chef. His latest program, which draws out the talent and creativity of his junior chefs, uses his Chef’s Table to present and showcase their creations to key executives of the resort. Their signature dishes are screened, competition-style, based on visual presentation, creativity, taste and cooking techniques and are rated accordingly. The winning dishes are then included in their menu for the guests to enjoy.
The team of three comes from the different sections of the kitchen. On the day we had lunch, there were service associates from the Cold Kitchen (Jonally Panulde), the Tea of Spring (Loel Arcenal) and Pastry Kitchen (Jan Marie Sepulveda). Jonally is a 28-year-old-nursing graduate and has been working in the Cold Section for two years. She prepared our appetizer, Spicy Tuna with Glass Noodle Salad. Japanese inspired, Jonally marinated the thick strip of tuna in orange juice, Tabasco and chili powder, artistically rolled, topped with fish roe and served on glass noodles flavored with soy, sesame and wakame or seaweed with mayo-wasabe on the side. Executive Chef Joris created a classic Dutch stew–Waterzooi of Seafood using plump pieces of Salmon, shrimp, local fish “molmol” and squid in veloute sauce with bell pepper, potatoes, carrots, radish and asparagus. Loel, who hails from Daan Bantayan and with no formal culinary training, served his Caribbean Chicken, a dish of oven-baked chicken marinated in coconut cream flavored with blended red pepper, red onions, parsley and garlic and served with spinach tortilla stuffed with carrot, bell pepper and mozzarella.
Dessert was Turkish Triple Treat created by Jan Marie Sepulveda, who has a Basic Certificate in Cooking and Baking Skills from the Center for Asian Culinary Studies in Metro Manila and an online Chocolatier Program after earning a degree in Business Management from Assumption College. The trio of dessert included Saffron Poached Apricot, Baklava, Greek dessert of layered filo pastry filled with nuts and honey. Jan made a filo pastry pouch instead filled with pistachio and meringue. A refreshing Granita of limejuice, cumin and Grand Marnier completed the trio.