THE responsibility of feeding thousands of Olympic athletes and officials in Beijing falls on the cooking hands of a Filipino chef — an Ilonggo.

Ryan Jaranilla is the senior executive chef of the Olympic Catering Services Project of the Athletes’ Village in Beijing.

Jaranilla said this is definitely not a picnic, as the kitchen will be open around the clock to nourish 12,000 of the world’s elite athletes, 3,000 officials and the 7,000 media professionals who will cover the event over the next two weeks.

The kitchen is like the United Nations. “I have an executive chef from Belgium, six sous chefs from the US, England and Bulgaria, and 108 Chinese cooks,” he stressed.

Language is only a challenge but never an obstacle as we have one common goal, to serve the athletes.

The other Filipinos in the kitchen are Ian Mendoza, a Filipino-Canadian facilities manager, and Norma Frias, a sous chef.

Born in Iloilo, Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of the Philippines. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1991. Just out of college and looking for work, Ryan landed a part-time job in a hospital, in food and nutrition services.

From this humble beginning, his career took off. “There was a Filipino chef, Alex Jose, who had the ability to inspire his staff and lead people,” Ryan observed. His then-boss encouraged him to pursue a career in nutrition and culinary arts so he began to build his credentials in this newly chosen career path. He went on to earn associate degrees in nutrition and culinary arts from Westlake Culinary Institute, and certifications in catering management and event planning from California Polytechnic University in Pomona.

Ryan then went on to manage events, plan parties and create menus for Wolfgang Puck Catering. Some of his more posh parties included the 2000 Academy Awards and the 2001 Grammy Awards. He also used his culinary expertise at Disney’s food services division, creating menus for Disney theme parks.

Lufthansa Airlines was the next employer of Ryan’s talents, when he became a “sky chef,” managing food services and feeding airline passengers.

In 2003, he joined Aramark, and continues to hone his experience in hospitality and the food industry. Prior to his assignment at UCI, Ryan managed food services for Aramark’s Angel Sta-dium of Anaheim baseball park and the Staples Center, a 20,000-seat sports arena and concert hall located in downtown Los Angeles.

Source: goodnewspilipinas.com

One Response to “Ilonggo is Beijing Olympic Village Top Chef”

• 1
  David B Katague
  August 23rd, 2008 01:07

  I am proud to read an ilongo accomplishment in the field of culinary arts and food preparation. Would like to read more articles on Ilongo accomplishments in other fields, such as science, medicine, engineering, literature or sports. I know personally of several Illongo professionals here in US who are experts in their respective fields but are not recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to society.

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