BELIEVE it or not, the culinary interest-turned-expertise of Jeremy Young, head chef and founder of International Culinary Arts Academy Cebu (Icaac), sparked out of experimentation and mere curiosity that turned into a long journey of self-discovery during his younger years.
Early Beginnings
“In high school, I started cooking snacks for myself when I got home in the afternoon—things like noodles, ramen and sandwiches. I also observed and asked our kusinera about the different dishes she prepared. Apart from that, my family would also cook midnight snacks during the weekend such as steaks and the native chicken my mom would buy,” said Chef Young who added that his interest stretched on to his college years taking up Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) at the University of San Jose-Recoletos.
“At first, I’d wanted to be a food and beverage manager for a hotel,” he continued while sharing a story about how he had been offered a three year culinary training program (to become a Chef de Partie) by the executive chef of Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa when he was working as a banquet waiter for his practicum. “I turned down his offer and went to Switzerland to study at Les Roches instead, to pursue my aspirations of becoming a food and beverage manager.”
It was after his first year of studies in Switzerland, that he realized he no longer wanted to be in the front of the house dealing with guests. Young said: “It was probably because during my first working experience in Switzerland as a waiter for a very popular upscale restaurant in Basel, I was the only waiter for a 40-seater restaurant and had to handle all 14 tables by myself—including a private dining room on the second floor for 20 persons. I learned a lot about time management during that time, but I felt that I wanted a different challenge.”
Since his second year of studies would focus on the kitchen side of the HRM business, Young had decided he wanted to be a chef and then proceeded to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris after his three-year program in Les Roches.
“Living in Paris for a year was very memorable and quite a learning experience with all of the ingredients, seeing and tasting—not only French food, but a lot of ethnic cuisines, like Turkish, Indian, and Mediterranean. Adapting to the French culture, especially when it came to food, was also an eye-opener. It gave me a broader knowledge on Artisan breads and pastries, and made me appreciate cold food like pate, terrines, cold cuts and cheese.”
The Start of His Career
After France, Walt Disney offered Young to be part of its international training program. He was then assigned to work at their top resort, the “Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.” The same resort housed “Victoria & Albert’s.” the only Disney-owned restaurant with a five diamond and four star rating. After only six months, Chef Young was promoted to work for the prestigious restaurant. This was one of the moments he described as the most memorable in the early stages of his career. “Working for Chef Scott Hunnel at Victoria & Albert’s was a defining moment for me, as it introduced me to fine dining and learning to work with ingredients that were sourced from around the world... Being mentored by several chefs at Walt Disney World helped shape who I am now as a chef.”
After his time at Walt Disney World, Young went back to Cebu to spend time with his dad. The young chef would cook for family gatherings and events but felt challenged by the limited equipment he had and the weather, which made it difficult to cook desserts and pastries. He offered catering services for family and friends as well as bottled sauces, dressings and vinaigrette.”I went to Manila and after two weeks of experiencing horrendous traffic in Manila, I declined job offers and came back home to Cebu,” he said.
Seeds of the School
It was in early 2002 when the idea of a professional culinary school came to light and he decided to pursue it. Although there were a few schools in Cebu offering cooking classes at that time, Young said, they were the first professional culinary school in Cebu. “We rented an old house in the downtown area and converted some of the space into a kitchen and dining room. We were the first in Cebu to have an open kitchen concept, where guests in the dining room could see everything in the kitchen through a glass window.” He also mentioned that they had also struggled marketing themselves as a good enough option for aspiring chefs to study in Cebu instead of Manila.
“We eventually succeeded, especially after we won gold in our first attempt to join Cebu Goes Culinary in 2004, only two years after opening the academy. We became well known and successful, since a lot of students from the Visayas and Mindanao now had the option of going to Cebu for a culinary education instead of going all the way to Manila.”
Chef Jeremy Young’s commitment is not only to his career. He is also a dedicated husband to his wife, Fatima Tan Young (also one of the Pastry Chefs of the school), and father to three children. His passions, besides cooking and baking, include traveling and wines.
“We usually get asked by parents of aspiring chefs, ‘Why do you want to study culinary arts and become just a cook?’ A lot of parents still see chefs as mere ‘kusineros’, and not a profession, just as many people still see chefs as just cooks and food servers as just waiters or waitresses undeserving of value, patience and respect,” shared Chef Young.
“Ritz Carlton said, ‘We are Ladies and Gentlemen, serving Ladies and Gentlemen.’ That means that, although we cook and serve food for guests, we are not their servants. We are in this profession because it is a fulfilling and decent profession. This is what we teach our students: to treat guests—ladies and gentlemen—but also to act like one.”