TBK teaches - Our new Brand and a new adventure, combining two of my greatest loves

 
I first started teaching in my hotel days at Chester Post House in the UK where I was Assistant Manager (Personnel and Training) back in 1984.

                                          Mr Pogi in 1984

In 1986 I doubled my salary and got my first company car, a red Sierra, when I became Personnel and Training Officer (PTO) West for Little Chef. Believe it or not the guy who recommended me for that job is one of the biggest fans of TBK and sends me emails every week- 36 years later! I remember running Recruitment and Selection courses with the other PTOs around the UK. I stayed with Little Chef for 10 years ending up as Training and Development Manager working with Phil Gregory out of the Grantham office. The rest, as they say is history. 36 years later Phil and I (and his wife Di and kids Zak and Ria) are still great friends (time for another Guest blog on Iceland or the Caribbean cruise Mr G!).

                                     

Some of the Cookery classes I attended around the world and Chef Jeboy who taught me to make his Cheesy Cakes in Dubai last year.

         We spent a lot of time replacing the spices which went off in storage 

So, as you can see teaching is in my blood. I also love cooking and when I started planning my move here to the Philippines, I thought about setting up a cookery school, like the ones I attended in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and here in Palawan at Poochies Kitchen! Fortunately, I had saved enough, and my brother invested my money wisely for me, so that was not necessary.

When Jhoanna found the Blue House with the huge commercial space at the front we moved everything out of the kitchen ( sofa, table and benches and TV) to make it as big as possible for all the equipment we needed ( I bought none from Bahrain so I started from scratch with a massive new fridge and freezer, microwave, oven and hob, ice crusher, rice cooker, kettle, toaster, electric grill, toasted sandwich maker, hand held blender, mixer, Blender, and Juicer.

So, we had the perfect kitchen for filming our vlogs (once after 5 months of asking we managed to get the two faulty lights replaced) and teaching people to cook. It used to be on the curriculum for boys to learn to cook in the Philippines, but it was removed, and now only girls learn to cook. I found this out in Bahrain when I asked my OFW houseboy to cook with disastrous results. He burnt everything. 

 Corleen in my kitchen in Bahrain before I had Chester make all my spice labels

It surprised me that I had to go right back to basics with my trainee chefs from how to shape their hands like a claw to avoid cutting their fingers off, to how to use the knife (always on the chopping board - never cut in the air) to how to place the knife after washing up (blade down so you pick it up by the handle). They were also blissfully unaware of the causes of food poisoning, particularly relating to one of the most common foods in the Philippines - Rice. Luis joked with me that Pinoys even have rice with Spaghetti. Once I got the rice cooker, I kept finding cooked rice left at room temperature for several days- normal procedure here in the Philippines. So, I downloaded my old notes from when I delivered food hygiene courses and made handout packs for my trainees. Here is the pertinent information on cooked rice, for example:

"Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. The spores can survive when rice is cooked.

If rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores can grow into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea.

The longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that the bacteria or toxins could make the rice unsafe to eat".

Source: https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning/#:~:text=Uncooked%20rice%20can%20contain%20spores,that%20cause%20vomiting%20or%20diarrhoea. (Accessed 28.8.22)

Next, I chose a variety of dishes from different countries and different complexity for my students to try, emailed them the recipes and printed a copy for them as I had received on my cookery classes around the world. I wanted them to proudly go home and show their families what they had learnt, cooking for them and so passing on different cuisines. In the many hours I have spent in the queue to pay at NCC, SM Mall and Robinsons I have done extensive research into what Filipinos eat based on what is in their trollies. Hot dogs, fish balls, ice cream, white bread, white rice and lots of fish!

          My healthy Berry parfait (Berries, granola and Gracie's natural yogurt)

So rather than rice or dried fish with vinegar of bacon and egg I taught them to make Berry parfait for breakfast, and then an Indian curry and Raita instead of Adobo. 

                                         My chicken curry with raita

I also passed on the helpful hints I had learnt from my chef friends around the world. I showed them how Chef Coco prepared all the items he needed before he started cooking and explained the french term used in hotel kitchens - Mis en Place (to put in place). When we made fried eggs, I explained how to put salt and pepper on them and then cover them with a pan lid to keep the steam in and cook the top of the egg. I reminded them of a phrase I learnt when doing my OJT at the 1000-bedroom 7 restaurant Cumberland hotel in London:

"The workbench is for Rissoles not assholes, Chef"- when I sat on the workbench!

From my Little Chef days, I shared " If you have time to lean you have time to clean " and " clean as you go"

Trainee Chef Frythy already cooks for his two older brothers at home as his mum is OFW in Singapore

Some of my trainees like Frythy and Julios took it all in and applied what they learnt (so much so that I had Frythy help cook for 44 people at my Housewarming /Jhoanna's 22nd Birthday party and he and Noel helped cook for our Christmas lunch. Others took it less seriously. One I taught to make Beef Goulash which has to slow cook for 90 mins. I went out to get some more items we needed and as I came back, I could smell the burning. My trainee had pulled up a chair and was playing a computer game on his phone. 

"Did you stir it?" 

" You did not tell me to" 

A lot of beef burnt to a cinder which took him 2 days to scrape of the bottom of the pan. Having got all the ingredients, printed all the menus, he then failed to turn up twice and finally I gave up on him.

Kevin did manage to make the Shrimps and Avocado salad without burning it!

He presented it very well too. As I showed him how to prepare the lemon garnish I told him the story of the Chef in London who stopped me serving smoked salmon sandwiches as they were not presented properly.

"Do you know how much we charge our guests for a smoked Salmon sandwich Neil?"

" No chef"

"£15" (7 bd or 1000 peso and this was in 1980!)

" So, we have to make it look like it's worth that much - slice off the crusts, quarter the lemon, take out the pips, lay it on a bed of lettuce, add some parsley, cut the sandwich into triangles and arrange neatly!"

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my cookery lessons and if you want to come and learn, or send your son or daughter, let me know.

Until then- Ingats!