Holy risotto! Wanna have a taste of Pope Francis’ meals?

Chef Jessie at Rockwell is now serving a special menu for you to sample what was served for the pope. Fifty percent of the price will be donated to Tulay sa Kabataan Orphanage.

MILLIE: When I first heard that Pope Francis was coming to visit the Philippines, I immediately tried to see how I could cater for him. It was a tightly guarded secret and the only response I would get from people in the know was that they would “refer it to the committee.”?

It didn’t come as a surprise when it was finally announced that chef Jessie Sincioco was the chosen caterer for Pope Francis. I was happy for her and knew that she deserved it. Karla and I have always celebrated important milestones at Chef Jessie ever since I can remember.

My dad was very fond of her because she always made him feel special whenever he would dine at her restaurants, giving him an extra-huge bowl of his favorite bouillabaisse and preparing his favorite bread pudding for dessert, which was off the menu but she made it especially for him.

KARLA:  Curious as everyone was, we scheduled an interview with chef Jessie to find out what was served and what it was like serving Pope Francis. She tells us how Pope Francis’ schedule was very tight and so she set herself one goal while planning the menu. Her goal was “busugin ang pope,” or to make sure that he was always full to give him energy for the day since he was always on the go.

Chef Jessie then gave us a day-to-day or, rather, meal-to-meal account of his entire five-day visit. Thursday, the day he arrived, the dinner was prepared by the Nunciature while he was meeting the Jesuits and so she and her team stepped in starting breakfast on Friday. His everyday breakfast consisted of seven kinds of bread: ciabatta (our favorite at Chef Jessie, and we buy to bring home and stock up in the freezer), croissant, brown roll, sesame, hard crust and two kinds of media luna, an Argentinian bread that looks like a croissant but is more bready, while a croissant is more flaky: the plain one they eat as a sandwich and a sweet one for breakfast, sugar-glazed with lemon flavor with butter and assorted jams.

They would also have an arranged platter of cold cuts, which they brought in from Italy, cheeses, yogurt, and fresh fruits. Chef Jessie explained how the pope enjoyed our Philippine mangoes so much he would literally eat the mango to the bone.

For Friday lunch, he had saffron risotto for starters, which was made by the nunciature and pan-fried barramundi with mango flambé for dessert topped with mantecado ice cream. He had an early breakfast last Saturday since he had to leave for Tacloban. Chef Jessie says that they were in the kitchen at 4 a.m. since he had breakfast at 5:30 a.m. Since lunch was in Tacloban, chef Jessie and her team stayed at the nunciature to start preparing for dinner. It was a good thing they didn’t leave since he came back early from Tacloban and therefore she prepared assorted sandwiches for their merienda.

Saturday dinner consisted of tortellini soup prepared by Lisa of the nunciature. Chef Jessie made chicken chimichurri using free-range chicken with roasted potatoes and a side salad. She somehow felt that the portion was too small and therefore added three chicken tenders to prop up the chicken breast. He enjoyed it so much that chef Jessie says he “made simot” the chimichurri and left only the bone on his plate. For dessert, Italian ice cream with a chocolate kiss was served and fresh fruits.

For Sunday lunch, he had a simple spaghetti carbonara for starters and roast-beef rib eye for the second plate with baked potato and vegetables on the side. Chef Jessie adds that when her waiter, Christian, asked how the pope likes his steak, he jokingly answered, “Alive,” when he really meant rare. And again, more ice cream for dessert. The pope really does like his ice cream.

For dinner, chef Jessie made dumpling soup made of chicken, cream and fresh herbs in beef broth and cannelloni prepared by the nunciature. He enjoyed them so much that he had two servings of both items, which was perhaps too much as he did not touch his sea bass but couldn’t say no to orange cake and mango float, both prepared by the nunciature. ??

MILLIE: In 1981, when Pope John Paul II came to town, my mom had a direct line to heaven and The Plaza was commissioned to provide all the meals, round the clock, for the Pope, who stayed at the Apostolic Nunciature. Mom had assigned a chef and two waiters for the duration of Pope John Paul II’s sejour. The Plaza also?catered a dinner hosted by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin at the Archbishop’s Palace and while everyone was at the main entrance to welcome him, I was in the kitchen, tightly guarding his food along with the official food tasters.? 

When he came back in 1995, The Plaza was again chosen to cater for a luncheon event with about 150 bishops from all over the country. I believe catering for the pope was a great honor and privilege and one of the best highlights of my career as a restaurateur and caterer, and I am indeed blessed.?

KARLA:  Chef Jessie jokingly said, after having served the pope, she doesn’t mind going to heaven. But quickly retracted her statement as she said she hopes Cardinal Tagle will become pope one day and she would love the privilege to serve him, too. Mom gave the same advice to chef Jessie that serving the popes were the highlights of her career. Once you’ve served popes and presidents, you know that there is no one you cannot serve and serve well.

When asked what were the pope’s words for chef Jessie, she said that he always asked for prayers, while everyone asked him for prayers, too. He also gave her compliments: “Delicioso, very tender,” referring to the roast rib eye she served him for lunch. And, of course, upon learning that chef Jessie was the one preparing his meals, he said “Thank you,” as he held her hand and gave the papal blessing.

MILLIE:  My siblings, Karla and I were blessed to have been able to see Pope Francis in the flesh during the Pontiff’s Encounter with Families at the MOA Arena. We were lucky because we have a food outlet at the MOA Arena called Chick-a-Go. I told my siblings that the only way I could get them special IDs to come in was to substitute them for some of our staff but that they would have to work. So while Karla was busy taking orders, my brother Gerry was overseeing the kitchen. My youngest sister Dorcie was hawking food and a runner for refills while my other sister Marijo was a cashier. I was kept busy checking on all the food stations on the second and fourth floors and delivering food orders to the seats of some patrons and friends, as there was no area to sit and dine.

My brother Ray could not get into the arena as phone signals were jammed and he could not communicate to us his exact location for us to be able to give his ID. In his frustration, he just went home. Karla and I checked in at the Sky Tower of Solaire, where my siblings and I met up. It was unfortunate that Ray was caught up in the roadblocks and was delayed.?Pope Francis’ message was so touching and straight from the heart. He spoke of resting in God, saying, “Rest is necessary for the health of our minds and bodies and often so difficult to achieve due to the many demands placed on us. But rest is also essential for our spiritual health, so that we can hear God’s voice and understand what He asks of us. Prayer is resting in God. If we do not pray, we will not know the most important thing of all: God’s will for us.”?

He emphasized how it is important for parents to dream about how their children will be and that it is not possible to have a family without such a dream. He says, “When you lose this capacity to dream, you lose the capacity to love, and the energy to love is lost.” Pope Francis spoke of the importance of family. “In the family, we learn how to love, how to forgive, how to be generous and open, not closed and selfish. We learn to move beyond our own needs, to encounter others and share our lives with them.”?In so many words, it was food for the soul.

KARLA:  Chef Jessie at Rockwell is now serving a special menu for you to sample what was served for the pope. It comes with an assortment of the breads, the dumpling soup, choice of the beef or the sea bass and the mango flambé plus coffee or tea. The beef is priced at P3,000 and the sea bass at P2,500. It may sound pricey but 50 percent of the price will be donated to Tulay sa Kabataan Orphanage.

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Chef Jessie is located on the ground level of Rockwell Club beside the Power Plant Mall. For reservations and inquiries, call 890-6543, 890-7630, 897-7516 or 729-0155.

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Read more on the Holy Father’s Menu on http://www.quichethecook.ph and follow @kakakarlotta on instagram. Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com or find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie and Karla Reyes.