He has been hailed as one of the biggest names in the culinary world. Why, you ask? Well, that’s one of the many things you’ll learn about Chef Him in this blog. Keep reading to learn more about this fantastic chef who is part of The Bailiwick Academy!

Who is Chef Him Uy De Baron?

Did you know that Chef Him Uy De Baron has been a chef for over TWENTY YEARS? He started in 2001 and hasn’t slowed down at all. That makes it hard for me to list his many accomplishments, but let’s put some of the more notable ones.

• Chef Him graduated with a Le Cordon Bleu Diplome de Cuisine from Le Cordon Bleu Sydney Culinary Arts Institute.
• He was an executive chef of a catering company called Chef Cuisine.
• Because of his kitchen prowess, he has gone into consulting for companies such as Rustan’s and ABS-CBN.
• He has had multiple restaurants, all with different cuisines, such as Nomama (Japanese), I Am Kim (Korean), Ping-Pong Diplomacy (Chinese/American), and Cocina Peruvia (Peruvian).
• Speaking of ABS-CBN, Chef Him and his team were in charge of the multimedia conglomerate’s food and beverage division.
• Chef Him has been featured countless times in different major media publications such as Philippine Star and Esquire.

Aside from those, he is seen as influential in and out of the industry. For example, he was tapped back in 2014 by a friend to support people in Tacloban after Typhoon Haiyan.

Chef Him also collaborated with Family Mart back in 2015 to make healthy, low-calorie, and vitamin-packed dishes; with Slappy Cakes back in 2016 where he created DIY skillets where diners can choose their meat, sauce and carbs of choice; and recently with Beyond Meat, an L.A.-based brand that makes plant-based meat alternatives for those seeking such options.

See how accomplished he is?

Chef Him: Thankful For Food

Chef Him admits that he wouldn’t be where he is now if it wasn’t for food. You see, years ago, he didn’t know what to do with his life. That was until he encountered food, at least. In fact, he now associates food with plenty of milestones in his life.

For example, according to this Filipino food blog, Chef Him’s love for cooking delicious food was influenced by his mom. He grew up with his mom manning the kitchen, especially for special occasions. He credits those memories as having influenced his own cooking.

And as a chef, you can bet that he has plenty more unforgettable memories, and that’s all because of food.

What is his cooking style?

As mentioned earlier, Chef Him can make delicious dishes, whether Filipino, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Peruvian, or even street-style hawker fare. You can describe Chef Him as a cooking chameleon. 

And it’s not just that he’s great with different cuisines. Chef Him is also known for creating vibrant flavors and his meticulous attention to detail just to make sumptuous meals. And if you’re wondering about how he developed his unique cooking style, he credits it to his curiosity back when he was still a child.

Every time he ate something, he would always wonder about the ingredients in the food. He would then attempt to replicate it when cooking. And, of course, the more he tasted as he grew older, the more his palate became sensitive–and the more attempts he made to put delicious tastes together.

That’s why even if he has learned to make different cuisines, Chef Him is not necessarily striving for authenticity. For Him, what’s more important is to borrow and combine different techniques and flavors of different cuisines that work well. For example, he has already tried developing a ramen recipe that wasn’t traditional at all: think of it as getting the best of Southeast Asian flavors and textures and mixing it in with Japanese fundamentals.

His various restaurants are also examples of this philosophy that he has.

Chef Him During The Pandemic: Heartbroken

Despite all the successes Chef Him had, one major setback he experienced was back in 2020. He had been contacted by ABS-CBN, and Chef Him had been gearing for big things to start the year. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which also meant a long lockdown in the country. 

That meant all that they were planning had to be stopped. And pretty soon, he and his team lost their job running the food scene in ABS-CBN.

How Him Bounced Back

Chef Him is a lot of things, but he is not one to sit on laurels and mope. One of the things he believes in is to always adapt to the times. And he realized that people were getting tired of always cooking the same thing or ordering out during the pandemic.

