Pampanga was dark and motionless when I left for Manila one Monday morning. I was on my way to a 7AM advanced cooking class at Enderun Colleges at The Fort. Travel from my sleepy hometown was a breeze, but only until the end of the wide-open North Luzon Expressway. My mistake, I combined rush hour EDSA with another bad dream that was C5 and so made it to the school’s culinary center way past 9. I missed the lecture on foodservice trends and international cuisine.

Once inside the kitchen, I was on autopilot – snapping photos of the demo, Swiss chef in charge and Enderun’s senior culinary arts instructor Thomas Wenger, and the professional participants from hotel and restaurant kitchens and R&D.

Soon after Chef Thomas finished the first items on the day’s list – some hunger-inducing eggplant appetizers – he asked the group to pair up, and that includes me. My initial reaction? Panic.

Must have been the lack of sleep and proper breakfast, plus the debilitating metro traffic — why didn’t it occur to me that I was also supposed to cook seven dishes in less than 5 hours with a roomful of kitchen hotshots?

I wished I had paid more attention to our instructor. I read the recipe and for some reason nothing gets through.

To make matters worse, Chef Martin, assistant to my former culinary foundation teacher Chef See Cheong Yan comes over with, “Kayang-kaya mo na yan!”

Hellooow, I reminded me, you’ve been cooking for so long — 20++ years or so you claim in typical yabang Capampangan. The silent self-talk quickly followed by Chef See’s face flashing in my head – and it wasn’t beaming.

Someone from the organizers, Francis, was “summoned” to assist me, the odd-man-out media participant. My partner for the day obviously loved good food and turned out to be a very nice fellow, just not too keen on cooking and kitchen chores.

But I’d soon learn that my reluctant assistant was a cabalen. This was enough to make me feel OK.

Meanwhile, the other teams were deftly making their way around the kitchen, some expertly flipping stuff in skillets. I quickly shook off all fears and immediately set to work.

How did I do?

Baked melanzane (eggplant) drizzled with flavored olive oil (garlic, onion, basil, tomatoes, salt and pepper) then sprinkled with parmesan.

That’s my fresh ravioli decorated with fried sage leaves and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Francis and I made the pasta on the spot (of salt, flour and semolina). To flatten, Chef Thomas helped me roll the sheet through the machine.

Chef Thomas places the veal loin medallion in a clear plastic and flattens it with a mallet until very thin.

My double pork chop seasoned with Dijon mustard, seared, roasted until medium well, covered with sautéed garlic, onion, olive oil, black olives, white wine, tomato sauce, fresh oregano, wide strips of mozzarella then baked. Chef Thomas served this with Swiss roesti (right), made of grated potatoes, salt and pepper, sautéed onions and bacon, then fried in clarified butter. To keep a perfect form, Chef Thomas made sure I flip it. Hands clapped when the patty returned to the center of my narrow pan (the size of a teacup saucer!). Ready when golden crisp, then crowned with sliced parma ham, cheddar cheese, baked, then covered with fried sunny egg seasoned with paprika powder and chopped parsley.

Another version of baked melanzane which I like to call eggplant-mozarella sandwich. These are sliced eggplant rounds filled with thin mozzarella, dipped in flour, breadcrumbs, parmesan and Italian parsley, panfried until golden, layered on a blanket of tomato sauce, then baked until exterior is crisp and the cheese sticky.

Chef Thomas shows us how to fill the ravioli with a mixture of shallots and parma ham sautéed in olive oil, fresh breadcrumbs, cheddar cheese, chopped basil and seasoned egg yolk.

Not the best looking photo, this was my glazed veal paupiette stuffed with cream cheese and forest mushrooms. The beaten meat was rolled with garlic, shallots, bacon, mushrooms (button, cep/porcini, crimini) sautéed in olive oil, Italian parsley, thyme, basil, egg yolk and cream cheese, browned on all sides, set into a casserole and cooked with onions, carrot and celery (mirepoix), white wine and brown stock, then braised in the oven until tender.

My take on cordon bleu of lapu-lapu – mozarella slices and sautéed mushrooms folded into skinless, boneless butterflied fish fillet, dipped in egg-parmesan mixture, shallow fried, then served drizzled with flavored olive oil (garlic, vinegar, herbs and tomatoes).

So what if I finished last, I cooked all that! Thanks to my partner Francis for the hard work and for being game. Thanks to Chef Thomas for checking on us and our station and for being helpful and fun.

All the cheeses and cream used to heighten the flavors of this practical gourmet menu were under the Anchor brand by Fonterra, global supplier of dairy ingredients. This class was part of a three-day specialty program for Fonterra’s key corporate clients held at Enderun Colleges’ state-of-the-art culinary center located on McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio in Taguig.

Christine is a creative writer specializing in food, culinary, dining and customer service. Check out her other blog entries as well as some recipes at www.100poundfoodie.com.