TV chef Bobby Chinn’s PH visit: On milking camels, shark fin, and Pinoy food

Kara Santos

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TV chef Bobby Chinn’s PH visit: On milking camels, shark fin, and Pinoy food
Where in the world is Bobby Chinn? For a while, he was in the Philippines. Here's what he had to say about conservation issues, traveling to the country, and his new show

International chef Bobby Chinn is all over the place, in a good way. As a chef, restaurateur and TV host, he gets to mix his two passions: food and travel. Born in New Zealand to an Egyptian mother and a Chinese-American father, educated mostly in England and San Francisco, Chinn did a bit of everything from stand-up comedy to working on Wall Street. He moved to Vietnam to start his life as a chef before relocating to London to open another restaurant. 

At a recent media conference organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to celebrate Coral Triangle Day in Batangas, Chinn whipped up savory treats made from sustainably sourced seafood, while dishing out tidbits on his culinary journey, the issue of conservation, and his take on Filipino food.

On Pinoy food 

ENTERTAINER. As much an entertainer as a chef, Bobby multi-tasked as he talked to the crowd

Admittedly suffering from jetlag, Chinn good-naturedly answered questions from the media while multi-tasking over hot pots and raw ingredients during the cooking segment held in Pico de Loro Cove in Nasugbu, Batangas.

Filming the TV series World Cafe has taken him everywhere from Malacca to Indonesia to Ireland to Zanzibar. He previously visited the Philippines to film one episode and got to cook and eat some local specialties.

“I got to try adobo. I went to a local market. I ate balut. Not many people can say that they ate balut!,” said Chinn. 

What struck him was the spirit of the people who met him with smiles wherever he went, even in the most abject conditions of poverty.  

“Everywhere I went, I’d meet the friendliest people,” he said. “They’d ask me, ‘Mr. Chinn, why do you think Filipino food doesn’t get as much credit as it should?’ Well, how about you take balut off it? That would be a start,” he said, laughing. 

Chinn also recounted creating a version of champorado “without the dried salted fish on top” and chowing down on isaw (deep-fried chicken intestines) during his previous visit.

According to Chinn, Filipino food has yet to reach global recognition compared to some other cuisine.

“Filipinos are very talented. They’re very good cooks. You see them all over the world in kitchens. But they’re not cooking Filipino food,” he said. 

HAMILO COAST. This is located at the entry of the Verde Island Passage, one of the most prolific areas of the global Coral Triangle

Global nomad 

Aside from working on his television show, Chinn recently opened a new restaurant in London called The House of Ho, which serves traditional and modern Vietnamese cuisine. He’s also filming a new health and well-being travel show in China. 

“When I think of detox, I’m thinking spa, mud wraps, facials, massage, reflexology, juices to cleanse myself…No. [They make me go through] bee sting therapy, set me on fire, bury me in salt, have me milk a camel. Have you ever tried milking a camel? Not friendly creatures. But it turns out camel milk is very good for you,” said Chinn.

Chinn shared that his dream TV show was to prepare food that is sustainable and has health benefits. “I want to look as food as medicine and actually cook it correctly,” he said as he put finishing touches on his dishes.

Though his work takes him jet-setting around the world, he tries to find time to relax in other ways.

“I play music.” (He’s a legendary guitarist) “I read. I walk a lot. I find walking very therapeutic. Actually, I don’t relax! (laughs) I can’t stop! I just want to keep on going,” said Chinn. 

Promoting sustainable seafood

FRESH. Tuna tartare with quail’s egg, singkamas and pistachios

For the WWF launch, Chinn prepared tuna tartare with quail’s egg, singkamas and pistachio, using yellowfin tuna sourced by handline from Occidental Mindoro. He also prepared dishes using local fish sourced from the waters of Hamilo Coast, which is located right at the entry of the Verde Island Passage, one of the most prolific areas of the Global Coral Triangle.

As an alternative to shark’s fin soup, he created a seared snapper head dish with dipping sauce.

“Shark’s fin soup has no taste! You take fins off a shark and you don’t really get anything. There’s no value except what you’re paying for,” said Chinn, as he cooked.

This is Chinn’s third year partnering with WWF as an ambassador chef, with previous stints taking him to cook in Indonesia and Malaysia.

“You have an incredible natural resource that most of the world does not have. As seafood consumers, we all have a responsibility to ensure that the fish we eat comes from sustainable sources or were caught in ways that aren’t harmful to the marine environment,” said Chinn.

More than 85% of the reefs in the Coral Triangle – which spans the waters of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste – are directly threatened by local human activities.

OPTIONS. As an alternative to shark’s fin soup, Chinn prepares a seared snapper head dish

According to Chinn, diners themselves have the power the address global issues related to food. 

“Ask establishments what they are doing to that promote sustainable seafood,” said Chinn. He pointed to some good trends being done around the world.

“I’ve seen a huge change in restaurants saying that ingredients travel no more than 50 miles,” said Chinn. “We’ve seen change already in many different leading markets.” 

However, he hasn’t seen enough.

“I look at the plastic straw as a very inconvenient thing. Use it once, then throw it away. I think that we should be using local water and not using plastic. I think restaurants should charge for water. I don’t think we should be using disposable chopsticks. These are little things we can do. If we start doing it than other people will start doing it,” said Chinn. – Rappler.com

Kara Santos is a freelance writer and photographer. When not on the road or motorcycling somewhere off for the weekend, she’s leveling up her experience points in the latest PlayStation RPG. Read her real-life and virtual adventures in her blog Travel Up

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