Cooking with Sandy Daza

By Sandy Daza

“MY SON, SANDY, is undoubtedly the one who inherited the gastronomic savvy people associate most with the Dazas. He has an uncanny ability of appreciating food’s nuances and subtleties. If food were music, he must have perfect pitch. It’s talent. Sandy is happiest around food and people whether he is cooking, cleaning up, or waiting and serving. These passions are essential for anyone serious about embarking on a culinary career. And of course, there’s that other thing called talent.

“Many people tell me they are clueless, not made for the kitchen or can’t cook. My philosophy: Kitchen confidence comes with a delicious, simple, and good recipe. That’s what this book is all about. A book for both novice and experienced cooks.”

— Nora Daza

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anvil Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9786214201303

Book preview

My son, Sandy, is undoubtedly the one who inherited the gastronomic savvy people associate most with the Dazas. He has an uncanny ability of appreciating food’s nuances and subtleties. If food were music, he must have perfect pitch. It’s talent.

Sandy graduated at Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Management. He also studied at the American College in Paris, the Alliance Francaise and Cordon Bleu in Paris. (I remember well his infinite attempts perfecting a Tarte Tatin.)

While in Paris in ’73, Sandy began his culinary career while working as a waiter and cashier in Aux Iles Philippines, our family restaurant. One day, the chef failed to appear and with no one to replace him, the daunting culinary demands were thrust upon him. Relying on memory and instinct, he recreated the chef’s menu. To his surprise (and the staff’s), the restaurant ran smoothly, leaving the most discriminating diners satisfied—unbeknownst to them that the chef was absent. This was to be Sandy’s rite of passage into the culinary world.

Then there was the time I had to leave Paris for the opening of Au Bon Vivant in Makati, thereby leaving him sole control of the restaurant. Still a bit tentative, he expressed reluctance but I reminded him not to doubt his abilities—If it tastes good, then serve it. He abides by that rule to this day.

When Sandy returned to Manila, he opened fast-food outlets he named Sandy’s Cuisine. Yet again, he took over the management, this time for our Thai restaurant, Mai Thai, when I returned to Paris to open another Aux Iles Philippines, where he joined me for the opening.

Through the years, he has mentored chefs and established his own restaurants in Manila and Vancouver. He has hosted numerous cooking shows like Cooking with Nora (Philippines), Cooking with the Dazas (Philippines), Eat Bulaga’s Del Monte Kitchenomics (Philippines), and Cooking with Sandy (Philippines, Canada, United States). A familiar face in national cooking competitions and Chefs on Parade, it is also not uncommon to see him guest judging community cook-offs. Sandy is also a food critic for the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

But Sandy is happiest around food and people whether he is cooking, cleaning up, or waiting and serving. These passions are essential for anyone serious about embarking on a culinary career. And of course, there’s that other thing called talent.

Many people tell me they are clueless, not made for the kitchen or can’t cook. My philosophy: Kitchen confidence comes with a delicious, simple, and good recipe. That’s what this book is all about. A book for both novice and experienced cooks.

Nora Daza

COOKING WITH SANDY DAZA

Copyright to this digital edition © 2016 by Alejandro Daza and Anvil Publishing, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Published and exclusively distributed by

ANVIL PUBLISHING INC.

7th Floor, Quad Alpha Centrum

125 Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong City

1550 Philippines

Trunklines: ([phone] to 57

Fax: [phone]

www.anvilpublishing.com

Book design by Jordan Santos (cover),

Marielle Tayóna and Ysa Garcia (interior)

Photography and food styling by Crown Dolot

Cover images by Crown Dolot

ISBN 9786214201303 (e-book)

Version 1.0.1

This cookbook is dedicated to the