So Chef Him thought to teach his recipes to people looking for more enjoyment out of their food. And The Bailiwick Academy became one of his avenues to teach people how to make flavorful dishes! 

How is Chef Him Uy De Baron as a teacher?

Joining TBA isn’t exactly Chef Him’s first foray into teaching. After returning from Australia in 2001, he started teaching at a culinary school and appeared in other schools. He calls himself an accidental teacher, but in this field, he finds fulfillment by nurturing students and sharing what he knows. Chef Him actually feels mightily rewarded when he sees his students using what he has taught. 

Now, one impression of Chef Him the first time you see him is that he’s a very strict taskmaster.

But you’d be surprised how much fun he is to be with–check out this behind-the-scenes video during a recent shoot of one of his lessons.

One thing you can be sure about Chef Him is that if there’s anything he’s serious about, it’s developing the skills of his students–and making sure that he has recipes that will really tickle your taste buds. He’s a really hands-on instructor, too!

And based on some testimonies from his students at TBA, he’s been very successful. Check out what Adam had to say:

Maria agrees:

And so does Marilyn!

In other words, those who go under Chef Him’s tutelage can be sure that they will really level up their cooking skills. 

What’s next for Chef Him Uy De Baron?

Chef Him always believes in new opportunities in the food and beverage industry. That’s why he’s always looking for new ways to spread his culinary skill. Chef Him is a risk-taker too. 

As he said in an interview with Esquire: 

“If I think of putting everything in a business perspective, I might not have opened the restaurants I have opened. For me, if I feel that it is a really great idea, I go, ‘screw it, lets do it!’ “

You never know, you might hear of him opening a new restaurant soon!

Oh, and of course, new Chef Him classes are already lined up at The Bailiwick Academy! Just wait for us to release them. In the meantime, check out his classes that are already available:

Celebration Trays – great for leveling up your party fare.

Taste of Thai – experience one of the most popular cuisines in the world from the comfort of your home.

Flavors of India – taste a whole new palette of flavors and textures and demystify Indian cooking.

Dampa Seafood Feast – enjoy delicious seafood bursting with flavors that is Chef Him’s signature touch!

Hawker-Style Specials – have a different kind of street food experience with Singapore’s flavors.

Make sure to sign up at The Bailiwick Academy to access Chef Him’s delicious recipes today!

Final Thoughts

I’m going to leave you with what Chef Him thinks is important to truly become a great chef. The first is skill. You can’t become a great chef overnight–you really have to practice constantly and have the determination to have skill.

The second is to develop your taste. You can go to school to become a great chef, but taste is not something you can learn. It’s personal, something accumulated through the years.

And as a person becomes more experienced in cooking, they have to go from simply enjoying the taste of food to actually understanding how it was created. By honing their technique and experimenting with ingredients, a chef can develop a unique and personal style that sets them apart in the culinary world.

Such powerful and inspiring thoughts, agree?

Make sure to enroll in Chef Him Uy De Baron’s classes to get more nuggets of wisdom like these!

— 

Keep coming back to The Bailiwick Academy blog for more kitchen tips, tricks, and much more!

The post Chef Him Uy De Baron: The Bailiwick Academy Spotlight appeared first on Online Baking and Cooking Classes - The Bailiwick Academy.

But why is it so popular? What about its flavor makes it stand out so much from other cuisines? 

If you’re one of the many people who, aside from eating delicious chicken satay or pad thai, want to know more about this very delicious cuisine, keep on reading! We’ll discuss it in as much detail as possible.

Let’s get to it!

How would you describe Thai cuisine?

According to Tasty Thais, Thailand has seven distinct Thai cuisines, depending on which region of Thailand we’re talking about. If you’re not Thai, though, these regional cuisines are typically lumped into the term Thai Food or Thai Cuisine.

