When you know you are going to dine in an outlet of Irish chef and restaurateur Billy King, you look forward to a memorable dining experience—excellent cuisine, impeccable service and tasteful ambience. Proof of his success and staying power are his many outlets, from Fairways and Bluewater Resort in Boracay to Camp John Hay in Baguio City, The French Corner in Alabang and now, The Alpha in Makati City.
What is your process in coming up with new dishes?
It’s best to be hungry. That’s the best time to really create, because then your gastric juices are working, your imagination is working. So, it’s a constant thing that if I really want to create, then no breakfast, no lunch. What is your favorite dish?I love ‘adobo’ (pork or chicken cooked in vinegar and soy sauce). I eat it once every week. I’m very health-conscious when it comes to food. I eat steak. I eat fish. But I don’t combine them.
What is your take on fusion cuisine?
This East-West thing, there’s just so many issues. I mean, it’s food. Just keep it clean. You can make it complex, but you still have to be able to identify the flavors.
The Alpha’s oven-baked escargot on a shiitake mushroom pastry pillow.
The Alpha’s oven-baked escargot on a shiitake mushroom pastry pillow.
How about celebrity chefs?
My personal opinion, what I see happening, is lack of substance. Why would you try (to) cook something in a span of an hour, when you know that to do it properly would take about three hours? It’s just not right… Being able to do 120 different dishes on a menu and produce very, very high quality for about 12 years—that’s cooking. That, for me, is being a chef.
Where do you go for good food here in the Philippines?
There’s a lot of good food here but you have to look for it. It’s not easy in business today to constantly have that wow factor. It’s a very tough business, very difficult.
How would you describe cooking as a profession?
It’s never-ending. It’s such a great profession, a hobby. Every day you can just create. Once you understand the science of cooking, then it’s very easy to create.
Looking back, how would you describe your life as a chef?
Very fortunate. I made this profession in a country where people love to eat, and (to) enjoy what you do, that’s the best satisfaction. Imagine if you’re in some place where nobody cares about the effort you put in to make something beautiful and taste great and it’s not appreciated.
