Pinoy pastry chef of top UAE hotel shares recipe for success

There are no short-cuts to success, says Filipino dessert chef Nouel Omamalin, whose quick climb up the corporate ladder he credits to hard work and the constant drive to learn new things.

 

Omamalin is the executive pastry chef at Fairmont Dubai, considered one of the best luxury

hotels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

 

As the international market for chefs is very competitive, Omamalin said, “A diploma

does not guarantee success.” He believes that one doesn’t become a chef simply because of a culinary degree.

 

He advises aspiring chefs to “continue learning” to improve their skills. It’s an advice he takes to heart, as he regularly finds time to take short courses at culinary institutions like the Notter School, the L’ecole du Grand Chocolat, the Cargill Company, and the French Culinary Institute.  

He has also trailed “Top Chef: Just Desserts” judge and celebrity chef Johnny Iuzzini in New

York and helped Iuzzin’s team prepare for the launch of his cookbook, “Dessert Fourplay.”

 

Young graduates, he said, should “be like a sponge,” paying close attention to the techniques of more experienced chefs, and strive to perfection by “learning from [their] mistakes.” To survive in the sink-or-swim culinary industry, one needs to be strong and tough, he said.

 

Working in an international setting, Omamalin said his Filipino background was an advantage in that “It gave me a better understanding of Asian flavors and an appreciation of certain ingredients that are not common in other countries.”

 

The Pinoy chefs in his staff stand out for being hardworking and relentless, organized and

clean. They are good at multitasking too, he said.

 

Quick climb

After getting a restaurant and hotel administration degree, with honors, from UP Diliman,

Omamalin worked as an R&D chef and taught cooking classes.

 

Later he opened his own dessert commissary in his hometown, Dipolog City. Every day, his

shop would create 35 different European and American cakes, breads, pastries, and chocolates from scratch.

 

Wanting to grow as a pastry chef, Omamalin closed down his shop after six years to get some hotel experience. His first hotel job was with the Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila, where he worked as commis chef, an entry-level position for fresh graduates.

 

A year later, he got his first international break at the prestigious Burj Al Arab in Dubai as a demi chef de partie, where he ran the hotel’s dessert services. Within eight years, his work would take him to other award-winning hotels in three continents, including:

 

His work has taken him to so many different places in the world, and the list of celebrities and big names he has served is a veritable who’s-who, among them:

 

Omamalin recalled getting up close and personal with Bush, who visited Beijing during the 2008 Olympics. Bush personally came up to him, extended his hand and said, “Thank you very much for preparing our breakfast every day.” The next day, the president sent him a special White House edition of M&Ms chocolate and a bottle of white wine.

More things to do  

Having gone up the corporate ladder so fast in so short a time, Omamalin still has a few more things in his to-do list, and no, joining a cooking competition isn’t in it.

 

Definitely, writing a cookbook is on the list. He intends to come back to the Philippines one day and open his own chocolate factory, making high-quality Asian-inspired couverture chocolate. - VVP, GMA News