(ANS – Manila) – Twenty youngsters from the Tuloy Foundation work for Street Children recently began a course in Culinary Arts. Run by an authentic chef, and with the help of Fr Marciano “Rocky” Evangelista, founder and director of Tuloy Foundation, the boys will try to acquire the necessary professional skills in order to be independent and build a successful future.

Amongst the various technical and professional courses being run by Tuloy Foundation one of the most recent is the Culinary Arts course, which opened at the end of 2010 – following construction of the two storey culinary arts building – and is now in its third year of operation. Jean-Pierre “JP” Migné, well-known chef originally from France but who has been living in the Philippines now for 25 years, is the Master Chef in question, with Jan Aranillo as his assistant chef.

Normally, pupils come to this course without any prior culinary knowledge. Migné says: “Various kinds of tastes and meals are quite foreign to them, in fact quite irrelevant for them. They eat when there is food (and often only when) and sleep as a way to forget about eating (when there is nothing to eat)”. As for tastes, the chef has to start from the basics: sweet, sour, salty....

In the early days of the course, Chef Migné always shows them a few episodes of the famous English reality show “Hell’s Kitchen” – where chef Gordon Ramsey runs his kitchen like a sergeant major – as a way of preparing his students for places where the work is more difficult and competitive.

His pupils, however, are willing and happy to learn: “We have been surprised to discover that we should have been using various kinds of knives and cutting boards, pots and pans for different kinds of plates” one of them comments. And that's to say nothing of the various herbs, spices and other ingredients: “there's just so many and different – and very costly items!” he adds.

The course focuses particularly on Filipino and other Asian cuisines,  it also allows them to learn about culinary features of other parts of the world; there are classes in food technology, nutrition, food storage and preservation, hygiene. To offer the broadest possible education, they are also taught other disciplines which go hand in hand with cooking, so the young chefs' employment opportunities can be broadened, such as working as waiters, bar-tenders…

The boys are also taught that charisma and leadership skills are part of the trade, maths skills for weights and proportions, as well as knowing various food properties; they learn that the real chef focuses on inexpensive food and is not looking for compliments while obviously wanting to avoid criticism; if he makes a mistake he doesn't say “I'm sorry”, but corrects it and doesn't make it again; and they learn that in the workplace teamwork and respect for one's colleagues count: “a useful lesson”, Mr Migné emphasises “in any area of existence, not just because you are a chef”.

While attending the course the boys stay at the Foundation to avoid possible absences and transport costs. When they have finished, thanks to Mr Migné's contacts, they are all sent out for work experience in prestigious restaurants and hotels, where they are usually appreciated for their skills and commitment. All pupils from earlier courses have found work, including some abroad.

Fr Evangelista emphasises that the course, like other of the foundation's initiatives, is supported mainly from donations from benefactors, but Chef Migné likes to explain that it lacks nothing by comparison with similar courses elsewhere that might costs thousands of pesos.

Published 12/02/2013