Traditional Thai cuisine is generally divided into the following categories: 

• tom (boiled dishes)
• yam (spicy salads)
• tam (pounded foods)
• gaeng (curries)

There are some influences of Chinese cuisine on Thai cuisine, especially when it comes to Thai food that is deep-fried, stir-fried, and steamed. However, Thai food, despite regional differences, is the general combination and balance of five key flavors: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and spicy. Some key flavors of Thai dishes include coconut, palm sugar, fish sauce, lime, and sometimes, hot peppers and sugar.

As a result, Thai cuisine is fresh, very colorful, and explosive in flavor.

We can also say Thai cuisine is very unique because it uses a lot of ingredients that you won’t find in other cuisines, like these:

What is the history of Thai cuisine?

There are plenty of versions of the history of Thai cuisine. For example, according to Khao Lak Explorer: 

“Thai food originated with the people who emigrated from the southern Chinese provinces into modern-day Thailand many centuries ago. Historically there were many Szechwan influences in Thai cuisine, although over the centuries many other influences have affected Thai food. 

In a more distant past, Buddhist monks brought an Indian touch, and southern Muslim states influenced the cooking in the south of Thailand. Much later, Thai food was influenced by European cuisine after contact with Portuguese missionaries and Dutch traders. During these times there were even some influences from the Japanese.”

And according to Taste of Thailand:

“Traditional Thai cookery involved stewing and baking, or grilling. However, the area that is now Thailand, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, and Vietnam were settled by the ancient Chinese an estimated 1,400 hundred years ago. With the migration of Chinese people into Southeast Asia, frying, stir-frying, and deep-frying of food became more popular techniques, and to this day pad thai (fried noodles) and Khao pad (fried rice) remain classic Thai dishes.

Other culinary influences from the 17th century onwards included Portuguese, Dutch, French, and Japanese.”

In short, Thai cuisine is an amazing combination of both Eastern and Western cultures which the Thai have made into their own unique and special blend.

Amazing, isn’t it?

What are examples of typical Thai food?

If you’re a Filipino who likes rice, then you’d be happy to know that rice is also a staple in Thai cuisine! But of course, Thai cuisine is more than just rice. Here are a few examples:

1) Satay

Satay is a grilled meat dish. The most popular satay is chicken or pork, but you can also make beef satay and even tofu satay. To make satay, you cut the meat into thin strips, then marinate the meat in a mix of herbs and spices.

To finish the preparation, skewer the meat on wooden or metal sticks, then grill the meat just like a barbecue. Make it more authentic by serving the meat with peanut sauce.

2) Pad Thai

Pad Thai is probably one of the most common Thai foods you’ve heard of. It’s probably because it’s very delish! It’s a fried noodle dish usually served as street food in Thailand made with flat noodles, tofu, eggs, bean sprouts, and sauces.

3) Thai Green Chicken Curry

Thai cuisine has plenty of curries, but this one really stands out, thanks to the color! It’s chicken cooked in coconut milk with onions, lime leaves, basil leaves, and an aromatic Thai green curry paste. It’s a must-taste!

4) Khao Pod Tod (Fried Corn Cake or Corn Fritters)

These delicious hot fritters are made with cooked corn, ground pork or shrimp, rice flour, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, egg, and a variety of spices. After you mix all the ingredients, shape them into patties then fry them in canola oil.

Serve these on a bed of cool cucumbers and any dip of your choosing!

5) Chicken Pandan

Chicken pandan is a delicious Thai dish where you take chicken pieces like drumsticks, wings, and boneless breasts. You’ll marinate them in some Thai seasoning and spices, then wrap them in pandan leaves. You can then cook them by grilling, baking, and deep-frying.

The pandan will give your chicken a sweet and enticing aroma, and will definitely leave your mouth watering as you wait for it to finish cooking!

Is Thai food spicy?

If you haven’t tasted Thai food yet, what you might have heard is that everything is spicy. Well, generally, the answer is yes, lots of Thai food is indeed spicy.

However, you’re also doing yourself a disservice if you think that ALL of Thai cuisine is spicy. There are many dishes in this cuisine that aren’t. Some are even sweet, like mango and sticky rice.

