Chef Louie Chua Bags Bronze in the 2014 Philippine Culinary Cup

Allow me to introduce my brother, Chef Louie Vincent Chua. Yesterday, he told me that he won the bronze medal in the High Tea category at the 2014 Philippine Culinary Cup.

I was so happy when I found out. He definitely made me very proud.

Louie usually assists in competition but this time, he decided to take a risk and put himself out there and it paid off! They were the only Hotel Group that won in that category.  The gold went to Global and the silver went to Lyceum.

I'm still having the after glow from victory. Yeah yeah! It was him who competed but still I can't help but bask the glory.

You see, when my brother was 16 years old, my dad sent him to live with me after he graduated high school. My dad wanted to give him a gap year so that he wouldn't jump to university without knowing what he really wanted to do.  It is all too common for HS students to get a course in college even if they are not yet sure what their passions are.

So Louie came to live with me. But he was a really fat kid then and all he did was eat and watch TV. That bothered me a lot. I couldn't stand it! 

(Louie at 8  years old)

After 3 weeks of sloth, I enrolled him to the American Hospitality Academy. The then-new school was just a few minutes walk from where I used to live. I figured surely he can bring his lazy ass there.  I also enrolled him to Fitness First RSC.

Being the OC and Type A person that I am, I filled his gap year with productive activities!

Lo and Behold, Louie fell inlove with the Culinary Arts! He has never been late for school and work since the first day he started! 

I have never heard him say, "I hate work.", "I'm bored." or any of those rants you would normally hear from corporate people.

Louie interned at the Ritz Carlton in Naples, USA. Believe me when I say that he was over the moon when he got the internship.

 I took him to his first Ritz Carlton when he was 12 and he has been in love with this chain ever since.

When he came back, he got a job at the MAXIM'S HOTEL in Resorts World. Currently, he works with Chef Cyril Soenen in Impressions.

Because I'm proud of him, I wanted to show him off. STAGE SISTER!  I asked him to make me my own dessert for my wedding.  Everyone loved this creation!

Make sure you request the EVUH when you ask Bizu to cater for your event! Just tell Kaye.

The night before the competition, I got Louie a Red Sizzler Mitt made by BuiltNY to bring him good luck. We Chinese believe that red brings positive joojoo.

This sizzler mitt is so cool. It's made of protective texture neoprene.  It's extra long sleeve protects up to elbow so Louie could reach further inside the industrial ovens.  the textured neoprene grip is heat resistant up to 500F.

And since Louie works with chocolates and all the ingredients that can cause stain, I got him a STAIN RESISTANT MITT.

When he was in school, his chef jacket always had stains in it. We sent his jackets to the laundromat next door and eventually it ended yellowish.

Louie has been in culinary for 7 years now.  He has made me so proud! He is such a hard worker. I will surely miss him if he eventually decides to seek greener pastures outside the Philippines.  Huhuhuhu...

For now, I can't wait to mount this on our wall.

Still on Pause,

L

ps... Here's one more chubby pic