You've spoken very briefly–I understand why–about the Obama family's preferences. You mentioned simple and healthy meals. When the Obamas want to indulge, what do they indulge in at home?
There's nothing wrong with once-a-week fun food or something. Once in a while is okay as long as it's not the habit. Of course they do [indulge]. Of course there's a nice, juicy cheeseburger every now and then. But it's okay as long as it's not what you eat all the time and if you exercise and eat a balanced meal most of the time. Indulgence every now and then is a reward for being good.
I'm sure it's a thrill to cook for President Obama and his family. Are there any personalities that you would love to cook for?
My dream dinner [would be] for Thomas Jefferson because he's a presidential foodie. He traveled around. He's the one who brought in the first French chef. He knew food. I would probably have a motley of dinner guests. Bono? So between him and Bono in a dining room, there would be awesome conversation.
What have been your most recent memorable meals?
The most recent one was one Mother's Day. It was such a hard day for me; I took a nap. I was woken up by my [then] seven-year-old daughter with a Mother's Day menu put together with the help of my husband. She put together a full-course meal. Everything in there, she had handwritten. Just to have that mindset of putting things together and have a flow of menu. I've got apprentices who could never put together a menu like this but she was seven years old.
We went to this restaurant in Las Vegas, the Joel Robuchon. It was a 20-course meal. It was like being in a Las Vegas show. It was very, very nice. It was very hefty but it was a life experience.
As soon as you arrived here, what was the first Filipino dish you wanted to eat?
In America, you have everything there. There's always Filipino food. I don't feel too deprived. It's the fruits: atis, chicos [and] lanzones. All the fruits I wasn't able to get, they're in my room right now. They're still kinda hard as a rock. Hopefully before we leave, they'll ripen up.
What was your most embarrassing moment in the kitchen?
When my daughter told me she likes Dad's spaghetti better. I was like, I'm a White House chef and my daughter doesn't like my spaghetti? My daughter is very well-versed in food.
In your fantasy Iron Chef competition, which I know your predecessor did at one point, who would you like to compete against and what would your secret ingredient be?
Masaharu Morimoto. In terms of his mindset, that would be a good guy to compete against. If I could choose my secret ingredient, it would be scallops. I can do scallops a million ways. Not ice cream though, which they tend to do.
Photographs by Monica Barretto.
