I am a chef in New York City.

“Move. As far as you can, as much as you can.”

By: Jami Callao

I have been in the hospitality industry quite literally all my life. 

My earliest memories are from when my Mom and Dad, Martin and Ching, opened a humble little bar “Centro” in our hometown— Malaybalay, Philippines. Mom was out front and Pops ran the kitchen. It was the place to be!

My mom (far right side) with a few of our regulars at Centro

They raised me and my new born baby brother right upstairs and every night, the sound of the kitchen, the music and the laughter was my lullaby. 

Me as a little girl with my mom hanging out before Centro opens for service

A few years later, we had given up Centro so that my dad can work abroad as a cook on a cruise ship to try and make a better living for us; leaving my mom to tend to me and my siblings. She was juggling motherhood and being an outstanding professor for Hotel and Restaurant Management at a local university. After school, I would go see her where she works and sat in the back row for her lectures. Her kitchen laboratory classes were imperative to my realization that “I’m going to be a chef one day” at such a tender age. 

I knew it before I even knew how to ride a bike — I wanted to be a chef. 

From box cakes... to “pizza” on a piece of bread... one TLC cooking show to another... until I came across “Parts Unknown”. 

Anthony Bourdain only made it clearer that this is what I wanted to do. He also inspired another dream, that I will someday live and work in New York City. 

I graduated from International School of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management in Manila at 18 years old. I was not a special student. I don’t think anyone looked at me and thought that I would ever really make it but I kept my eye on the target. 

Not long after my graduation, my parents’ sacrifices finally came into fruition and our American Dream came true! 

It has been non-stop for me ever since that midnight in January 2016 when we landed in North Carolina. I put in the work. I put in the hours. And there were times when an asshole sous chef made me feel like I would never amount to anything but right as I was about to give it up, I got the call to interview for a job in the big apple. 

I went on my first solo trip for a stage at a famous bakery for a celebrated chef. I already felt like a winner just being invited to tryout and I was completely ready for a rejection but— you guessed it— I got the job! 

There I was. Anxious and excited. Mostly anxious. I could not believe that I was really about to do this!!! 

And then I was heartbroken... 

I remember the day I read that Chef Anthony has passed. Just one week prior to my big move. Suddenly my excitement was conflicted by my mourning. I was going to be just like him. I had hopes of meeting him one day. Just when I thought all my hopes would realize, this one went down the drain. 

But I moved. Like Chef Tony said, “Move. As far as you can, as much as you can.” 

It has now been almost 5 years since I moved to the city. 5 years and 4 jobs— not all of them I enjoyed to be fairly honest. Just like northern stars, all my failures and successes lead me to Chef Marc Forgione who gave me this opportunity to be the pastry chef at his new restaurant. 

One Fifth. 

Probably the easiest address to remember. This iconic building has housed plenty of legends. Rockstars. Movie stars. Name it all! With a history of more than 100 years, it has been a home for many different incredible restaurants too. 

Around the time my parents opened up Centro in 1998, across the world on this holy ground that is One Fifth Avenue, was a restaurant called Vince and Linda’s. Their time here albeit short was quite significant; the pastry chefs were playing around with a cookie dough recipe that would eventually become the Levain cookies that we all love... and what’s even more mind blowing to me was that their kitchen was lead by *drumroll please* Anthony Bourdain. 

To say that I am in absolute awe everyday knowing that following his footsteps lead me here where my idol used to work is an understatement. 

All those hard blows did not make me numb. The pressure did not make me unkind. Those asshole chefs did not make me an asshole. And despite the hesitation from the people around me, here I am where I said I would be all those years ago when I was eight. 

I am a chef in New York City.