INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR CULINARY ARTS AND HOTEL MANAGEMENT

Executive Director for Culinary Education

Long before the chef profession became in vogue in this country, NORBERT GANDLER, a chef from Austria, was already bent on elevating this career and the lowly Filipino cooks who had long been relegated at the back of hotel and restaurant establishments.

Together with his business partners, Gandler established what probably could be the country’s first real international culinary school — International School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management (ISCAHM) in December, 2003. From then on, the image of the Filipino cooks in this country soared into the more glamorous world of the CHEF.

The CHEF Gandler was only 26 years old when he came to the Philippines armed only with a world-class culinary talent he honed over years of working in his homeland Germany, and then in the Middle East and Asia. He came to the Philippines as fine dining executive chef of Mandarin Oriental Hotel and later moved on to Shangri-La as executive sous chef. After two years, he came back to Mandarin as executive chef working there for nine long years.

During those early years, he already noticed how talented Filipino chefs were, but there was little opportunities for them then. He wanted to teach the Filipinos, uplift the profession in the country and gave it more prestige that it deserves.

That gave him the idea to open a culinary school in the country because he saw the interest among Filipinos. He noted that there is hardly no Filipino in any hotel or restaurant he’d been to in the nine countries that he’d worked in before.

But while chefs are being recognized as a profession abroad, there was little attention paid to them in the Philippines.

“It is not that there were no good Filipino chefs at that time, it’s just that they were not recognized then. We came here for the purpose of training Filipino chefs because there are very good ones,” says Gandler.

ISCAHM

“After working in the hotel restaurant industry for 25 years, I’ve decided why not start a school,” says Gandler.

“Me and my business partner put all our savings into that business which was also risky but somehow we were really confident because we are known in the country so we were confident it will work. We’ve also seen so many Filipinos go abroad to culinary schools and spend more money,” says Gandler.

And so ISCAHM was established as a world-class training center where dedication and close ties to the hospitality industry are the hallmarks of teaching and learning.

When ISCAHM opened in Katipunan Ave. in Quezon City they were filled to the brim.

At ISCAHM, students are trained to cook not just for a few people but for the entire school. ISCAHM students cook food for lunch for the school so most of their time is spent in cooking.

“It makes them very hands on, then we have demo classes. After 12 to 14 months, they have to go out and practice what they’ve learned,” he adds.

Instead of them going to the US and Europe, Filipino students enroll at ISCAHM where they can get the same lessons here at a cheaper cost.

Since its inception in 2003, and with the additional branch in the prime city of Cebu, ISCAHM holds an unparalleled record of producing graduates who have excelled in the dynamic and exciting industries in the field of culinary arts/ pastry arts and hotel management both in the country and abroad. In 2014, ISCAHM Pampanga was added as the third school to provide the young generation of Angeles city and surroundings the opportunity to start a career in the hospitality industry.

The school is currently offering Diploma in Culinary Arts & Kitchen Management and Diploma in Pastry and Bakery Arts & Kitchen Management. Short courses are also being offered, namely, Fundamentals in Culinary Arts, Fundamentals in Pastry Arts and Flavors of Asia are three-month certificate courses with once a week session.

Graduates earn the following certifications ISCAHM Diploma, TESDA National Certificate II in Bread and Pastry Production and Australian Certificate III in Patisserie.

The Australian Certificate III is issued by ISCAHM partner, Culinary Solutions Australia. This certificate is recognized by the Australian government and all members of the Commonwealth Nations.

This opens gates of unparalleled opportunities, expands the horizons for ISCAHM graduates and helps gain overseas employment. Over the years, ISCAHM has successfully produced professional chefs.

“When I arrived here, I noticed the difference. While chefs in other countries are highly recognized but here being a chef was something you do if you do not want to study in college. It wasn’t glamorous at all to become a chef back then,” he adds.

In his case, working as a chef can be very glamorous. He was able to travel abroad for free, meet and serve a lot of people and big personalities, including heads of states.

“You have the opportunity to travel around the world because of your job especially nowadays that Filipinos are in demand all over the world,” says Gandler.

“Now, the whole thing has changed and people are changing fast about eating,” he adds recalling that before nobody eats lamb but now a lot of Filipinos love lamb because they have been exposed to the media and they are willing to explore.

Being a chef has become more and more popular in this country.

“Now, Filipino chefs are highly recognized in this country and abroad because of media and television. So there is a heightened interest of the chef,” says Gandler.

Culinary schools also abound. There are at least 20 culinary schools in Metro Manila, some run by Filipinos while others are mixed.

REPUTATION “We have enrollment from all over the country,” says Gandler. Not only that, they have foreign students from France, Africa and other Asian countries.

ISCAHM has built a formidable reputation to become the preferred culinary school in the country despite the many other culinary schools that have sprouted including universities that are now offering culinary courses on top of their hotel and restaurant management courses.

ISCAHM is actually cheaper compared to those schools positioning themselves as world-class facilities because their tuition is already inclusive of books, ingredients and hand out knives.

Other schools could be cheaper but they offer shorter courses of up to 8 months only.

“We have very strong curriculum and international certifications,” he adds.

“A lot of companies are also asking us to send our students to them for internship,” says Gandler, who finished Diploma in Culinary Arts and Pastry Arts from the Institute of Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria.

While there is no job guarantee, Gandler said that most of their graduates are in demand by hotels and have been successful on their own.

