?I made ?sinigang.? It was prawn ?sinigang,? but I used prawns from Nouvelle-Calédonie-the best in the world-with tamarind soup. Instead of ?kangkong,? I used ?bokchoy.? I made a tamarind ?patis? condiment. I didn?t change anything, just used French ingredients. I sold 45 plates in one day?
TO GET AN IDEA OF HOW seriously the culinary arts and gastronomy are seen in France, one only need to have read a bit about Paris or browsed a copy of the Michelin Red Guide.

One need not have known much about its history nor culture to deduce that the culinary arts are a competitive industry, and a serious business. Apprentices begin working in the kitchen as early as 12 years old, then become a commis de cuisine for several years, before climbing up the ladder to be a chef de partie, or, depending on the structure and size of the restaurant, a premier commis or a demichef de partie, then a sous chef (or assistant), before chef de cuisine.

Filipino Aaron Isip, chef de partie of Ze Kitchen Galerie in Paris? St. Germain quarter, began his career with an internship as a commis de cuisine in poissons in Apicius, a two-star-Michelin-rated restaurant in Paris. Its chef, Jean-Pierre Vigato, is known for his expertise in classical French cuisine.

?Normally, if you?re an intern, they make you peel potatoes or pick out herbs; but they knew I had drive, so they let me do the service. I was doing the garnish for the fish section. I was doing more hours than the regular guys.?

Isip then obtained his diplome de cuisine from Cordon Bleu Paris, and next, obtained another internship as commis de cuisine in garde manger (or cold foods such as salads, pâtés and other charcuterie items), in another Michelin two-star, Restaurant Les Elysées. Its chef, Eric Broffard, had won Best Chef of the Year. ?It was tough. The place was intense! He was the sous chef of Joel Robuchon. He worked in Japan, so he used a lot of Japanese flavors in the kitchen.?

After a few months in Les Elysées, Isip was asked by the sous chef of Apicius to work as commis (in both poisson and garde manger) in Drouant (by Antoine Westermann), a restaurant known for its cuisine with Alsatian flavors, where Westermann is from.

A year and several job offers later, one of which included a post in L?Atelier du Joel Robuchon (?I turned down L?Atelier de Joel Robuchon because they wanted me to start as a commis again?), Isip decided to work in Senderens, headed by Alain Senderens, who, in the ?70s, when French cuisine was the best in the world, invented nouvelle cuisine. ?He was the first one who utilized Asian ingredients in his food, which, in his case, was Chinese. He did roast duck with Schezuan pepper. Back in the day, this guy was seen as, ?Wow, the first French chef using Asian ingredients.??

?Now, all the new restaurants in Paris are using a lot of flavors from Asia, while they incorporate French ingredients, too. They?re fed up with using a lot of butter and cream and thick French sauces?, he says.

Future

?At Cordon Bleu, they ask you your objectives after school. I said, ?I?m learning French cuisine because I want to utilize French techniques with Filipino flavors.? I always liked cooking and food since I was very young.?

In his current restaurant, Ze Kitchen Galerie?which has one star in the Michelin Guide?Isip, as chef de partie, is in charge of entrées.

?We have an entrée du jour, and we have a plat du jour, every day. In my entrée du jour, my chef, William Ledeuil, is very open. I made sinigang. It was prawn sinigang, but I used prawns from Nouvelle-Calédonie?the best in the world? with tamarind soup, but with radishes from Joel Thiebault, who is known for growing vegetables. Instead of kangkong, I used bokchoy. I made a tamarind patis condiment. I didn?t change anything, just used French ingredients. I sold 45 plates in one day.?

Ze Kitchen Galerie is situated between the Pont Neuf and St. Michel. It is a modern space with modern art on its walls. The restaurant is known for William Ledeuil?s fusion of French cuisine with Southeast Asian flavors.

?I do the bouillons at Ze Kitchen Galerie. I have two people under me. They do the tartare, stuff like that. I cook meat, I cook fish, but they know that I am good with the sauces and soups. It?s a myriad of flavors; a small thing you add will make a huge difference. It?s my forte.?

Isip works five days a week, from 8:30 a.m. to half past midnight, with a sixth day half-day shift.

?Also, if you?re a woman, it?s hard to survive in the kitchen. It?s a man?s world in the kitchen here in France, although a lot of pastry chefs are women.?

Ambassador of Philippine cuisine

?French food and Filipino food have a lot of similarities,? says Isip. ?We have sisig, they have pied au cochon. They have escargots, we have kohol. They have boudin noir, we have dinuguan. It?s the same. It?s just a different technique.?

In 2008, Isip was asked to cook the food in the Philippine Gala cocktail reception of the Paris Cinema, an event of the Film Development Council of the Philippines and the Philippine Embassy in France. ?I made deconstructed shrimp lumpia and kinilaw of yellowfin tuna with Bicol express gelee.?

His most recent dinner was for the birthday party of Hands on Manila?s Irene Martel-Francisco in Paris. ?The menu included morel mushroom soup with chicharon, sea bass with ginger condiment and fresh asparagus,? said Isip.

?He is the best chef I have ever tried,? claims a Filipina socialite who has eaten in many of the best restaurants in Paris. His arroz caldo, the most common of dishes, was anything but common, scrumptious and hearty.

In Ze Kitchen Galerie, a friend observed that the lamb?s sauce was a ?perfect? complement, while the raspberry wasabi ice cream was ?bursting with flavors.?

Best of both worlds

?I love eating Japanese food. I can eat it every day. But what I want to do is Filipino food, if I open a restaurant one day, although I don?t know where yet. I?m planning to move to Spain to learn Spanish cuisine, right before I move back to Manila or, maybe, the States.?

His love for food came early on. ?My dad?s family was based in Pampanga, and my mom from Iloilo. She made authentic La Paz Batchoy. I had the best of both worlds.?

For himself, says Isip: ?If I have time, I cook Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Italian, Japanese and French food at home. But I?m not a food snob. I?ll eat anything, I can eat McDonald?s and KFC, although I try to avoid fast food. I would eat Japanese food every day. I know good food from bad food. I know my wines.?

He stops and says: ?But a good home-cooked fried chicken is the best.?

Isip says that cooking is not just an art, it?s a science. ?For example, you learn coagulation,? he says. ?I was one of the topnotchers in chemistry class in high school, and food technology as well.?

He briefly worked in events in Manila, but ?I wanted to follow my passion, which is to cook.?

?It?s the restaurant where you work, it?s the motivation and training you have that make up the factors of success in this industry. I was lucky enough to be in really good restaurants,? says Isip.