Master Chefs Michael Ty and Chris Neary at the American Hospitality Academy

AHA is the first and only culinary school in the Philippines accredited by the American Culinary Federation, which means it has the same program, facilities, methods and instruction of culinary schools in the US. I had the privilege to be invited to a cooking demo by American Culinary Federation National President Chef Michael Ty and New York Chapter President Chef Christopher Neary. All demonstrated in front of me with select bloggers and media. It was fun to witness these top chefs in action, from preparing to plating!

It was a gastronomic adventure to be treated to a feast of East meets American flavours. The chefs made a trip to Salcedo Market earlier in the day to find local ingredients they can play around with on the demo. While giving his catfish fillet a dry rub, Chef Michael relates his humble beginnings as a dishwasher and all the hard work that comes along before becoming a successful chef. He now runs a project with First Lady Michelle Obama for USDA's "Choose My Plate" program which aims at promoting better, healthier choices instead of fastfood choices. It was also interesting to note that Chef Michael is a Filipino-born Chinese Immigrant and how he has journeyed from the Philippines to becoming an executive chef and food director in Ceasar's Palace and Lawry's The Prime Rib in Las Vegas.

Chef Chris Neary tells the story of how fish cakes came to be from being a popular and economical "workers fare" to being served in restaurants all over the world. The trip to Salcedo was yielded fresh catfish for the chefs to use in our fish cakes. The results were delicious, it was a welcome surprise as I wouldn't normally purchase catfish and go through the painstaking process of cooking it!

Like Chef Michael, Chef Chris is a Certified Executive Chef (CEC), Certified Culinary Administrator and a member of the American Academy of Chefs. He has spent his whole culinary career in Long Island, NY and is running the reputed finest restaurants in NY as reviewed by New York Times and NewsDay. He was awarded Chef of the Year by ACF Long Island Chapter in 2004. 


Basil-infused cornbread

Caper salad, mustard seed dressing, fishcake

This is what went into our plates 

Light, simple and healthy in a flash! Pan-seared Pacific Cod wrapped in Bacon, Roasted Garlic Hash, Mango Habanera Salsa and Blackened Salmon Cowder with Corn 

The master chefs also demonstrated the different kinds of Roux from the blondest to the darkest, depending on how it is made and how strong the flavor is. The bitter taste is different from the ones offered in Manila and it's awesome that we had a taste of authentic Louisiana-style gumbo.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

The delightful finisher to this meal was Chef Philip Golding's Panna Cotta, Blueberries and Cheesecake with "Secret Sauce" 

Outtakes: Crush was there! Chef Philip Golding was there to supervise the demo

With bloggers, my nanay Mommy Jo of http://jobonsol.net and Arpee Lazaro of Pinoy Life at Large

With Chef Gene Cordova and BusinessWorld columnist Boysie Villavicencio

We capped off the afternoon with a nice cold cheesecake frozen coffee in Seattle's Best Greenbelt.

There's more to come from AHA. Chef Toba Garret, the multi-awarded, "it" chef in cake decorating and design will be coming on October to hold baking demos, Magnolia Bakery level! Catch her from October 2-4 at AHA Philippines. You may contact http://www.ahaphil.com or call 632-8927372 / 8927702 for more details.