Backstories equal skills in reality cooking show

CEBU—Brenda Sandalan, 23, used to peddle food to buy medicine for her ailing mother. Nanay Leonila’s recent passing left Brenda feeling like life had lost all meaning.

During auditions for the new reality show “The Search for the Kitchen Superstar” in SM City here, Brenda brought her version of “Pork a la Pobre.” She said in Filipino, “One of my brothers works in a restaurant in Davao. He taught me how to make this.”

Brenda said her mother used to cook lumpia and siomai, which she (Brenda) then sold in public hospitals, schools and government offices. When Nanay got sick, Brenda started cooking, too.

“It’s physically tiring to do it all by yourself,” said Brenda, who grew up in Davao, the youngest of eight children. At the time of the auditions, she had stopped selling street food and was working as server for a catering group.

Liezel Lucero, 25, a cashier in a sari-sari store, brought a dish that she called “Pork and Beans with Pineapple” to the screening. She said, “It’s delicious but affordable. I thought of it just this morning. It would have tasted better if I had more money for other ingredients.”

Liezel and her six-month-old daughter Mary Madeline are just recovering from a fire that razed their house in Mandaue City. They are currently living in a makeshift home with light plywood for walls, and tarpaulin sheets for a roof. Liezel plans to rebuild their house if she wins the contest.

She learned to cook at age 10, Liezel said. She used to make yema balls and coconut biscuits, which she sold for P1 each in school. Her skills improved, she said, when she worked as a housemaid in Manila for three years.

Erwin Nepomuceno, 21, arrived from Zamboanga del Norte on the morning of the auditions. He came up with “Tofu Steak.” It’s easy to cook, he said, “I bought ingredients from the supermarket.” A nursing graduate, Erwin was among 59 applicants who passed the first round of a two-day screening.

Michael John “MJ” Nicasio, 19, wanted to study Culinary Arts but his parents, who run a carinderia in their hometown in Bukidnon, disapproved. “They said it wasn’t practical.” MJ majored in English instead. But when he left Bukidnon two years ago to try his luck in Cebu, he was hired as waiter in a posh restaurant in Mandaue.

“Kitchen Superstar,” to be hosted by actor-restaurateur Marvin Agustin, premieres on GMA 7 in April. From the 200 who came here, only three will fly to Manila for the competition proper.

A grand champion will be chosen from 21 contestants. The others auditioned in Manila, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Iloilo, Naga and Davao. The winner will walk away with a cash prize of P1 million.

“More than skills, interesting backstories will decide which contestants will stay on the show,” said Marvin. “The cooking will surely improve as the show progresses.”