a plethora of different asian foods - soups curries rices etc

Cooking across cultures: A chat with 4 Sodexo chefs

Published on : 7/23/21
  • The food of each culture tells a unique story of flavours, ingredients and dishes. For many of us, eating the food of another culture or country is often our first encounter with it. For our food service experts and chefs at Sodexo , employing the different techniques, flavours and ingredients of diverse cultures and countries enrich personal experiences and bring a unique twist to the food they serve.

    We spoke to four Sodexo chefs who worked across different cultures and countries and here are some of the stories they shared.

    Food connects the people who prepare it

    For many of us, the love of food is a common passion. When we sit down and have a meal together, people connect, converse and exchange ideas. This is not just for the diners that our chefs feed, but for our chefs as well.

    Chef Geraldin Bautista (Era) worked on board cruise liners in the United States before returning to the Philippines to join Sodexo at a technology client’s site. Whenever she sat down for meals with her fellow chefs, conversations would often revolve around their food memories and how nostalgic dishes from their cultures could be incorporated into menus. “As chefs, when we share our experiences and our journeys, we can feel the connection between us, because we are all dealing with food. It gives each of us the assurance that we are on the right path and allows us to encourage one another.” As such, Chef Era is inspired to continuously explore and adapt new menu items that would excite consumers’ palates and enrich meal experiences. 

    As one of the chefs in Sodexo’s Global Chef Programme, Chef Juranee Chansomchit (Sandy), who works in a healthcare site in Thailand, shares similar sentiments. Through the programme, she has travelled around the Asia Pacific region and visited various sites to share Thai cuisine with Sodexo’s clients and consumers. Her travels have not only allowed her to gain inspiration for new dishes, but the various colleagues she met around the region has allowed her to build a network of support which she uses to get feedback and new ideas to create even more interesting dishes. 

    There are always new things to taste

    In the course of a culinary career, chefs have tasted a wide variety of dishes and ingredients from various cultures. Our chefs share that there are always new things to try out, whether they are native ingredients and dishes from another culture, or when different ingredients are brought together for an interesting combination of flavours. 

    During his time working across Southeast Asia, Chef Jiraroj Navanukroh (Pop) shared that he had to learn about their local flavours, while introducing interesting new variations to try out as well. “In Myanmar, they like to use charcoal to cook because it makes the dish more flavourful.” While incorporating local techniques and ingredients in his cooking, Chef Pop suggested adding turmeric with garlic oil into an egg noodles dish and to serve it with Burmese pork curry, elevating it and giving it a unique twist, which made the dish very well received. Now based in his home country of Thailand, Chef Pop takes the opportunity to explore local markets to discover new ingredients whenever he travels to a new country. 

    It is also through their experiences that they are best able to introduce new flavours to consumers. Malaysian chef, Collin Cheong, who used to work in a Mediterranean restaurant, would be the main person to introduce the background, geography and food culture to diners who were new to the cuisine. For those who were trying it for the first time, Chef Collin would suggest “safer” dishes such as simple salads or pastas. For the Malaysian palate, cold soups like gazpachos might be less familiar but by easing them into it, diners learn to enjoy and relish these new flavours as well. 

    Adaptation and experimentation is key

    collage: on left is a thai salad, on right is a purple ube cheesecake

    Left: An elevated Thai salad by Chef Sandy. Right: Ube Cheesecake by Chef Era. Images by respective chefs.

    For our chefs, learning and growing in their domain is a common passion which drives them to improve their craft to present even more interesting dishes to Sodexo’s clients and consumers.  

    Chef Pop remembers that when he worked in Australia, many traditional Thai ingredients were harder to source and restaurants had to experiment with local produce to find suitable substitutes, such as using purple eggplant in place of Thai eggplant or dial down the spiciness to suit local palates. As part of his cooking today, Chef Pop also plays with local ingredients and regional cuisines to create fresh, modern versions of traditional Thai dishes. 

    For Chef Sandy, learning has always been an important part of her cooking journey. Earlier in her career, when she first started working at a Japanese restaurant, she had to learn how to cook the cuisine through text recipes, photos and sampling Japanese dishes. She persevered, connected with chefs in Japan to seek guidance and won the accolades and praise of her customers. At present, Chef Sandy has had to master a different kind of cooking, creating tasty and nutritious therapeutic meals to support the health and recovery of patients at a hospital site that Sodexo supports. 

    Meanwhile, Chef Collin reminds us of the importance of plant-based food, highlighting the benefits of eating more plant-based protein, because of the increasing environmental costs and implications of animal agriculture. For him, learning as a chef and cooking from his heart (and beliefs) are important ingredients in creating and serving dishes that will leave a lasting impression on diners.  

    Chef Era, who loves to experiment with traditional Filipino ingredients in Western recipes, created a delicious cheesecake using ube, a type of Filipino yam. It was not only delicious but also healthier than a regular cheesecake. The beautiful purple hue made it look even more appetizing. For her, the love of baking and pastry experimentation continues to challenge her creativity towards new heights. 


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