To fully appreciate food, One must know how it is made

I may have grown up in a family of foodies, yet somehow no one knows how to cook or bake… I guess we were just content with the idea of eating good food. Throughout my younger years, we’ve grown used to eating out, a lot! - Continuously navigating through the city of Cagayan de Oro, in search of delectable bites.

With that as my childhood food experience, I’m proud to share that this year; I’ve decided to make a change!

Just 6 months ago, I’ve enjoyed my first baking experience, with the use of my very first gas oven. As interest in the kitchen heightened, along with a bit of courage and immense support from my sister, a random decision was made—to enroll in Heny Sison Culinary School. The aforementioned school offers a variety of courses, namely; “Lifestyle Programs” –diverse short term cooking/ baking courses that usually take 1 – 3 sessions, depending on its complexity; and “Professional Programs” – courses that usually take 22 sessions, as it covers a wider range of baking/ cooking topics (usually undergone by prospective chefs as foundation in pursuit of careers in the food industry). With intention of taking my interest in food seriously, though having zero knowledge on baking, I enrolled in the Professional Program under Essential Baking and Pastry Series. And mind you, the experience was an unforgettable one. I never thought baking sweet treats would actually bring me much joy…

In the past 22 Saturdays of taking baking courses… I realized that, I got more than what I expected, as not only was I able to learn the proper techniques on how to make breads, cakes, bars, cookies, and many more delightful pastries… but, I’ve also known great people whom I now call “friends”, together becoming part of the Heny Sison Culinary School family.

The experience itself may have brought forth feelings of insecurity and nervousness as I sometimes tend to make mistakes. However, practicing in a school with a warm and friendly environment, I’ve managed to enjoy the process of learning, with my fellow students and professional chefs.

The best part is—I am now able to do it at home, all by myself… driven with passion to continuously develop my skills in perfection of the craft.

July 14th marks the end of my course, my graduation.…

Here’s a glimpse of my 22 Saturdays:

And I will be off doing kitchen experiments and will soon be sharing them with you.

written by: Shobe