MANY chefs have gone through the reality show route—thanks to various food shows on Bravo and Food Network—either to pursue other careers in the food and entertainment business or, to gain more fame, and eventually pursue other careers in the food industry.
Some Filipino-American chefs are no different. In fact, quite a few have become chef-testants (chef contestants) of Top Chef, the Bravo reality show that pits chefs against each other to see how well they fare in fierce culinary competition. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants eliminated in each episode.
Among the alumni of Top Chef with Filipino lineage are Dale Talde (Season 8: All-Star and Season 4: Chicago), Leah Cohen and Eugene Villatora (Season 5: New York) and Josie Smith-Malave (Season 2: Los Angeles). Now on its ninth season, Top Chef has produced a couple of spin-offs—Top Chef: Masters and Top Chef: Just Desserts.
Its latest incarnation, Top Chef: Just Desserts, premiered last year. Just like the original, the show features pastry chefs competing in a series of in culinary challenges, this time focusing on pastries and desserts. The show’s second season premiered on Bravo last week.
This time around, another Filipino-American is taking a shot at becoming the big winner.
Chef Sally Camacho, currently the pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck’s WP24 in Downtown LA, is one of 14 chef-testants this season. A graduate of the California Culinary Academy, Camacho has worked at various topnotch dining destinations like The Four Seasons Beverly Hills, The Wynn Resort in Las Vegas, and Bradley Ogden at Caesar’s Palace.
Asian Journal had an opportunity to interview Chef Sally last week, and we discussed, among others, how she is thankful that there is an outlet now to showcase the best in the pastry business.
“It was a phenomenal and great experience. We (pastry chefs) are always the people in the back. This was an opportunity for us to shine,” Camacho said, describing the experience of being in a famous reality show.
As a kid, she knew she wanted to cook and her inclination towards savory cooking grew by the day. Eventually, she found herself liking pastries. That was when an unconscious decision to be a pastry chef began to manifest.
After culinary school, she applied at Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the only vacancy then was in the pastry department. She took the plunge.
“I was really fortunate and lucky to work under great chefs who became my mentors. There was so much to learn, so much to absorb that I had fun working,” she shared.
Chef Sally traces her Filipino roots through her dad, who is from Manila and her mom, who is from Lambunao, Iloilo. She was born in the Philippines and she was about a year and a half when their family migrated to the United States.
“My last visit to the Philippines was in 2002, so I am overdue for a visit. I am itching to go back very soon,” she said with a laugh.
New Season
Top Chef judge Gail Simmons returns as the host alongside head judge and celebrated pastry chef Jonny Iuzzini. The show will also feature judges Hubert Keller, critically acclaimed chef of the world-renowned restaurant Fleur de Lys, and Dannielle Kyrillos, DailyCandy editor-at-large.
Asked about how different the first season was from their season, her reply was quick and to the point.
“This season, surprisingly we got along really well. The atmosphere was very positive and there was camaraderie among the cheftestants,” she said.
That means no drama, which was chock-full during the first season, to the point that some cast members complained about how they were being portrayed by the way the show was edited.
For Chef Sally, the only drama she recalls happening was when she got the big news that she was in.
“I was shocked when I found out. I think I was on my way to work when they called me. I was so excited, I was screaming. It was a total adrenaline rush. It felt like there was world peace, all of a sudden,” she shared.
I had a lot of other questions, but most were off-limits. Of course, they wouldn’t want to spoil the fun of foodie fans who are loyal viewers of the show.
In terms of her eating habits, Chef Sally was also quick to admit that she tends to eat more savory than sweet lately.
“I don’t eat too many sweets anymore, I already had my fill when I was just starting in the industry. I love eating Asian food—from Japanese to Thai to Filipino to authentic Chinese,” she revealed.
And her favorite Filipino desserts?
“I make sans rival, it’s my mom’s recipe and it’s awesome. I also make leche flan and it is my lola’s recipe, it’s the best ever,” she said.
She also makes Brazo de Mercedes, bibingka, buko pie.
Among her long-term plans are putting up her own little business and getting back to teaching.
“I want to get back into teaching when I get older, maybe when I am not as energetic as I am now. I would also love to have my own business. Maybe, I can go back home to the Philippines and open a few bakeries,” she mused.
For now, it’s all about her current job working for Wolfgang Puck, and enjoying her Top Chef: Just Desserts season. She is not at all new to competitions, so that is a big plus.
In 2007, she was part of the first all female pastry team to compete in the National Pastry Team Championship, where her team won silver. In 2008, she represented the United States in the Culinary Olympics in Germany where the US Pastry Team received gold medals in hot and cold foods. In April 2011, she won the Valrhona C3 Competition in France, and will represent the Americas in Madrid in January 2012.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(NYNJ Set. 2-8, 2011 LifeEASTyle pg.2)
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