September 23, 2018
While driving back from the farm, husband and I were talking about our experiences eating in Michelin star restaurants which Edmund did not enjoy. He said except for the one we had lunch at in Budapest, all others served their food soooooo slow. Nakakatulog daw sya sa tagal.
When he and my brother went to Paris for a business trip some 27 years ago, my kuya Lito brought him to a fine dining restaurant. Looking back, Edmund now thinks that because they served the food so slow, that could be a Michelin star restaurant because he fell asleep while waiting for their food.
I told him he fell asleep from jetlag.
We had dinner with his golf friends at a Michelin star resto in Edinburgh and he also dozed off while waiting for the dessert. Not only him, some of his friends also fell asleep at the dinner table. Actually ako rin, pigil na pigil yung pagpikit ko. He said there’s only one characteristic of Michelin star restaurants, he falls asleep. In his mind, basta mabagal ang service, baka daw Michelin star yun. Basta, ayaw daw nya kumain sa Michelin star restaurants.
E—-“At ang sarap ng tulog ko sa gabing yun kasi pagod na pagod ako sa kauupo at intay sa pagkain”.
In the past, I preferred cooks with some formal culinary training but they didn’t stay. Mahirap din. There were many factors. They were only inspired to show off their cooking skills in the first two weeks then after that they start cooking Filipino dishes, the usual, tinola, sinigang, ginisa, nilaga. I don’t need a chef for those dishes. Kahit labandera alam yan lutuin.
I keep Antonia not for her cooking prowess (or lack of it) but for being trustworthy and meron syang malasakit sa bahay namin. She’s a good taong-bahay. The ones we had before were kunsumisyon. Better cooks but better crooks.
Ever since I banned Antonia from cooking tinola she’s been drowning us with sotanghon soup and nilagang pork pata. She serves sotanghon four times a week at least. At least. And for the other days she serves the pork nilaga.
Oyen and Edmund are already sick and tired of the sotanghon. I heard Edmund complaining to Antonia that she served sotanghon the night before and the morning after.
It’s hard to teach her new dishes and when I buy ingredients she doesn’t know how to cook them. I don’t have the patience and energy to teach her new dishes. So maybe it’s about time that I hire a real chef. I will promote Antonia to the mayor doma position.
A—-“Tart, gusto kong mag hire ng French chef. Para sa bahay. Para tayo mamayat kasi di ba konti lang ang servings?”
E—-“French chef? Michelin? Sinabi ko ng ayaw ko ng Michelin star, dadalhin mo pa sa bahay!”
