After a full day of outdoor activities (and half a ruler long of wound from a limestone hill), I knew I had to rest and reserve some energy for the moving up ceremony that will follow the next day. Took a shower and applied some medication to my hurting wound. After having dinner, Ms Jen Latap, the resort manager introduced to us a very unassuming, humble but a very established and successful personality, Chef Mary Ann Sylvestre who happens to be a regular guest of the resort.
I just had a quick conversation with her at the resort, but with that short span of time, she got me interested with her and all that her mouth has to utter. She is very soft spoken and from the way she fluently speaks, I knew that she has a very good upbringing. Mary Ann Sylvestre is a Pastry Chef with a complete and passionate love for baking. She honed her craft in Switzerland and traveled to some parts of Europe to try out and get to know the continent’s baking ways.
The following night gave me such excitement because she invited us over to her house for a late night coffee chat (it was past 9 in the evening). We had to take a short walk going to her house which is just a few minutes away from the resort. She bought the piece of land (in Puerto Galera) where her house is now constructed a few years back because she loved the place when she first saw it. Chef Ann was captivated by the friendliness of the people from down south and even said that southern people are more genuine when it comes to being hospitable compared with people from the north specifically pertaining to Kapampangans. Ironically, Chef Ann is a Kapampangan herself. With both of us being a “cabalen” it was just a breeze for us to be comfortable with each other.
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| Pastry Chef Mary Ann Sylvestre loves to entertain friends over a cup of coffee which she personally prepares. |
Her place was quaint and small and I caught her busy in her kitchen working with a single espresso machine as she waited for every drip. She made us a Lavazza medium roast coffee which she told is Italy’s most loved coffee (than the another popular Illy coffee). To match the hot beverage, she offered us a crisp walnut biscotti and a Verona cookie which she personally baked. I equally loved the biscotti which went well with the coffee but it’s the cookie glazed with sugar icing with cardamom and dates that kept me wanting for more.
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| Lavazza is Italy's most favorite coffee according to Chef Ann and well.. to this sign board. |
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| This Lavazza coffee with a citrus hint is a perfect pair for a crisp walnut biscotti. |
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| The to-die-for sugar glazed Verona cookie, baked with dates and cardamom. Looking forward to have a bite into this again. |
Our conversation, which I thought turned out to be an informal and friendly chat, extended to hours as she relayed all her stories about how passionate she is with her craft. Being (still) an aspiring pastry chef that I am, I listened to all she said. One has to really love what he does to succeed in a chosen profession. And when it comes to baking, a quality product starts with quality ingredients. Chef Ann only uses ingredients she had bought in Italy. From flour, chocolates to nuts, all ingredients are imported. She even have 3 separate refrigerators (all with different and fixed temperature) to store all her ingredients. Water for baking? Well, she uses Evian water for all her baked products. How expensive could that be? They just have to, because her "Pasticceria Mariana" clients (this is her brand name) range from airline and business executives, ambassadors and the Zobels just to name a few. She regards herself not as a pastry chef but a "kitchen gardener" because she keeps a small garden at home where she also gets some of the ingredients she uses. For her, a good chef also must know how to grow and cultivate good ingredients from the soil.
It was really overwhelming to have gotten to know and to have spent time (and a coffee encounter) with such successful and interesting person. And to be able to make friend with Chef Ann was really a bonus. She was on that night looking forward for our next “coffee chat” and invited us to pay a visit in her home (and kitchen) in Pasig and promised to personally bake for us. Well I won’t let that chance pass. I had hoped to meet with the “kitchen gardener” from that night on.
Tell me what you think and feel free to leave comments.
TLK
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