FILIPINO CHEFS MAKING WAVES IN UK AND EUROPE  

02 October 2007 – The Philippine Embassy in London reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that Filipino chefs in the United Kingdom , currently numbering more than 5,000, are making waves in the British and European culinary scene by winning major awards in international competitions, and stamping their own brand in their chosen field. They cook signature dishes for London ’s best and finest restaurants.  

Filipino chefs man London ’s bests hotel which include the Dorchester, Mandarin Oriental, Hilton, Intercontinental, Carlton Towers , Junneriah, and Lanesborough, as well as London-based world-renowned restaurants like Gordon Ramsay, Nobu, Wolsey, and Mitchels and Butlers .  

Some of these chefs are Messrs. Jerry Lagundas, Executive Sous Pastry Chef at Harrods, who won several gold medals in various pastry competitions; Jun Dalmacio, who bagged the Gold Medal for a vegetarian dish at the Welsh International Culinary Championship in February 2007; Felix Bayker, pastry chef at Hilton Paddington in London and a finalist for the patisserie competition in 2005 and 2006; and Edpoe Villanueva, chef de partie at the Victoria Hotel in London. Most of these chefs are no stranger to the finest cooking because most of them had also worked in Manila ’s five-star hotels before their UK stint.  

More Filipino chefs are making their mark at the kitchens of London ’s top hotels and restaurants. Ms. Beth Perez, one of the founding members of the Filipino Chefs Association in the UK , is no stranger to the British and European culinary scene.  A graduate of Le Cordon Bleau, she was employed as Chef de Partie of Nobu London and Gordon Ramsay. Currently, Ms. Perez is the Chef Consultant for the London Chefs Division of Berkeley Scott Group plc, a British management and employment consultancy company for the hospitality industry.  

At the oath-taking of the group’s new batch of officers in September 2007, administered by Ambassador Edgardo Espiritu, Ms. Perez stressed that the organization hopes to elevate the stature of Filipino cuisine and cooking methods.  

The association hopes to mainstream Filipino cuisine, which has long lagged behind their oriental cousins. It is an aspiration for them to serve authentic Filipino cuisine in London ’s finest hotels and restaurants, to pave the way for recognition of Filipino cuisine in the international gastronomy fair.  

/Gary

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