Chef Leo Fernandez Cooking from the heart

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino chef Leo Fernandez has put a new spin on today’s popular food trend “farm to table.” He started as a dairy and pig farmer in New Zealand before finding success on the television show “Masterchef New Zealand” in 2015. Now, he is a household name in New Zealand and is a professional chef – literally completing his journey from farm to kitchen to table.

Before moving to New Zealand in 2008, Fernandez was a farm breeder and veterinarian in Puerto Galera. He also taught for a year at the Tarlac Agricultural University.

“In 2007, a couple of friends had already migrated to New Zealand, Australia and Canada,” says Fernandez. This opened the door for other migrant workers and Fernandez was encouraged to apply too, since his chances of being hired were high with his background in agriculture. It was his love for traveling and penchant for trying new things that sealed the deal for him.

“I was only planning to work for a month or two, just try it,” he shares. “But I fell in love with the country.”

Fernandez describes New Zealand as an “underrated country” – especially when he first migrated in 2008, people did not know much about it. “My grandfather said, ‘That’s the edge of the world… you might fall off!’”

As Fernandez settled into life in New Zealand, he battled homesickness with learning how to cook Filipino food. “It’s really hard to be an overseas worker,” he says. “Food has always been a comfort. To ease that homesickness and longing, food is always the answer.”

Fernandez had never had formal training in cooking and he did not have much informal experience either. At home, his participation in the kitchen was limited to chopping garlic and onions before his father or brother would step in to actually cook.

“I had to teach myself,” he says. It was not very easy to source ingredients back then, he recalls, since he was based in a rural area south of the country. Fernandez would always look for pig’s blood to make his favorite dinuguan – “pinaglihi ako sa dinuguan and I’m the darkest in the family!” he shares with a laugh.

Being from Pangasinan, another dish that Fernandez would often crave was pinakbet and he would scour the market for the right vegetables to use.

“I’ve never been convinced that I’m a good cook,” he says. “I just know my flavors and I know my taste. I’m just cooking what I believe is delicious.”

Emerging as the first runner-up of Masterchef New Zealand was an affirmation that others find his cooking delicious too.

“When I was learning how to cook, I watched a lot of cooking shows,” he says.

He would also sit and watch Masterchef with his brother whenever he visited the Philippines. While watching the reality contest one night, Fernandez was encouraged by two of his American housemates to audition for the show. They were familiar with Fernandez’s cooking because he had one rule for those who would rent rooms to stay in his apartment: “I’m not Western. I still have that sort of Asian belief that eating together is time to bond with each other. So my rule in the house is that we eat together during dinner. We take turns. That way I also learn their culture.

“Every time the guys tell me, ‘You’re actually a good cook!’”

On a whim, Fernandez decided to send in his application. “I never expected to be in the top 50, let alone be a runner-up,” says the former farmer. Even his friends were surprised to see him on the show. Fernandez, who was the president of the Filipino community in his district, was known for bringing either drinks or ice cream to the community’s potluck gatherings.

After the initial screening, the top 50 was whittled down to 24 and Fernandez was fast tracked to the top 16 when he presented one of the top dishes in the preliminary round. “The only thing that I always prayed for is that I’m not the first to be eliminated,” he says.

“The experience was bittersweet,” says Fernandez. Though he did not win the contest, he was able to tell people his story – “telling people that nothing is impossible if you put your best foot forward and try it. There’s no harm in trying.”

Fernandez describes being on the show as “psychological warfare – especially as a migrant.” Living with 16 strangers in the house, he didn’t want to be stereotyped as “the Asian guy” who could only cook Asian food. “I tried cooking differently, I tried to show my flexibility… and it didn’t work!” he says, laughing heartily at his experience.

“I was so down because I almost got eliminated. I was in the bottom two that episode,” he continues. “I tried to examine myself, reflect.”

Fernandez turned to his brother, who gave him this piece of advice: “Just cook from your heart and stick to your roots.”

With that, Fernandez had an epiphany of sorts. “From then on, I tried not to be somebody else and just keep on doing what I know best, which is Filipino food. That’s the reason why I joined Masterchef anyway, to use it as a platform to introduce Filipino food and showcase it to the New Zealand viewers.” From the bottom two, he leaped to the top two, started winning challenges and eventually made it all the way to the finals, cooking Filipino-inspired food the whole way through.

“One thing that is obvious about our cuisine is that it doesn’t have a common theme… there are 7,107 versions of adobo!” he says on Filipino food. “It’s an amalgamation, a composite of different influences brought about by our Malay roots, colonization, migration of Chinese, occupation by the Spanish, Japanese and Americans. We took those influences and made it our own.”

After Masterchef, Fernandez’s life made a “master shift.” He has since left his farm job in Christchurch to open a restaurant in a swanky neighborhood in Auckland. “It was hard for me to quit my job there because I enjoyed working outdoors and with the people I felt comfortable with, but being comfortable is a danger in itself because then you don’t have time to grow and explore,” he says. “Masterchef paved the way for another direction for me that I needed to go, I need to try.”

Fernandez and his partners recently opened Azon, a modern Filipino restaurant, which is situated alongside some of the best restaurants in New Zealand. The restaurant’s name is short for Corazon – which means “heart” in Spanish.

Designed like a Spanish colonial house, the restaurant serves Filipino dishes that are presented in a modern way. “My take on Filipino food is to dress it up,” says Fernandez. “I want to maintain the quintessential flavor of the dish. I’m a believer that Filipino food is already beautiful in itself so you don’t have to change much about the dish.”

His objective is also to educate people about what real, authentic Filipino food is. “You have to start with the basics. You have to show them the real soul of the food,” he adds.

Recently visiting the Philippines for the first time since he placed in the cooking competition, Fernandez says, “I’m grateful to be acknowledged and to showcase New Zealand’s produce.”

During his trip, Fernandez demonstrated the use of New Zealand’s produce and ingredients. He also came full circle, judging a student cooking competition.

“I’m happy to be the ambassador for New Zealand products because I know I can speak justifiably about the ingredients, how they are harvested,” says Fernandez.

After all, he has not only cooked with New Zealand produce – he’s actually worked on their farms.

“People think that it’s always greener on the other side, but I beg to disagree. If you have determination and you work hard for it, anywhere you go, if it’s meant for you, it’s meant for you,” Fernandez says.

Looking back on the many “master shifts” that have happened in his life – from veterinarian to farmer to chef – he says: “For Filipinos, don’t underestimate what you can do. You’ll be surprised. Don’t entertain the concept of ‘what if.’ Just go for it. I’ve always been proud of my heritage and my culture. Being a Filipino is something that I’m proud to be.”

To budding chefs – or even home cooks – he says, “Just stick to your palate and keep on developing.”

He once more offers the advice that helped him go all the way in Masterchef: “Cook from the heart and stick to your roots.”