German Executive Head Chef for Solaire Resort and Casino Michael Dinges said it was his family’s influence that pushed him to where he is today.
He recalls working in the kitchen for more than 12 hours as something that comes off as regular to him, especially growing up with a family immersed in the restaurant and butchery business.
“I wanted to be a chef since I was 6 years old. I think it comes a bit from family roots. My grandfather was a chef and an entrepreneur. I started cooking with my grandmother and then it evolved further,” Dinges said.
The grandmother and the kitchen
Before he was making his own masterpieces in the kitchen, Dinges was his grandmother’s apprentice, kneading dough and doing simple food chores and preparations, which eventually molded his skill set as a chef.
“Back in the day, family life was spent a lot of it in the kitchen, because there we had some kind of a centralized living area. As a kid, I had my toys standing in the corner of the kitchen, because my grandmother was constantly in the kitchen, cooking and baking, so that one kind of triggered me,” Dinges shared.
According to Dinges, it was also his grandmother’s way of including the garden and fresh ingredients in cooking that influenced him in his career as a chef.
“I can remember my grandmother when she starts cooking, she went to the garden and picked up fruits and vegetables and then she would cook it. For me, the taste of soil, the taste of real carrots, smell of strawberries, that is like being back home,” Dinges said.
He added: “It [reminds] me always when I walk into the garden of my grandparents. My grandmother was a very good chef. She was never a professional chef but her cooking was something. She was very passionate about it and I think that is something that was also passed on to me.”
Sourcing from local markets
Now, Dinges’s advocacy is to include the community where ingredients are being processed and produced. According to him, it is important not to rely on merely imported material and increase the standards of the products being made in the country.
“I want to go see some producers in Baguio and a lot of very interesting areas with local products. I would love to visit to understand the background of what are they doing because one of my beliefs is that not everything has to be imported. They also need to create agricultural produce here in this country,” Dinges said.
He added: “We are trying to work with a farm in Tagaytay so that they produce vegetables and salads for us. So, I want to include a little bit of the community. In the back of the hotel, we have our own greenhouse, where we grow our own herbs, basil, thyme rosemary and a couple of calamansi trees there. It is a little bit of a gimmick, but also nice to have fresh ingredients.”
Traveling for food
Before heading to the Philippines last year, Dinges has already been working in different countries when he was 20 years old. He has worked in Grand Hyatt Hotel in Berlin, Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, D.C., a Michelin-star restaurant in Zurich, Switzerland, and other renowned hotels and restaurants in Kazakhstan, Dubai, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
He said traveling updates and expands his knowledge and experience on food.
“It definitely helps you to develop yourself. It is, for me, the interesting part of traveling or changing countries and places. It is the different culture and the different people I meet. In the different cuisines I come across, there is something that always stays with me,” Dinges said.
According to Dinges, the food and wine culture in the Philippines still has a long way to go but with an emerging economy and more Filipinos being able to afford to travel, there is more discussion on the quality of food and the gourmet industry in the country.
“The Philippine food culture is definitely not that advanced as it is in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, but there is nothing wrong with that. It is a developing country. More and more free-standing restaurant are opening and there is more and more produce from around the world coming in,” he said. “I think the Philippines will have a very fast track speed in development, but definitely the food and wine culture is on its beginning only.”
Dinges also shared how he learned how to use a wok and understand the techniques of doing a dumpling, as well as trying out different Indian spices and perfecting the curry.
“Working alongside with these people in my position as an executive sous chef, I was in charge of them. But being in charge of them, I need to introduce myself into the materials. I need to understand what needs to be done. I think that was also the biggest spectrum open for me. Under one roof, so many different varieties and cuisines and the ability to work with many different people, that my development actually made the biggest jump,” he said.
Being also a fan of football, Dinges likens the kitchen battle to team sports, saying that camaraderie and a harmonious relationship is needed to succeed.
He added that it is not all glitz and glamor when it comes to working in international hotels and renowned restaurants, saying it involved hard work and sometimes sacrificing a bit of personal and family life.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano