Highlights
- Nahanap ni Chef John Rivera ang tagumpay sa Australian fine dining, ngunit di niya nakakalimutang bumalik sa Filipino cuisine.
- Bago nangyari ang pandemya, plinano ni John na magtayo ng sarili niyang modern Filipino restaurant.
- Binuo ni John at ng kanyang business partner na si Chef Minh Duong ang Kariton Sorbetes.
Naging matagumpay si Chef John Rivera sa Australian fine dining ng isang dekada; ngunit, patuloy siyang bumabalik sa dahilan kung bakit itinuon niya ang kanyang buhay sa pagkain - ang Filipino cuisine.
Ang chef
"I was born in Cabanatuan City, moved to New Zealand when I was 3 and moved to Australia when I was in high school. I've spent most of my life as an immigrant, adjusting to a country. My only connection to the Philippines then was through the Filipino food we had at home."
Mula sa pagkaing Pinoy na kinakain niya sa bahay, itong dating Rockpool Bar & Grill at Lûmé chef na ito ay nagapaptuloy ng kanyang adbokasiya sa kanyang professional cooking.
"[After Lûmé, I worked in Amaru, a small fine dining restaurant focused on intuitive cooking; after that, I had a brief stint in Lûmé again to take over the kitchen when Shaun Quade left. I was able to showcase a modern interpretation of Filipino food and fine dining at the restaurant."
"I've spent most of my life as an immigrant, adjusting to a country. My only connection to the Philippines then was through the Filipino food we had at home." Source: Amaru / John Rivera
"One of the highlights of my career as well was representing the Asia Pacific in the San Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year 2018. From the initial 2,400 chefs who applied, we were whittled down to 21 [10 finalists from 21 regions]. For my signature dish, I made sinigang (a sour Filipino soup with meat and vegetables]."
Ayon kay John, ang intensyon nya sa paggawa ng modern sinigang ay upang ipakita ang kakayahang umangkop ng Pinoy na migrante - siyang nagpapatuloy magluto ng pagkaing kanyang kinalakihan gamit ang mga sangkap na matatagpuan sa bagong bansang kanyang tinitirhan. Para kay John, inspirasyon niya ang mga sangkap na mahahanap sa New Zealand at Australya.
John [second row, second from left] amongst other finalists of the San Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 Source: San Pellegrino / John Rivera
"The finals were in Milan, where we cooked our dishes for the top chefs of the world. One of them was [Filipino chef] Margarita Forés, who was Asia's Best Female Chef of 2016. I can still remember how nervous I was serving her because I used her books throughout my research. She took a spoonful, looked at me, smiled and winked. That was enough recognition for me."
Sa kabutihang-palad, nanalo si John ng fifth place sa kompetisyon.
John Rivera's modern interpretation of the sinigang. Source: John Rivera
"I was happy more so to have the opportunity to bring Filipino food to the world stage. It justified to me that our food deserves a place amongst top cuisines."
Ang gelato
Nagtatrabaho ngayon para sa Sunda Restaurant si John; ngunit, plano niya talaga dapat na magbukas ng modern Filipino restaurant bago mangyari ang pandemya.
"Unfortunately, that's fallen through for now; but my friend and business partner Minh Duong and I sat down and said we should use our creativity [while in lockdown]."
"Minh is Vietnamese, but when he went to the Philippines for my wedding, he really fell in love with the concept of dirty ice cream, of a person wheeling ice cream on the streets and serving people which is very similar to what they also have in Vietnam."
"Minh is Vietnamese, but when he went to the Philippines for my wedding, he really fell in love with the concept of dirty ice cream." Source: Getty Images/Justine Prado/EyeEm
Habang ang 'dirty ice cream' ay ang colloquial term para dito, saad ni John na ito lamang ang tawag dito dahil sa kung saan ito binebenta at dahil sa kamurahan nito.
"We wanted an approachable product that could reach people in their homes. We see Kariton Sorbetes (Filipino for 'Cart Ice Cream'), our line of artisanal gelato, as a great opportunity to open the door and talk about what Filipino food is."
Gamit ang inspirasyon mula sa dirty ice cream, gumagawa sina John at Minh ng mga flavours base sa mga Pinoy desserts, cocktails at produce.
"We see Kariton Sorbetes as a great opportunity to open the door and talk about what Filipino food." Source: Kariton Sorbetes
"Our products have many toppings and we garnish to accentuate different flavours and textures to make them more interesting."
Ayon kay John, ang ube gelato nila ay may tunay na handmade ube halaya; ang paborito niyang turon ay gawa sa hinog na saging, muscovado caramel, langka at crispy spring rolls; ang queso ay mayroong Skyflakes; ang calamansi hinebra ay calamansi at gin; guyabano ay juice na may gatas; at champorado ay tablea gelato na may toasted glutinous rice, wild rice, cacao nibs at patis salted caramel upang magaya ang lasa ng champoradong may halong tuyo.
"We're always trying to be creative with the desserts we could turn into ice cream. We're [experimeting] with taho (silken soy with pearls and syrup) right now and we'll be serving that soon. We're also playing with a lot of other flavours like halo-halo, leche flan and kape at pandesal (coffee and bread)."
Ube gelato topped with handmade ube halaya Source: Kariton Sorbetes
Turon gelato Source: Kariton Sorbetes
Ang inaasahan
Saad ni John na ang magiging tunay na hamon para sa kanilang negosyo ay kapag bumalik na sa normal ang buhay sa Australya.
"We do deliveries at the moment, but we're looking to eventually expand, to have our own shop so our customers can visit us and enjoy our gelato."
"We hope what we're doing will help open the door to non-Filipinos to try our food. I hope it becomes a talking point, a point of difference, that people will say 'Hey, this is Filipino food and because of it, we want to try more.' I also hope our brand inspires other Filipinos to be proud of their heritage and food, and to have the confidence to share it with their non-Filipino friends."
"We're looking to expand, to have our own shop so our customers can visit us and enjoy our gelato." Source: Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN
