A Filipina chef based in Paris chose to level up her game by introducing to Europeans a style of eating food that is close to Filipinos’ hearts.
In an interview with Preview Magazine, Erica Paredes shared how she came about with the idea of introducing boodle fight.
Despite finishing a culinary course at La Cordon Bleu, Erica remains devoted to Filipino cuisine. She told Preview that introducing the “kamayan” way will surely add a unique Filipino twist to the things she has done.
“One day, my small group of Filipina friends here asked me to do a boodle fight for them. I then decided to try doing a boodle fight for one of my supper clubs, not knowing if people would sign up for it. They did, and every time I had it, my table would be full,” she said.
“I still do plated dinners of course, but the request between plated and boodle nowadays is definitely 50-50. And a lot of them are not Filipinos,” Erica added.
“Honestly, boodle fights chose me! I do both boodle and plated but the boodles are just so popular I have to listen to my market!” she said.
Erica started her interest with cooking at the age of 10.
“I think I really started cooking seriously when I moved out of my parents’ house at 22, and my then roomie who was the designated cook, moved out. It really became a choice between instant ramen and learning how to sauté some ingredients together. Thankfully, I chose the latter,” she recalled.
Erica said that apart from doing French cuisine she also wants to introduce her roots to her food. (TN)
