‘ Harvest of Hope’ dinner reaps P7.5m

The kitchen is the heart of a home, because it is from where daily sustenance emanates.

But it can also be the heart of a child’s future, especially if his sustenance comes from the work that takes place in a kitchen.

Chef Alain Ducasse with Chelsea, Cherylyn and Dennis Uy.

According to Enderun president Edgardo Rodriguez, in this era of artificial intelligence and robots, the chef’s job is among the hardest to duplicate. In other words, for something that turns out products that are both nourishing and divine, nothing beats a live person at the controls.

“These jobs in culinary and hospitality are amazing social elevators,” adds world-renowned chef Alain Ducasse, who was in Manila last week to attend and supervise a P10,000-a-plate benefit dinner for the Culinary Center of Tuloy Foundation Inc. held at The Tent of Enderun Colleges in McKinley Hill, Taguig.

The chefs, alumni and student volunteers of ‘Harvest of Hope’ with chef Alain Ducasse.

And the dinner harvested P7.5 million for Tuloy’s culinary center.

Tuloy Foundation was founded in 1993 by Salesian Fr. Rocky Evangelista with 12 beneficiaries, 10 volunteers and a 40-sqm. shelter in the St. John Bosco Parish compound in Makati. From that space, Tuloy has grown, literally and figuratively and has served over 10,000 children in need. The small room is now a 4.5-hectare village in Muntinlupa with homes, gardens, a school, a chapel, a soccer field. In recent years, Tuloy opened a culinary arts center and partnered with Ducasse Education and Enderun for scholarship programs.

All 30 past scholars have flourishing careers worldwide: one is working in the prestigious Ducasse sur Seine in Paris,  seven are employed in Four Seasons Resort Dubai, three in an international shipping line, and 19 in restaurants in the Philippines.

“With Enderun and Tuloy, we are able to give some possibilities to people who  did not have the chance to start a great career.” Ducasse specifically singled out one Tuloy beneficiary James Diño, who became a scholar at Enderun and now works full time in Ducasse sur Seine in Paris.

“He will certainly grow to be one of my chefs,” he promised.

“This is to show that this is possible, the chance I want to give to everyone for a better world because if we all do this, the planet will go the right way. The chance to have a job, the opportunity to grow has been given to a student, who now has a full-time job.”

As one of the leading culinary institutions in the country, Ducasse Education Philippines at Enderun Colleges lends the expertise of its world-class chef instructors to beneficiaries of Tuloy Foundation. The project, Youth with a Future, aims to support and provide educational scholarships and job placements every year to a select group of culinary students of Tuloy Foundation.

Harvest of Hope showcased Philippine products, which were used as ingredients for the special dinner prepared by Ducasse Education Philippines’ chefs and students.

Also present during the event were Enderun Colleges lead founder Jack Tuason and co-founder Javier Infante, Father Rocky, Ducasse Education CEO Cyril Lanrezac and Udenna Corp. president and CEO Dennis Uy.

(From left) Ducasse Education CEO Cyril Lanrezac, Enderun Colleges co-founder Javier Infante, lead founder Jack Tuason, Chelsea Uy, Udenna Corp. corporate treasurer Cherylyn Uy, chef Alain Ducasse, Udenna Corp. chairman and CEO Dennis Uy and director Dettie de Claro, Enderun Colleges co-founder Daniel Perez and VP for marketing Tricia Tensuan, Udenna Corp. director Marty Escalona and Ducasse Education international development manager Cecile Salle.

In the coming year, Ducasse Education Philippines at Enderun Colleges is set to train 10 more scholars from Tuloy Foundation under the wing of its world-class chef instructors.

The event was made possible through Audio Exposure Professional Lights and Sounds, Destileria Limtuaco Company Inc., Pinkies Farm, Malagos Farms, DowntoEarth, Hineleban Farms, Kitayama Beef, Shumei Philippines, Sambali Beach Farm, Meliomar Inc., AWC Philippines, Bestworld Beverage Brands and Federated Distributors Inc. — distributors of Evian and Badoit. *

(For more information about Youth with a Future, visit www.youthwithafuture.ph.)