I decided to bring home some food from our family’s favorite restaurant. Fire Lake Grill was still closed so I texted Chef Paul in advanced. They close from 2 – 6 pm during weekdays. It was only 5:33 so I waited for a while. I didn’t mind waiting, the weather was glorious, sunny but cold. Cliff House was a nice place to sit and gaze at the volcano. It’s not too public, although many times I encountered local and foreign tourists taking pictures.
My favorite is the red bean, P70 each.
At exactly 6 pm, Chef Paul arrived. We had a small chat and I asked him about his love for cooking.
Paul worked for many years as Marketing Manager for San Miguel Corporation and also with Pepsi Cola International. He retired from Pepsi and took up formal culinary studies although he already had self-taught culinary abilities.
While waiting for a good job offer as Marketing Manager, he got sick.
They discovered a pituitary tumor which was an abnormal growth in the pituitary gland that regulates the body’s balance of hormones. It was not in the brain but very near the brain. The thought of death dawned on him. That was his first awareness of death. That life was short and he should do what he loved most, rather than work again as a Marketing Executive.
He started doing as what he termed as “private kitchen”. He would cook for 2, 4, 6 people. He would set-up tables at his parent’s house in Valle Verde, Pasig.
One day, while in Tagaytay with his friend, a scion of China Bank’s Dee family, his friend encouraged him to open a restaurant in Tagaytay. Apparently, the Dee’s were planning to develop “Cliff House”.
After several months, “Fire Lake Grill” was born.
Dining with great view
Fire Lake Grill, Cliff House, Aguinaldo Hway, Tagaytay City. Great view, Great Food.
