Start them young with Slow Food Youth

We had a young assistant chef named Jam Melchor when we started the first “farm to table” restaurant in the country in 2011. He was a quiet worker and I never really bothered him with his work in the kitchen. However, after that stint, he started more entrepreneurial ventures such as delivery of cooked meals for special diets, for those counting calories or for those who needed more protein, less fat, etc. During Christmas he makes his family recipe of Chicken Galantina, a special fiesta food from his hometown, Angeles, Pampanga. As we all know, Pampanga has a whole list of renowned chefs but Chef Jam, who is now in his mid 30s, is carving his own niche, so to speak.

Not even 30 then, he went around Southeast Asia promoting Filipino food in various locations of a global hotel chain as he did local buffets along with the Department of Agriculture, promoting Filipino culture and traditions. I was a proud Mama following him in his activities internationally.

In 2016, we went to Terra Madre event together in Turin, Italy as he was the assigned chef for the Philippine stand at the famous event held every other year. He made adobo, pancit and champorado to the delight of the Slow Food visitors, some of whom have never heard of the Philippines, much less our cuisine. It was here where he encountered young Slow Food enthusiasts, too. As soon as we came home or on or about April 2017, he started the Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN) in the country, gathering all these students and young chefs like him to hold meaningful activities like the World Disco Soup day every April 28.

It is a network appealing to the young who are afraid to commit to membership in our older group called Convivium (yes, we used a Latin word for group). He toured schools and asked them to host “youth-oriented” group events. We older ones were the Slow Food Manila convivium while he led the Slow Food Youth Network.

I cannot forget Chef Jam’s other career milestones as I saw his framed photo at the Cafeteria in Pollenzo, Italy at the University of Gastronomic Sciences. Apparently, he had been invited to cook Filipino food for a week in 2017 at the famous academy. Being invited among the world’s best