For chef Tagala, cooking is real art to be enjoyed

Standing regally behind the spotlessly clean Tepanyaki table before him, chef Edwin Tagala looks every bit a martial artiste gearing up for a much-anticipated showdown. Clad in his spotless white chef’s gown, teamed with a red head piece and apron, he looks jolly but is firm of resolve, like he is bracing for the ultimate showdown. The table before him, big enough to sit eight diners, is the center stage for the famed Tepanyaki live cooking that Tagala is just seconds away from embarking on. It is set adjacent a huge grass-thatched dorm that constitutes the main dining area at Zen Oriental Restaurant in Nyarutarama. Tepanyaki (pronounced teppan-yaki) comes from the Japanese words, Tepan (iron grill/hot plate), and Yaki (to stir-fry). It is a traditional Japanese style of cooking on a hot plate right in front of the diners, who are accorded the privilege to sit and eat from the same table from which the chef is cooking. In short, it is a live and entertaining cookery show for you and your group as you watch the chef spin his magic. Think of going to your favorite restaurant and being ushered straight into the kitchens to watch your chef fix your dinner from scratch, all the while keeping you updated on each of the ingredients going into your food order. Chef Tagala kicks off the session with warm greetings and welcoming remarks to his clients, who have just been served fresh juice and starter soups in anticipation of the main course. After playfully introducing himself as “Edwin, the chef-entertainer”, he mutters a few words that sound like a secret creed, before embarking on his opening stunt –a vigorous and spell-binding juggling of his stainless steel cooking tools. For about a minute, there is a cacophony of sharp clinking and cluttering and cutting sounds as the metallic utensils clash mid-air. After that initial show, it is obvious that he now has all the attention of the table, and not just attention, but even excitement, like people about to watch their favorite singer or performer do their thing on stage. Once he has called the attention of the table to himself, Tagala now delves straight into what he terms the “first cooking”, which basically consists in frying some rice and knocking a few eggs for omelette. But the real entertainment here is with the omelette, for before it is prepared, the chef makes it a point to dazzle his diners with a mini-show of daring martial artistry, juggling the raw egg in quick and tactful maneuvers that remind you of those Kung-Fu and martial arts films from Asia. How he uses a metallic kitchen ladle to juggle a raw egg for a minute before he eventually cracks it open, only he knows. When the omelette is ready, the chef makes a weird suggestion: he summons the entire table and asks the diners to join him in his show. Chipping a piece of omelette with his ladle, and wielding it about, he lays the rules of the game: He will toss the piece of fried egg in the direction of each diner, and they would each have to attempt to swallow it. Noticing that most of his guests are scared of giving it a try, he summons one of his kitchen assistants and immediately subjects him to the first test, which, unfortunately, he misses miserably, as the food lands on the tip of his nose instead. This provides much comic relief as everyone bursts into laughter. In the end, three people managed to swallow what had been thrown at them, while two failed miserably and provided reason for laughter. Every one vows to give it a try. After the egg-juggling and throwing/swallowing stunt, the chef starts on his second cooking session, which involves lots of vegetables that will serve as side dishes. Within no time, the atmosphere becomes smoky and saturated with all sorts of vegetable aroma that I’m temporarily forced to step back for fresh air, but soon, it is all good. Once the cabbage, broccoli, mushroom, carrot, onion and pepper are ready, the chef now embarks on the third and final cooking session, which involves preparing the ordered main course. And as with all Tepanyaki cooking, the main course will consist of meats –sea food, beef, lamb, chicken, goat, and pork, which is the only exception at Zen. After the meal is served and diners have had their fill, Tagala now ends the session with a solemn closing show of a big gas fire on the table. The standard Tepanyaki table is designed to seat eight people, and ten at the very maximum. This makes the live cooking experience a more favorable and worthy option for large groups and family outings. “I do a live show to add more excitement. You get to eat good quality food as you are entertained by the chef,” remarks Tagala. According to him, the main idea behind this form of dining is to entertain clients while dining them, to make the experience a more worthwhile one. He cites impeccable hygiene, professional tools, and freshness of the supplies as the key ingredients for good tepanyaki cooking. “This mode of cooking has its own don’ts. The first is that never serve food of low quality to your clients, and the second is to never argue with clients whatsoever.” “I like it when my clients appreciate the taste and quality of the food. That feeling of being satisfied and giving good compliments about the food and the dining experience is what drives me most,” he adds. He contends that; “chefs are artistes, and cooking is an art. For me cooking is a real art. That is why my cooking involves basic martial arts displays. Back at home in the Philippines, I did only fine-dine cooking, but in Cyprus, which is more tourist-oriented, it had to be more entertaining, so it’s where I did what I’m doing now.” Does he love his own cooking? He hesitates for a while and says: “I love beef tepanyaki, especially when it’s real good beef. I don’t love sweet foods. I eat them, but you won’t catch me buying it.” Locally, he has tried mashed green bananas (matooke) and maize meal (kawunga) and “did not complain.” THE MAKING CHEF TAGALA Tagala’s culinary journey started in 1996, when he enrolled for Sushi chef training at the Kimpura Japanese Restaurant, one of the oldest Japanese eateries in his native Philippines. He stayed at the restaurant until 2008, during which time he also mastered the art of Tepanyaki cooking. “At first I was merely looking for a job to earn a living, but later I fell in love with cooking as an art,” he observes. Between 2008 and 2012, Tagala worked as a Sushi and Tepanyaki chef at the Samisen Japanese Restaurant in Coral Bay, Paphos, Cyprus. COMING TO RWANDA: He came to Rwanda in 2012, at the invitation of the owner of Zen Restaurant, and was immediately tasked with revamping the restaurant’s Sushi section, and also to set up the Tepanyaki section. “Before I came, the chef who was here was continental, so I came to fill the void for a specialist Tepanyaki chef. We had to wait a little before the Tepanyaki table could be delivered from China. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: He sums up the experience of moving to Rwanda as one of “going back to nature”. “Back home in The Philippines, there are no longer trees and natural vegetation like it is here. So it’s like coming from an old country to a young one.” He describes the food business as “a basic commodity because everybody needs food”. “The food industry in Kigali is not so well-developed and competitive yet compared to the other places I have worked as a chef, especially with my specialty of Japanese cuisine. It’s a privilege for me to be able to offer this kind of service here.” In his free time, he likes to chat via the internet with his wife and friends in The Philippines.