Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian was in Manila to star in a gala dinner for a cause, The Feast of Colours. Cignal TV made this event possible and for the benefit of Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF). PDRF is a private sector vehicle who are helping victims of recent disasters in the country, including typhoon Haiyan.
I was lucky to be present during the media launch with the Iron Chef and picked up lessons that us moms can try in our own kitchen. Here they are:
Lesson 1: Simple Ingredients
Iron chef quality food does not always mean expensive ingredients. Chef Zakarian marveled at our native winged beans aka sigarilyas. It is a very interesting ingredient that can be used creatively. He even thinks about bringing it to New York.
Sigarilyas, being part of the Bahay Kubo song is abundant in the Philippines. My mother adds it to sinigang which is great but, I also like it cooked with coconut milk. If you want to try it, just follow my gising-gising recipe and substitute kangkong stems with sigarilyas. Add this to your frugal recipes to try.
Chef Zakarian also published Town Country Recipe Book. It has over 150 recipes that I am currently leisurely browsing this weekend. I am very lucky to have an Iron Chef signed recipe book! I actually have an extra copy which I’d give away at the end of this post.
WIN this signed Town Country Recipe Book by Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian
Lesson 2: Waste not, want not
If you don’t know yet, Iron Chef Zakarian is a natural philanthropist. Not only because he was invited to cook for the Feast of Colours Gala Dinner, but back in New York he chairs cityharvest.org that collects unsold ingredients and food near or even past their expiration date. And I thought top chefs couldn’t care less about food waste!
Chef Geoffrey told everyone about his advocacy to feed the hungry and promote sustainability. In New York, they have a huge freezer warehouse where all of these rescued food are stored and maximized to feed those who are hungry. I hope he can help organizations in the country like PDRF to do the same.
Back to our own kitchens, I’ve blogged about freezing leftovers and managing them properly. An extra tip I’d give is to not fill your freezer to the brim. You need to allocate space for leftovers, cooked or uncooked. Sustainability should be all part of our lifestyle and us moms can lead our family to it 🙂
If you are a Cignal TV subscriber, you can catch Chef Geoffrey Zakarian in many of the featured shows at Colours – living magazine channel. He judges a lot of cooking showdowns, apart from being and winning Iron Chef Season 4
HOW TO WIN the signed Town Country recipe book: Just post your answer to this question via comments below – How do you celebrate life and practice sustainability at home?  I will choose a winner on Friday, March 28. Good luck!
