Chef Laudico: Culinary rock star

By Ma. Cristina C. Arayata / Philippines News Agency

I used to think that one just needs to spend at least three months in culinary school to be called a chef. That changed when I chanced upon celebrity chef Rolando Laudico, better known as Chef Laudico, and learned I was wrong.

“Being a chef is not for everyone,” he said during a chance interview with the Philippines News Agency. What happens these days, he said, is that people think being a chef is glamorous.

“In reality, it’s not,” Chef Laudico said, and added that people shouldn’t think he became a chef to be on television and magazines.

He also said it takes years of hard work, and one needs to have a big heart to become a chef because he or she might easily get discouraged.

I asked Chef Laudico if someone wouldn’t end up as a chef if he or she is so passionate about cooking.

“Sometimes, passion is not enough. You have to have endurance. It’s a very physical job,” he said.

According to Chef Laudico, his profession has many challenges.

“The (working) hours are long, and you don’t have holidays because you still need to work,” he said. Sometimes, too, chefs are away from their families,” he added.

The chef also said food is relative, which means certain foods might be delicious for some, but not for others. The solution? Be fearless.

“It’s hard to please everyone, so you just have to keep innovating. Keep being creative,” he said.

For Chef Laudico, one needs to have a level of creativity that cannot be learned. He said creativity is something you cannot teach to anyone. Being artistic and creative is something innate, he added.

For wannabe chefs, Chef Laudico gave these tips:

• Be fearless. Always try new things. “Don’t be afraid to fail, because for you to become a chef, you will fail a thousand times, and that’s part of the journey,” he said. To be a chef, learn from your mistakes.

• Be creative. That’s what will set you apart from other chefs, he said. If you are not creative, you’re not going anywhere.

• Have a big heart. You will encounter so many challenges in life, he said. Running a restaurant or a food business is no joke. Furthermore, he added, having a big heart means you really want to make people happy and satisfied.

Chef Laudico said this is probably the biggest reason he became a chef. “Because there’s no other feeling in the world like making somebody happy because of your hard work,” he told PNA.

Chronicle of a chef’s career

Chef Laudico began cooking at 8 years old, and the first dish he tried to cook was stir-fried shrimps.

“The shrimps were alive, and I forgot to cover them. So all of them jumped and ended up on the floor,” he said.

Cooking for him came out very naturally. “It was fun and I didn’t find it hard,” Chef Laudico said. “So when I grew up, I realized: Why not have a career in cooking?”

There were no culinary schools in his younger years, in the early 1990s. He had to work in a restaurant and, eventually, was able to study abroad. In 1998, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. After school, the young chef worked in Europe and Australia.

Then he came back in the Philippines to start his culinary career. In 2000, he put up his own catering business.

Fifteen years later, Chef Laudico already has seven restaurants and TV appearances, in addition to the catering business. He’s also a brand ambassador for Samsung appliances.

Though he learned to cook Italian, French and Chinese dishes, his love for Filipino food didn’t change.

Chef Laudico said he learned cooking all by himself, through trial and error.

The celebrity chef we see in TV advertisements with his family was once a pizzaiolo, or pizza maker, in an Italian restaurant. That’s one proof that he didn’t reach his current status in a snap. As he said, it takes hard work.

Chef Laudico, though already successful in his career, actually wanted to be a musician. He had a band and, once in a while, he sings at 12 Monkeys and ‘70s Bistro.

“My love for music is the same as my love for food,” he said.

He aims to promote Filipino cuisine abroad. “I won’t stop until Filipino cuisine becomes respected globally,” Chef Laudico said.