SERVING A FEAST FOR ALL SENSES
Chef-Photographer Exceptionally Captures Plated Masterpieces
Abeautifully-crafted, well-plated dish from the kitchens of Restaurant ADIA is likened to modern yet ephemeral art— too beautiful to savor, yet too irresistible not to. But fear not, US-based Filipino Chef Karlo Evaristo had earlier captured the most imaginative plating images before they even reach the tables of eager food connoisseurs. He is the creative talent behind the viral Instagram account @karloevaristo, which has gathered tens of thousands of followers, through its masterful and amazing gallery of exquisitely-plated creations.
Due to life-changing influences from his childhood, youth, and onwards, he decided to pursue, through formal education, his deep attraction and genuine love for the field. A degree holder of a Bachelor of Science in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, he completed a diploma course at the International School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management, then further honed his expertise at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in California.
Despite this multitude of rare-to-come-by experiences related to the world of food, Karlo, confessed that even though he knew he was on the right track, he was not inspired nor fulfilled, which incidentally surprised him— until he joined Studio, a French-Californian five-star restaurant in Laguna Beach, California where he was nurtured by encouraging mentors.
Knowing his innovative nature, Karlo believes in spontaneity and totally trusts and succumbs to his faithful taste buds and catches-it-all pair of eyes as each and every creation is a successful daring experiment of ingredients and visuals.
The online sensation is firm on his stand that the food preparation is almost as important as its taste, especially in today’s forever-evolving technological era. “Since social media allows us to instantly share whatever is served at the table, it is the chef’s opportunity to present the dishes in the best possible way to the guests, who will most likely share it with the entire world.” he opined.
When asked regarding any regular celebrity clients, he just smiled, pursed his lips, and whispered, "We have had some members of royalty and aristocracy, publicity
shy billionaires and generous philanthropists of global proportions, sterling movie stars and megabucks athletes, and several personalities famous for simply being famous. Regrettably, I can’t name names or else I’ll be in big trouble!"
As a fan of established industry legends such as
Rene Redzepi, Thomas Keller, David Kinch, and Andre Chiang, he still needs more drive and dedication, peppered with plain hard work to reach—and most importantly, to maintain—Tier A status. He hopes for the same admired icons to sample his handiwork one day. “Their validation would mean that I have the potential and that I can achieve it.” he disclosed.
Today, true to his maverick and innovative personality, Karlo joined hands together with Chef
Jared Ventura, Front of House Operator Ian Whitney, and Beverage Director Brad Fry, who all jointly head Restaurant ADIA, a top-of-the-line cuisine pop-up concept that tours various liberal cities open to fresh concepts around California.
With a commissary kitchen in Costa Mesa their temporary base, the restaurant serves at the front of the house with up to 10 guests per time slot, in two seatings, for a total of 20. This sit-down dinner tickles the senses of taste, smell, and sight of excited diners, where the master chefs whip up a menu of tasting-sized portions of up to 21 items, which includes amuse-bouche, appetizers, salads, soups, entrees, desserts, and petit fours, while their beverage expert suggests cocktail and wine pairings.
Moving forward, Karlo aims to bring Restaurant ADIA to new heights, to attract more followers, as they diligently crisscross the state of California, so they can potentially attract die-hard patrons and hopefully generous investors. Their goal is to open a permanent property sometime late this year or early 2020.
For those who wish to pursue similar careers, the chef-cum-photographer has a few words of wisdom to share. “The kitchen is stressful and may even be brutal at times. We likewise keep long hours, and we don’t have much free time as we are on duty on most weekends and holidays. Before one realizes it, it evolves into a lifestyle.”
“My personal mantra for my career and in my life is ‘Always get better, never settle,’ ” he ended.