Most of ISCAHM alumni are already abroad working as chefs in prestigious hotels and cruise ships, while others are engaged in banquet sales and sales staff of hotels. Others went on to become entrepreneurs by putting up their own restaurants.

Gandler, who holds a Certificate in Food Hygiene and Safety from The Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene of London, has won various awards including Team Leader, Chefs on Parade Overall Champions (Manila) for six years. He was also team leader/manager for the Philippine National Team from 1996 – 2007 for Salon Culinaire, Singapore.

DEMAND

The huge demand for chef is borne out of more people eating outside. There are also a lot of tourists coming into the country. This is all because of the growth of the domestic economy that more hotels and restaurants whether foreign or local brands are opening up and expanding their operations. When Shangri-La Hotel alone first opened there were 250 chefs, recalls Gandler.

Salary of a chef has become very attractive nowadays. The average sous chef in a good hotel in the country could be earning an average of 250,000 a month while others at 150,000 to 200,000.

This is on top of the service charge that is being divided equally among the staff. At a five-star hotel in Makati, a staff can get as much as 45,000 a month in service charges alone.

“A neophyte chef can immediately start in the kitchen helping the more senior chefs but definitely not as a dishwasher,” says Gandler.

During his time, Gandler said it would take 15 years to become an executive chef.

“But now, a chef can climb up very fast of 7 to 8 years and in good places can become executive chef in 3-4 years already. It only needs half the time now to become an executive chef than in the 80s and 90s,” he adds.

While there are still foreign chefs working in hotels in the country, most of the executive positions are now held by Filipino chefs. Expats are still needed because there are cuisines that are not the expertise of Filipinos. For example, Gandler would prefer a Filipino chef to be in-charge of Filipino cuisine although he himself knows how to cook that Filipino dish.

“When I came here for Mandarin, my second man was a Filipino and my pastry chef was also a Filipino. I chose them because they are good,” says Gandler.

“But we will always have expats because it is good to exchange ideas, different cooking and experiences,” he says.

TEACHER Gandler is teaching every day at ISCAHM. He is handling French cuisine lessons because that is his expertise. For the Japanese cuisine, a Japanese chef handles that while a Filipino handles the Filipino dish.

“I don’t like a non-Japanese teaching Japanese cuisine. For authenticity, it is always good if we teach where your roots come from,” says Gandler.

He is proud that there are now Filipino chefs who won international culinary competition. In the Philippines, ISCAHM has been winning prestigious international competitions.

Gandler has also tried his hand at a restaurant business. He already sold one brand but he now owns a restaurant in Boracay.

He likes running a school because it affords him the chance to be off during holidays and on Sundays. A chef normally works on holidays because more people celebrate and go out to dine.

“I also enjoy my job now because teaching is fun and if you have so much experience it is nice to pass it on to others,” says Gandler.

HOME

Married to a Filipino, Gandler has been in the country for the past 26 years.

“This is my home, my wife is a Filipina and we have four kids, two boys are studying in UK and the two girls are in De La Salle University,” says Gandler. Given the choice, his wife would have loved them to live abroad but it was Gandler who prefers to stay in the Philippines.

“People outside think Philippines is dangerous, that is the sad story about this country because bad news travels fast, what they don’t know is that it is more fun in the Philippines,” says Gandler.

“I got stuck here but from the very beginning I like to be in a country where I can work and improve and I came at a very interesting time when people have started to become interested in food,” says Gandler.

He has learned to love being a Filipino, he loves adobo and bulalo. “The only problem with the Filipino food though is it has not really established an authentic identity although some Filipino chefs have started gaining ground in promoting genuine Filipino cuisine,” observes Gandler.

“Food brings people together,” says Gandler noting that before the Filipino housewife does not cook food but now they do.

“Cooking has become a hobby and people like to share recipes and food opens a lot of fun and lots of things to talk about and memories to cherish over food. Filipinos are also traveling around the world and appreciate food,” he adds.

Gandler still goes home to Austria every Christmas but he spends most of his time in the Philippines.

“I was only 26 years old when came here but we had lots of fun,” says Gandler noting that he came here during very interesting times for the country and witnessed how things have changed in many ways.

“This is my home,” says Gandler, who left Austria when he was only 19 to work in Germany and that experience brought him outside of Europe. His mother and brothers visit him here, too.

LESSONS As a chef, one of the lessons he learned is to be a team leader.

“If you cannot work with other people as a team then you cannot be successful because work in the kitchen can sometimes be very stressful, so it is a team effort,” he adds citing the pressures inside the kitchen, which at times can get noisy, customers are lining up and hungry.

“At the end of the day I have rallied my staff, I have to endure pressures, but I cannot be sarcastic. You have to be a good leader and can solve problems very fast,” says Gandler.

He has served heads of states like when then President Bill Clinton came for a visit and Australian Prime Minister John Howard came to dine and of course the Presidents of the Philippines.

“As a chef I get to know these personalities and personally able to talk to them President Aquino and former President Arroyo,” says Gandler.

Unlike in the past when cooks are relegated at the background, chefs nowadays mingle and talk with customers because “customers expect the chef to be around.”

His love for cooking was largely influenced by his mother because food is very important to Austrians and every Austrian mother must know how to cook very well.

“Home cooked food is well known in Austria and it is very good so I helped my mom in cooking,” says Gandler remembering a wise saying that a cook will always have job because people are always hungry. Gandler, a Catholic, cooks lunch for the family when he was only 12 years old.

With all his good fortunes, Gandler never regretted leaving home and finding a new country he now calls his own.

“I cannot complain,” says the Chef.