So even if you’re afraid of spicy food, you shouldn’t be afraid of Thai cuisine as a whole. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on a lot of delicious Thai Food that have no spice at all, like Khao Moo Grob (Crispy Pork with Sweet Gravy) and Ruay Goong Pao (Grilled Prawns).

Is Thai food healthy?

You might be wondering, “Can I eat Thai food every day?” Hey, it is delicious after all. If it’s possible to eat it every day, why not, right?

Here’s some good news: Thai cuisine is very healthy! According to TheTravel.com, Thai food has the most health benefits out of all the cuisines in the world, thanks to the herbs and spices used in its cooking.

You see, much of the cuisine is vegetable-based, meaning that Thai cuisine is full of vitamins and nutrients. And when it comes to meat, you’ll find plenty of Thai dishes that make use of seafood as well as lean pieces of chicken, pork, and beef. A lack of fat means a healthier dish! 

The cooking methodology also contributes to the healthfulness of Thai food. The food is either steamed or pan-fried, again, preserving the nutrients of the food. 

In short: It’s good for you!

Why is Thai food famous?

According to what we’ve discovered, there are four reasons why Thai food is so popular:

1) Thai cuisine is visually appealing.

According to Thai Phuket Restaurant, within Thai cuisine, the presentation of the food is an important aspect. Attention to detail is always given – even the plate where the food is served should be beautiful. Regardless of the flavor, the dish always has to look appealing.

It’s safe to say that when you eat Thai food, you’re always going to have Instagram-worthy meals.

(Side note: You can always have Instagram-worthy food when you enroll in our Mobile Food Photography Class. We promise!)

2) Thai food’s flavors pack quite a punch. 

Speaking of punches, Thai cuisine is always a one-two punch: beautiful AND delicious! Anything from this cuisine tastes so good, thanks to the emphasis on the magical combination of flavors and the use of unique ingredients. 

3) Thai food is easy to make.

Thai food is also easy to make. Once you have all the ingredients, spices, and sauces, all you have to do is pretty much put them together. Thai cuisine is simple to do, but packed with exotic flavor.

Any dish is easy to make, even beginners in Thai cuisine can do the procedure.

4) Thai cuisine is value for money.

Thai food ingredients are not expensive at all. Thai restaurants also have large portions, and are offered at very reasonable prices! No wonder Thai cuisine is a popular choice for people who want to eat a lot and feel that they got their money’s worth!

How do you cook Thai Cuisine?

Well, to be honest, there are plenty of ways to get started in cooking your favorite Thai food. But do you know what our best recommendation is?

It’s to enroll in the class of our latest chef, Chef Him Uy De Baron: Taste of Thai!

Discover the secrets to Thai cooking that won’t disappoint with Chef Him.  Learn to create well-loved and restaurant-quality Thai dishes from scratch: 

• Pad Thai
• Pineapple Fried Rice
• Tom Ka Gai
• Thai Chicken Salad  

For each dish, you’ll learn proper ingredient identification, cooking procedures, and even the plating. And when you’re done, we guarantee you’ll get the authentic flavors of Thailand on your plate!

So what are you waiting for? Enroll at The Bailiwick Academy to get started on making Thai cuisine with bold, in-your-face, explosive flavors with an introductory price of only Php2799.20!

P.S. Did you know that Thai Cuisine isn’t the only one on sale?

That’s right! If you’re reading this now, June 15, 2022, Philippine Time, then you’re just in Thai-me (okay, we’ll stop with the puns) for The Bailiwick Academy’s MID-YEAR SALE!

That’s right! From today up to June 17, 2022, all classes are at 20% off! You can buy from now until Friday, 11:59 PM, and use your new recipe learnings to add to your food business or even simply to treat that special dad on Father’s Day!

Don’t delay – sign up now at The Bailiwick Academy and learn from THE BEST chefs, bakers and cake artists in the Philippines.

See you in one of our classes!

The post It’s Thai-me to Talk About Thai Cuisine! appeared first on Online Baking and Cooking Classes - The Bailiwick Academy.