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CCA Graduates: From Passionate Students to Exceptional Chefs PDF Print E-mail
by Chef Annali Mariano, CCA Instructor & Alumna 2001

CCA’s 11th anniversary is another milestone for the pioneer culinary school in the Philippines. More importantly, it is the quality of a school’s graduates that will determine if it has succeeded in its mandate. Our graduates have certainly gone places, and I’m very proud and honored to call my former students as chefs (some are now even my colleagues).
I always have fond memories of my students making mistakes while still in the school’s kitchen – laboring on a recipe or having a hard time coming up with the right taste or texture of a dish. But now, I’m amazed that some of them are now training their own kitchen staff in their respective works. Former schoolmates, who are some of my hang-out buddies, are now receiving awards from culinary competitions or judges in food-related events.

For instance, Chef Janice Lazaga, graduated in CCA in June 2007 as valedictorian. She is also a nutrition graduate of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. As a student in CCA, she was the president of Societe d’ Excellence, an organization composed of CCA’s top students.

After graduation, she proceeded to work at Medical City as chef/nutritionist, hitting two birds in one stone, so to speak. It was a pleasant surprise to have read a letter from Chef Babes Austria, the Executive Chef of the Malacañan Palace, commending Chef Janice for her exceptional kitchen skills and broad knowledge in her fields of expertise. Now, she has a regular position in the kitchen staff of the First Family, only after a few months of working there.

Chef Fatima Marquez, or Fate as we fondly call her, is presently the Executive Chef of the BPI Executive Lounge, serving not only the VIPs of the head office of this prestigious bank, but also the daily meal of the entire staff.

Aside from the two ladies, there are CCA graduates who have made a mark in their respective work and industries. Some of them include Tristan Encarnacion of GMA television show Unang Hirit; Chef Xandra Tolentino, owner of Flaming Wings and Chef Nikki Nicolas, owner of SumoSam restaurant.

According to Chef Rosebud Benitez, a graduate from Batch 2003, "CCA has the best curriculum which further honed my passion for cooking." Her co-hosts in QTV 11's "Ka-Toque: Lutong Barkada" Chefs Darlo Lopez and Nino Logarta wholeheartedly agrees. "CCA provided me the discipline to achieve my goal to be a culinary professional," Chef Nino said.

Chef Nikki is as one of the owners and manager of the kitchen of Sumo Sam, a Japanese restaurant in Shangri-La mall and Rockwell. She said that CCA has helped her hone her innate talent in cooking and opened her eyes to the business aspect of it. As she put it, "the school laid the foundations for me to have a strong and excellent culinary background."

"The rigid training of CCA has helped me a lot not only in terms of career but also in the development of my personality. I learned that being a chef is a serious profession. You have to put in a lot of hard work if you want to be successful in this industry," she said.

Hundreds of CCA, Manila’s graduates all over the world who continue to reap citations for their culinary creations and excellence in managing kitchens and restaurants ascertain that a Filipino culinary school can indeed be at par with the other culinary institutions around the globe.
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  • jadbolanos : #  Immerse in our kitchen and experience the best 6 hours of your life.  Check out the KITCHEN DISCOVERY CLASS.  April 12 class will have chef Tristan Encarnacion (GMA's Unang Hirit) as instructor for the cooking session.
  • jadbolanos : Immerse in our kitchen and experience the best 6 hours of your life.  Check out the KITCHEN DISCOVERY CLASS.  April 12 class will have chef Tristan Encarnacion chef instructor for the cooking session.
  • jadbolanos : Immerse in our kitchen and experience the best 6 hours of your life.  Check out the KITCHEN DISCOVERY CLASS.  Program kicks off on April 5 with Chef Rosebud Benitez of Katoque as chef instructor for the cooking session.
  • jadbolanos : Immerse in our kitchen and experience the best 6 hours of your life.  Check out the KITCHEN DISCOVERY CLASS.  Program kicks off on April 5, 2008.
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