chef jessie – Jellybeans in the City

Chef Jessie launches Hapag Movement Menu to support program against involuntary hunger

Renowned Filipino chef Jessie Sincioco is helping feed the hungry in a whole new way.

Chef Jessie, a top chef who has made meals for global dignitaries, has launched the Hapag Movement Menu, which includes four set meals that patrons may enjoy while also helping address involuntary hunger.

The special menu is part of Sincioco’s commitment to the Hapag Movement, a Globe-led community program that aims to alleviate involuntary hunger through supplemental feeding and sustainable livelihood opportunities.

The meal sets, which include a salad, soup, main course, dessert and hot drink, are available for lunch at P1,200 and dinner at P1,500 at Sincioco’s well-loved restaurant, Chef Jessie Rockwell Club in Makati. For every meal served, half of the proceeds will be donated to the Hapag Movement.

“I salute Globe for this timely and much-needed movement for the whole country. We know very well that hunger is a reality here. We make it a point to give back whenever we can. That’s how we came up with the Hapag Movement menu. This way, our diners can support the advocacy,” said the chef.

The Hapag Movement Menu features a healthy selection of salads for starters and a variety of Filipino and fusion main dishes, from the familiar yet elevated beef morcon and caldereta to fish fillet florentine and baked parmesan-crusted chicken.

In strengthening her commitment to the Hapag Movement, Sincioco also said she would invite top chefs from the Philippines and abroad to be part of the movement, as well as enlist the help of neighboring restaurants in Rockwell to further the advocacy.

“When I learned about this credible and realistic movement, I did not hesitate or think twice about helping out. Let us all do our part in making this movement a smashing success,” she said.

Chef Jessie has cooked and created many dishes for world leaders, big movers in the business industry, well-known personalities, and even the Pope. But what she finds most fulfilling is providing food for the most marginalized in society.

Chef Jessie supports the Hapag Movement through her company’s membership at the Rotary Club of Makati Business District (RCMBD), which recently signed a four-year partnership with Globe to raise funds for the Hapag Movement. Her Mana Cuisine Corporation is among the earliest corporate members of Rotary to support the undertaking.

“We are excited to have Chef Jessie on board as we continue our fight against hunger in the Philippines. We are grateful for her commitment to find ways to raise funds, including the special Hapag Movement menu. We look forward to expanding the Hapag Movement globally through enlisting a global network of chefs for the initiative,” said Yoly Crisanto, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer at the Globe Group.

RCMBD earlier pledged to raise P10 million in funds for the Hapag Movement through various initiatives involving individual members and corporations. By making this commitment, the Rotary chapter has become one of Hapag Movement’s most dedicated fundraising partners.

Globe leverages partnerships to raise funds and deliver critical support to affected families. The program aims to rally Filipinos behind a collective effort to feed the hungry and provide empowering livelihood training, as an estimated 15 million Filipinos continue to suffer from involuntary hunger.

To learn more about Globe, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/.

Details provided in a recent press release.

Chef Jessie unveils newest creation: the Summer Berries Light Cheesecake!

If the warm weather is any indication, summer is slowly but surely encroaching upon the metro.

The approach of summer, however, need not be a downer, even when most of us are stuck at home with no way to travel to destinations we dreamed about.

Instead, we can bring the essence of summer right where we are with the newest dessert creation from Chef Jessie – the Summer Berries Light Cheesecake!

Chef Jessie Sincioco began her illustrious career when she won the grand prize in The Great Maya Cookfest in 1983, followed by becoming the first Filipina pastry chef in 1990. She later on set up her own company, JCS Gastronomie Inc. to manage several upscale reataurants.

When His Holiness Pope Francis visited the country in 2015, Chef Jessie was handpicked to cook for him.

This summer, Chef Jessie once again flexed her baking muscles and crafted this beautiful cheesecake.

It’s an eight-inch dessert masterpiece made with alternating layers of strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry light cheesecake interspersed with slices of fresh berries nestled on a thin cornflake crust with crispy sponge discs and undercoated white chocolate.

It is a show-stopping dessert, fit for any season, but definitely a hit for the summer!

Truth be told: my fam and I polished off the entire cake in less than a day. We just couldn’t resist it!

Want to bite into your own summer sweetness?

Place your order two days in advance for pick up or delivery. Text or call +63 917 8967880, +63 917 8330797 and +63 977 0976649 or email chefjessiesplace@chefjessie.com. Pick up is at Chef Jessie’s Place located at 1997 Pililia St. corner Obrero and Tanay Streets, Makati and is open everyday for pick up and delivery from 9am to 6pm.

For more details on Chef Jessie, visit her website. Follow Chef Jessie’s Restaurants on Facebook and Instagram to get a sneak peek of her latest culinary creations.

Disclosure: A product sample was provided to facilitate my honest feedback.

Chef Jessie says it with Cakes this Valentine

Express your love this Valentine’s Day with gloriously delicious and amazingly beautiful cakes by Chef Jessie Sincioco.

Chef Jessie’s creations come infused with dark rich chocolate, stuffed with fresh, sweet mangoes, pressed with chopped pistachios, topped with bright berries, filled with strawberry cream or iced with ube halaya.

