Chef Myke
Tatung Sarthou
“UMAGANG Kay Ganda’s” resident chef and bestselling author Chef Myke Tatung Sarthou has released his latest book “Dishkarte sa Kusina” by ABS-CBN Publishing, containing kitchen hacks, recipes, lessons, and illustrations and serving as a comprehensive kitchen guide for Filipino homes today.
Chef Tatung, who has become popular for his no-nonsense cooking tips and animated food trivia, said his new book is a tribute to “Umagang Kay Ganda’s” audience, mothers, and homemakers who have to deal with the practical realities of not just cooking but feeding a family on a budget. “Having a good grasp of cooking skills, common sense and the creativity to innovate and cook off the fly are important in dishing out decent meals that the family will enjoy,” the culinary master shared.
The book not just offers easy-to-follow recipes, but also kitchen basics that everyone must know in storing, preparing, and cooking food in various ways. From menu planning to grocery shopping, thawing frozen items, slicing ingredients, creating sauces, and choosing the right condiments, “Dishkarte sa Kusina” serves as a handy manual that households should have on hand as a quick reference.
“I also decided to write it in conversational Filipino, Taglish, so more Filipinos can benefit from the book,” Chef Tatung revealed, noting that a good number of people in the food industry have not gone to culinary school and hoping that this book will help bridge the readers’ knowledge and skills gap.
Some of the numerous kitchen hacks the popular chef shared in the book are to use color coding in chopping boards to avoid contamination, to place vegetables losing its freshness in iced water, to take advantage of meat broth for future use, and to chop or cut fresh herbs at the last minute before serving to retain its aroma.
Chef Tatung previously authored the award-winning book “Philippine Cookery From Heart to Platter,” also published by ABS-CBN Publishing, which earned the top prize in the World Gourmand Awards for best book by a celebrity chef outside Europe (Yantai China May 2017). He was also the Philippines’ sole representative to the 15th Madrid Fusion Congress in Madrid, Spain in 2016.
Chef Tatung’s passion is the avid search for the roots of Philippine cuisine, through which he rediscovers indigenous cooking methods, connects historical facts, and relishes anthropological insights that enrich the practice of his craft, making him a prime mover in the promotion of Philippine cuisine here and abroad.
Level up your cooking skills with the help of Chef Tatung’s “Dishkarte sa Kusina,” exclusively available in National Book Store branches nationwide for only P350.