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| Chef Andre Guerrero, The Gourmet Giver, voted LA’s Top Chef by LA Times Magazine |
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Filipino-American Chef Andre Guerrero is naturally a giver. "I’m always trying to help with meaningful causes," he said. No wonder, he was one of the three generous chefs (along with Chef Cecilia de Castro and Chef Carlito Jocson) who freely prepared a gourmet feast at the Ayala Foundation USA’s benefit dinner last Nov 7, Dining with the Chefs.
Aside from being voted Los Angeles’ Top Chef by the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Chef Andre Guerrero is also a powerful visionary. He possesses an amazing gift of giving a restaurant a unique identity and making it fly. He certainly had vision as proven time and time again with the restaurants he founded which include MAX / Marché LA, The Oinkster, and BoHo, and most recently Butter Tart.
Perhaps, it’s in the genes. For Chef Andre’s grandfather, Dr. Luis Ma. Guerrero (for which a famous street in Malate, Manila has been named), was the prolific writer and internationally renowned diagnostician and former dean of UST’s College of Medicine. Dr. Guerrero’s diagnostic ability was termed legendary for he oftentimes could visualize what many physicians failed to recognize. His unusually sharp sense of perception was a distinguishing mark through which he had achieved fame. Certainly, his grandson, Andre, also shares the same sharp sense of perception that has enabled him to visualize and discover what is needed for success in the world of food.
Born in the Philippines, Andre immigrated to the US when he was seven years old. After taking up Graphic Arts in UCLA, he decided to work for their family’s restaurant in Glendale called Cafe Le Monde. That started his career as a chef, which has taken him to well-known local culinary venues - all the way to the top.
Andre has brought the distinct aromas and flavors of Asian cooking and fused them with American cuisine. He has been a fixture on the Southern California culinary scene for more than 20 years, having cooked in kitchens of popular dining places like Alice’s Restaurant, Duet, Brio, and the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel.
Several years ago, chef Andre opened the award-winning MAX (later renamed Marché LA) in Sherman Oaks. Only 18 months after its launch, Andre opened Señor Fred, an equally successful Mexican-themed eatery. After selling the second restaurant to his business partner, chef Andre decided to introduce a whole new concept on American fare with his "slow fast food" at The Oinkster, in Eagle Rock.
Why slow fast food? Take their house specialty, the pastrami sandwich, for example. The Oinkster’s signature pastrami takes a two-week bath in brine spiked with garlic and pickle spices. Guerrero then rubs the meat with a coriander and black pepper blend—"heavy on the pepper"—and smokes it for four hours. Before being sliced, the meat rests for a day or two so that it can reach its full flavor.
Now, Guerrero has switched over to a new project, the Butter Tart Bakery, along Verdugo Rd. He plans to transform the Glassell Park bakery into a breakfast and lunch spot with a revamped pastry roster, a new coffee program, and a small breakfast menu. "We’re really focusing on having amazing coffee," says Guerrero." To accomplish that, he’s sourcing the best beans and invested in a new espresso machine, the "Rolls Royce of machines."
Andre Guerrero’s two sons, Fred and Max, are helping him run his restaurants. When things are not as busy as they are now, Chef Andre hopes to visit Manila with his family. Meanwhile, he continues to keep the flames hot –for gourmet food and gourmet giving. (AJPress)
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