Chef Melissa Sison: Setting the Standard for Our Future Chefs

Second article for www.cookeatnow.com.
For this one, Hanna assigned me to write about Chef Melissa Sison. I had to do a phone interview with her, something I haven't done for a long time. I was initially nervous, but Chef Melissa is very pleasant and our interview went very smoothly. Trivia: Chef Melissa and I were "batchmates" in Batanes, but we were never introduced. At least it's nice to know the face behind the voice. :-)

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Chef Melissa Sison: Setting the Standard for Our Future Chefs

Fourteen years since its foundation, the Center for Culinary Arts-Manila (CCA-Manila) still holds the distinction of producing the most promising chefs of the country. Over the past year, they have instituted curriculum and operational changes to forge a well-defined CCA standard that will stand out further than the rest.

Academics Program Manager, Chef Melissa Sison, spearheads these changes. “At CCA, we aim to produce not just skilled chefs but future culinary leaders and entrepreneurs. They carry the CCA name, and much is expected of them.”

A graduate of SHA Ecole Des Roches in Switzerland, Chef Melissa considers herself an entrepreneur at heart. With her experience in owning her own restaurant, My Little Kitchen, and as Executive Chef for research and development for Oyster Boy, she applied her experience and ability to lead the Center to a whole new level.

“Before, I have observed that the graduates’ loyalty was to their chef-instructors. I suppose it’s only natural. When you train under a chef, you really pick up their best habits. But what we want is loyalty to CCA, expressed in a standard that each graduate will bring wherever he/she goes.”



Chef Melissa also acknowledges the big investment parents put in for their children to study culinary arts. “Parents not only expect their children to cook well, they also expect them to earn money.” This is why discipline, personality and behavior development are incorporated in each CCA course.

In their first semesters, students come in with ultimate dreams of owning their own restaurant or becoming celebrity chefs. Chef Melissa opens their horizons in her class entitled “ProChef”. The course shows the many other avenues culinary arts can take. Graduates can enter food styling and food photography, be a food critique and writer, or work as research and development chefs of big food companies. “Whichever way they choose to go, they need to be their own disciplinarian. As managers, they will be trainers and decision makers. This is what we train them for.”

These reinforced standards have been well received by the faculty and students. “The instructors have a positive feeling.”

Chef Melissa also developed a mentoring program where they help students find their true passion and match it with career options. “If you enjoy creating things, go to a small restaurant where you can create your own dishes and pastries. If you want to be an executive chef in a hotel, start you career there. There are no templates and formula, but we will help you, and we will train you to be your utmost best.”