Chefs in Progress (CHIP) continues to educate culinary students in a virtual set-up through “Culinary Arts Industry Hour: Babangon Tayo” webinar, with guest speakers Chef Jerome Valencia and Chef Pipo Aluning, last Nov. 10 via Zoom and Facebook.

The webinar commenced with the opening remarks of Chef Elijah Estillore, emphasizing on the objective of the webinar to educate the students about the current opportunities and how the “new normal” would affect the future of the culinary students amid the pandemic.

The first guest speaker was Chef Jerome Valencia, the director for membership of LTB Philippines Chefs Association and the owner of his online food business Pucha Pares! which serves home-styled and freshly made beef pares. 

He discussed his journey in being a sous chef. From his work and kitchen experiences, such as from working as an instructor in Lyceum Philippine University Culinary Institute to working abroad in Australia for the audience to have an insight on how their culinary journey will go in the future.

He ended his talk by providing the students with advice that concerns how the youth culinary students should be reminded of in the middle of a pandemic crisis such as making use of their time to improve their craft and keeping their heads high that things will go back to normal.

"The industry will bounce back and it will flourish, a vaccine will come and soon this pandemic will stop, but there will be changes when we come back [especially with] food and health safety [as] the top priority," Valencia said. 

Meanwhile, the next speaker was Chef Pipo Aluning, Benildean alumnus and senior sous chef of Unilever Food Solutions, where he elaborated further on Valencia’s discussion. He started his talk by giving a backstory of his inspiration, and how he mastered his craft into various part-time jobs and job offerings.

Furthermore, he discussed his current job at Unilever Food Solutions, a multinational consumer food company that created famous condiments and ingredients such as Knorr Liquid Seasoning and Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise. He explained his tasks for the company and how marketing and culinary arts have an integral role in producing professional food service.

He concluded his talk by giving tips and advice to how the culinary industry will pave way through the changes of this pandemic, such as the increase of demand on virtual food businesses. He also reminded the audience to be optimistic of their capabilities and continue to improve as a chef regardless of the uncertainties.

“There are things that we can and can't control, and of course we should focus on those that we can control and that's where we can get stronger,” Aluning emphasized.

The webinar was followed by an open forum where the audience members were given the chance to  ask and seek advice from the guest speakers. Chairperson of Bachelor of Science in Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management Chef Margarita Marty concluded with closing remarks by thanking the chefs for their educational talk and reminded the students to “unite as one, help one another, and continue to improve their craft with optimism.”