Celebrity chef Gerick Manalo on passion, breakthroughs, and his perspective on success

Known for enchanting the tastebuds as a culinarian, celebrity chef Gerick Manalo takes a big leap and ventures into the small screen. His excitement extends to his one-hundred and seventy one thousand one followers on Instagram.

The rising chef and personality started his career as a celebrity after guesting in several tv shows of TV Network Giant, GMA-7 extending to its subsidiary GMA News TV. He appeared on shows like Pop Talk, Good News, Day Off, and Unang Hirit.

Ever since his stint on such hit shows, people just couldn’t get enough of him. This led him gracing the 42-year program Eat Bulaga! which overjoyed his admirers. Such successful guestings can be considered a collective testament to his charisma as a personality.

In an interview with the celebrity chef, he shared some interesting details about his line of work as he rose to fame. 

As a Chef and a content creator, he spends most of his time researching “what’s new and something fun to execute.” Gerick elaborated,

“Lately, I’ve been doing some ASMR cooking. I recently uploaded some of my samples on YouTube and Instagram accounts. I mean it’s really fun to find what drives you to be creative, the final output will always be the reward for it especially when you’re able to produce how you want it to be.”

At the moment, he focuses, mainly, on his vlogs and being an actor. He’s also working with different brands and collaborations.

One of the most interesting things, really, is how he got to be a chef in the first place. Such an amazing profession opened a lot of doors for him as an actor. Gerick shared,

“I’ve always had this fascination with food even when I was a little boy, I’d watch my mother cook whenever she prepares home cooked meals for us. I was very eager to learn.”

After falling in love with preparing scrumptious cuisines, it became unending learning for him and his passion for the art. This fascination pushed him to pursue an education with regard to cooking.

When he graduated from high school, he decided to enroll in De La Salle — College of St. Benilde, taking up Culinary Arts. After this, he flew to the International Culinary Center in Broadway New York to further study the art of food styling.

As a young twentysomething, he has already reached a few milestones. Gerick shared how proud he was of them. As a chef, he has always considered every project, campaign, or achievement — big or small— breakthroughs. The young celebrity elaborated,

“It’s quite overwhelming and at the same time, nakakaproud! I’ve worked with some big personalities and talented artists throughout my career. I have appeared on different media platforms, especially on national TV.”

His successes were indeed undeniable. He shared how he recently hosted a cooking show series for True ID Philippines. It is an Indonesian franchise for video streaming, such as documentaries and lifestyle shows. 

The chef mentioned how being invited to this kind of work really means that he excels in his craft.

However, such achievements come with struggles and obstacles within the industry. Gerick stated how in the industry, he has to be competent to be noticed by brands and the media. He shared,

“Chefs are also considered as artists, I am also a full-time content creator, and it’s really challenging to squeeze out those creative juices and ideas whenever I am conceptualizing a recipe for a demo or for my cooking vlogs.”

The influencer also mentioned how hard it is for artists like him in the industry. It is indeed a tough place. That’s why he continues to bow down and appreciate every person he works with who is in the same line of work as him.

“I have so much respect for my co-artists and creators because it’s really not easy. We really have to keep up with each other in a good way!”

Gerick also talked about how drastic the transition was for him from a celebrity chef to a budding actor. But he said how he will always be a chef and how happy he is for the opportunities that opened to him. He detailed:

“From writing and executing recipes to memorizing scripts and doing rehearsals, those are some of the adjustments I have to learn. I also recently enrolled in The Actors Academy to help me improve my acting skills. It’s a totally different world and craft, and so far I am happy and learning a lot about being an actor.”

With a following like Gerick has of one-hundred and seventy one thousand, and counting; along with all the successes he has accomplished along the way, one would think that he is satisfied with himself and doesn’t struggle with anything.

However, just like us, he isn’t safe from the horrors of obstacles when it comes to his mental health. Trigger warning: he further elaborated on how the pressure brought by social media affected him.

“It would probably be the social media dilemma that most of us are experiencing today, being part of this multimedia universe we live in, we tend to seek affirmation and acceptance from our audience that leads to anxiety and sometimes depression.” 

But of course, as a reminder to his followers, he didn’t forget to remind them how none of these affirmations matter.

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