Mark your calendars, Chef Myrna Segismundo’s culinary prowess will on display this coming Saturday, April 27, 2013, from 9am to 1pm, as she becomes a guest chef at The Maya Kitchen. Chef Myrna will prepare Boneless Lechon with Stewed Fruits and Brown Rice, Chicken Inasal with Fresh Ubod, Pomelo and Jicama Spring Roll and Ginataan among others.
Who is Myrna Segismundo? Chef Myrna grew up the youngest among 12 brothers and sisters in a family that loves and appreciates good food. Her mother cooked well, her father ate well. She played in the kitchen while the old folks slice, dice and stir wonderful dishes. She, by instinct, knows what tastes good or as she puts it, “I go by taste over knowledge.”
Chef Myrna Segismundo did not start out with a culinary degree. In a career that started in the front of the house of major hotels here and abroad, she eventually found her way to the kitchen and luckily for us, decided to stay there. Admitting to the fact that her years at the helm of the Sign of the Anvil are her formative years in the culinary world, Chef Myrna concedes that her present stint at the exclusive Restaurant 9501 at ABS-CBN is a reflection of maturity with lessons learned and wild experimentations all done. Now that’s something one cannot easily gain from books, even checking out those textbook price comparison, it is always experience that molds a great chef.
Doing corporate dining has made Chef Myrna and her team ‘jack of all trades and master of many.” When you are feeding the same people day in and day out, you have to be creative. Each dish must appeal to the senses. Old time favorites are always welcome and new dishes, are of course, expected.
Her clientele, she says, are not only pampered, they are, albeit spoiled. She jokingly adds that, “If you want to eat something under the sun, the moon and the stars, you should eat at 9501.” From then until now, Chef Myrna’s strong love for Filipino food remains. She has always strived to elevate it to the stature of other foreign cuisine. To this end, she co–authored the book Kulinarya with other respected chefs and she never tires to promote what is distinctly Filipino.
The Maya Kitchen also offers Young People’s Cook-in for 12-17 year olds. The first batch is on April 16-19, Tuesday to Friday, 9am-1pm and May 14-17, Tuesday to Friday, 9am-1pm. The workshops include recipes for healthy snacks, to-go meals of pasta and rice dishes, quick and easy party foods for entertaining.
For more information on other courses offerings, log on to www.themayakitchen.com or e-mailcontactus@themayakitchen.com or visit The Maya Kitchen Culinary Center every Tuesday to Saturday at 8F Liberty Building, 835 A. Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road), Makati City or call 8921185 / 892-5011 local 108 / Mobile No. +63947 835 2290
