NUTS OVER COCO

A chef preparing a tasting menu is like a DJ curating a setlist.

- IGAN D'BAYAN

A great DJ set builds energy, tells a story, and takes the audience on a journey. Similarly, a well-designed tasting menu has a progression — starting light, building in complexity, hitting a peak, and then winding down smoothly. A DJ brings out a bag of deep cuts; a chef combines beloved flavors with unexpected twists. A smooth transition between tracks or dishes is essential. So is knowing your audience. According to an observer, "Whether it's beats or bites, the goal is the same: to create an unforgettable experience."

One man who has mastered the mix with both the grill and the turntable is Spanish-born chef Chele Gonzalez. He was a professional DJ in the late Nineties who opened a club and, for a time, rode the high of nightlife. But soon an epiphany disrupted the nightly spin. Inspired by visits to Michelin-starred restaurants, he decided to make a dramatic career shift. "When I told my family I wanted to become a chef, they laughed," he says. "They saw me as a club owner, someone who was used to running a business. The idea of me working in a kitchen, cleaning fish, getting my hands dirty... nobody believed in me. But my passion for food was so intense."

He paid his dues like a bluesman. But Gonzalez persevered, training under some of the world's best chefs and enduring the notoriously brutal culture of fine dining kitchens. "Back then, it was almost military-style discipline," he says. At boot camp levels. "It was tough, but I never gave up. Becoming a chef saved my life." The path eventually led him here to the Philippines where Chef Chele, executive sous chef Carlos Villaflor and the team at Gallery by Chele in BGC have taken on the daunting task of curating a tasting menu based on our country's most omnipresent produce: the coconut.