The sweet life of Pinay chef Sally Camacho

Published February 14, 2012 5:00pm

Life is sweet for Filipina culinary master Sally Camacho, the executive pastry chef of one of the restaurants of world-renowned chef Wolfgang Puck.

Camacho, 32, was almost crowned the "Top Chef" Bravo’s reality competition — "Top Chef: Just Desserts" Season 2, coming in at second place.

Camacho told the Asian Journal: “I thought I was going to win it,” Camacho told the Asian Journal, about finishing second in Top Chef: Just Desserts.

“I came into the competition wanting to win. You don’t go there to show up. You go there to win... I go to every competition wanting to win. Sometimes that doesn’t happen and it didn’t happen in this case but in my heart of heart I feel like I won, like I came out on top,” Camacho said.

The Asian Journal said Camacho was born at Clark Air Force in the Philippines, where her father served in the US Air Force. "Her father Ray is originally from Quezon City. Her mother, Bernadette is originally from Iloilo City," the report said. According to her blog, Camacho received her Associates Degree in Culinary Arts at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

Although raised in Culver City, California, Camacho developed a love for Filipino food. "At the Camacho house, barbequing, frying whole fish with spices, and secret Filipino family recipes, were the norm. She remembers fondly the first time she helped roast a whole pig amidst family laughter," her blog said. As the executive pastry chef for the restaurant WP 24 at the Ritz Carlton, Los Angeles, Camacho creates desserts with Asian influences. Her imaginative creations include: Marjolasian, Calamansi Vacherin, Almond and Jasmine "Kumo" Cloud, and the Flavors of Thai Ovaltine.

In her interview with the Asian Journal, Camacho said: “I pushed myself a lot this year.” “I did some things in one year that some chefs would do in five,” she said.

She recounted how her father always told her: “Always do your best.” At 12 years old, Camacho already knew she wanted to become a chef. She said their parents "didn’t want us to become a nurse or a doctor or a lawyer.” “They wanted us to be happy,” she said. - VVP, GMA News

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