On top of the list is the Award Winning My Tita’s Special Treat, a delicate and moist cake sponge with puree of ripe Philippine mangoes filled with buttercream and mango slices, iced with cream cheese frosting and decorated with Chef Jessie’s signature mango rose.

Princess Carmen is Chef Jessie’s version of sans rival with layers of luscious pistachio meringue and French butter cream filling topped with vanilla cream Chantilly and chopped pistachios.

Strawberry Shortcake is a towering moist vanilla sponge cake filled and iced with light strawberry cream, top glazed with homemade strawberry gelee and adorned with fresh strawberries.

Chef Jessie’s Baked Cheesecake comes with a hint of vanilla and fresh lemon with cornflake crust topped with your choice of cherry, blueberry, mango or a combination of your favorite fruit topping.

You cannot get more chocolate than Chocolate Gateau “A La Teddy Keng” with layers of dark chocolate sponge cake filled with dulce de leche chocolate ganache, covered with a rich chocolate icing and decorated with soutache and dark chocolate flower.

Another creation is Chocolate Fudge Cake, a sponge cake with chocolate ganache and light vanilla cream covered with dark chocolate icing and topped with fresh fruits.

Something light and chocolaty is “All Occasion” Chocolate Mousse Cake. A light chocolate sponge cake filled with equally light chocolate mousse iced with vanilla cream Chantilly and decorated with fresh fruits in season. Sugar Free “M” Cake is for those looking for a healthy yet still delectable option. This elegantly simple cake is sugar free and gluten free, topped with a thick layer of sugar free dark chocolate mousse and laced with toasted almond flakes.

A nod to local flavors is Ube Macapuno Cake which is ube chiffon cake filled and iced with homemade halaya mousse and generously topped with tender macapuno strips.

For Valentine, Chef Jessie can personalize your cake of choice with your own sweet sentiments.

Place your order 2 days in advance for pick up or delivery. Text or call 0917-896-7880, 0917-833-0797 and 0977-0976-649 or email chefjessiesplace@chefjessie.com. Pick up is at Chef Jessie’s Place located at 1997 Pililia St. corner Obrero and Tanay Streets, Makati and is open everyday for pick up and delivery from 9am to 6pm.

Chef Jessie’s creations are now available for delivery and pickup!

Fans of Chef Jessie Sincioco will surely be glad that her well-lauded creations will be easily accessible to them as we all enter the New Normal.

From her memorable beginnings as the baking category grand prize winner in The Great Maya Cookfest in 1983, becoming the very first Filipina Pastry Chef in 1990, her hands-on management of upscale restaurants through own company JCS Gastronomie, Inc, to being hand-picked to cook for His Holiness Pope Francis during the Pontiff’s 2015 visit to the Philippines, Chef Jessie has shown time and again that she can adapt to the changing needs of her clientele while maintaining the quality and craftsmanship her food creations have become known for.

With the metro now under a general community quarantine, with some restrictions still being applied to people’s movement, especially when dining out, Chef Jessie has made many of her celebrated culinary ouvres available via pick up and delivery, some of which were sent to me to sample and enjoy with my family.

Ciabatta Bread (Php100/loaf). Italy’s response to the French baguettes, this long, flat and rustic-looking loaf of bread (named after the slippers it resembled, apparently) was only invented in 1989 by Arnaldo Cavallari, but has the look and taste of old-fashioned breads. It’s perfect as an accompaniment to pastas and other savory dishes or as an appetizer when slathered with butter or dipped in to oil and balsamic vinegar.

Chef Jessie’s Special Dip for Bread (Php450 for 220g bottle). Speaking of dips, I also received a bottle of finely chopped red and green bell peppers, pimiento and grated parmesan in herbed olive oil, which went so well with the ciabatta bread. I liked the dip as is but Hubby preferred adding more grated parmesan to the dipped bread. Aside from snacking on the bread and dip while binge-watching on Netflix, we also included this combo to our meal when I cooked up some Creamy Pesto Chicken for the fam’s dinner.

Chocolate Gateau ala Teddy Keng (Php1,000 for 6-in | Php1,500 for 8-in). Chef Jessie’s version of the decadent chocolate cake, this confection is made of alternating layers of light chocolate cake and rich chocolate cream filling all covered with a rich, shiny ganache and decorated with an unfurling flower fashioned from chocolate.

As you can see from the description, this gateau is a chocoholic’s delight! Named after one of Chef Jessie’s friends, The Landmark founder Teddy Keng, the cake is said to be a rich, generous and subtly sweet as he is. Well, high praise indeed!

These culinary delights and more are available at Chef Jessie’s Place, the newly-built building which houses Chef Jessie’s pattiserie, restaurant and corporate offices. You can read more about it here.

Chef Jessie’s Place is located at 1997 Pililla corner Obrero and Tanay Streets, Valenzuela, Makati City, open daily from 9am to 4pm for pick up and delivery. To order, text or call +63 917 8967880, +63 917 8330797 or +63 977 0976649 or email chefjessiesplace@chefjessie.com.

Missing the experience of fine dining? Well, here’s some good news: Chef Jessie Rockwell Club is now open everyday from 10am to 5pm for dine-in. Prior reservations are required at +63 2 88906543, +63 2 88907630, +63 2 77290122 or +63 917 8967880. Read about my fine dining experience at Chef Jessie Rockwell Club here.
Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate an honest review.