By Jojo Dass

These days, Shokudo Restaurant at Centurion Tower across from City Centre Deira is bustling with activity, rolling out authentic Japanese and Korean specialties on the spread, not to mention an ongoing killer deal of an eat-all buffet for AED59.

At the heart of all this is man-of-the-hour, Chef Crizel Namoc, the popular dining destination’s head chef overseeing the kitchen, ensuring that only fresh ingredients go into the cooking pot and that food served meets the customers’ discerning taste.

Food Trip Magazine had a chat with Chef Cris, as he is more fondly called, during which he shared how his culinary journey all began.

Chef Cris hails from Angeles City in Pampanga, a province in Central Luzon, Philippines known for its fun-loving, food-loving people, who could almost spontaneously dish out five-star delicacies with not too much effort.

“I started my journey as a dishwasher back in 2005. At 17, I was already working in a restaurant. I began as a dishwasher. Then, after a month, I became a kitchen helper,” said Chef Cris.

Chef Cris, whom one can describe hands-down as a natural, said he learned the ropes of cooking from his mom.  “She would always tag me along to her catering services. Eventually, I absorbed the art of cooking. I have grown to love it and I can say that my mom has influenced me a lot,” he said.

His favorite dish to prepare? “Seafood kare-kare,” says the chef.

Chef Cris supervises three kitchen staff in the Shokudo kitchen, and considering how busy the restaurant is these days, “I take a hands-on approach to ensure that everything goes well,” he says.

Chef Cris said he had never expected a career in gastronomy. But it seems fate has it already tailor-made for him.

“From dishwasher to kitchen helper, then a regular cook and finally head chef in the Philippines by 2010. I decided to work abroad in 2015, and so I went back to being a kitchen helper. Now, I am here at Shokudo Restaurant working as a head chef,” he said.

“In the beginning, it was hard. But if you love your work, you’ll notice it’s not that hard after all.  Nothing is difficult for people who want to learn. I always tell my co-workers: You don’t need to memorize how it’s done, you only need to understand what is being done and why,” Chef Cris said.

Chef Cris said the satisfaction he feels seeing guests enjoying the food keeps him going.

“As I tell them, it’s always a pleasure for us,” he says.

Having spent half his life in the kitchen, Chef Cris says he’d stick to being a chef even if given a chance to change his career.  “It’s our honor as chefs to satisfy our guests,” he says.

Shokudo fans have something going for them. Chef Cris said he will be coming up with new variations of the Japanese and Korean dishes they prepare.

“I am working on it,” he says.