Chef Gene Gonzalez reveals cute inspiration for his new book

At his recently reopened Café Ysabel, Chef Gene Gonzalez launched two new books: “Breads Cakes, Pastries, and More” written by Efren Bunquin for which he wrote annotations, and “Modern Philippine Confections,” which features more than 50 recipes of classic sweet treats with a Filipino twist.

Speaking with GMA News Lifestyle, Chef Gene recalled being “one of the Mindanao airports” and noticing how the pasalubong counters all had the same things: “banana chips, polvoron, yema, pastillas. Pare-pareho. There’s nothing wrong with that but I thought, maybe we can push it higher. Maybe people who appreciate confections can also have them in island-flavor type.”

Chef Gene with the book

But there is another cute inspiration behind the book: Chef Gene’s apo.

“I have one grandchild so medyo dapat mag-practice [sa pagawa ng candies] and maybe I can teach her. I had her in mind,” the doting lolo smiles.

Because Chef Gene is diligent in keeping his recipe box organized and updated, he simply reworked a few old recipes “that will work with Philippine products.” It took him two years in all, from idea to printing, to come up with the book.

It’s a project Chef Gene that will have been realized sooner or later; he is, after all, a fan of confections. “I like making candies. I like confections. Every time I eat a nougat or a marshmallow, I’m also thinking, gawin nating Philippine flavor.”

And so in the book, there are things like sapin-sapin macaron, ube mallow, and toasted coconut crunch, which Chef Gene says is the easiest to do.

“It only has three ingredients! It’s also my personal favorite, that and the truffles because they are so simple to make.”

And what would he like to show off to foreigners? “The macarons. It requires a little more skill but the flavors are really different.”

According to Chef Gene, the book has actually won in the World Gourmand Awards, Chef Gene's fourth.— LA, GMA News

Modern Philippine Confections (P195) and Breads Cakes, Pastries and More (P525) are published by Anvil.