Chef's Tales:
A journey like no other

Chef Morris Danzen

Sicily, Italy

Morris Danzen Catanghal’s passion for cooking was born when he was young and had to take care of his blind father while his mother and siblings toil miles away to provide for their family. Catanghal worked several different jobs including being a crew in fast food chains before becoming a private chef overseas.

He then found the love of his life, got married, and went to Italy. Catanghal was tasked to manage his in-laws’ restaurant and is now the head chef. All this is due to his hard work and dedication.

He loves the fact that as a Filipino he is learning a lot in Italy as a chef, from the culture and the Italian way of cooking to serving food and entertaining guests from different European countries. He also feels very much appreciated by Italian diners whenever they find out that he is of Filipino ethnicity. From this rich experience, he eventually learned how to prepare Italian dishes and created his own style of cooking where he combines Filipino and Sicilian cuisines.

"It makes me so happy that in this way I've made my country and fellow Kabayans proud", exclaimed Catanghal.

But it’s not a walk in the park says Catanghal. There were challenges that he encountered along the way.

"At first it was quite hard and challenging but at the same time it's exciting to face those daily challenges specially that I'm working with Italians", said Catanghal.

At the end of the day, creating a dish and serving it to people is not a one man job, teamwork is also important. Touching people’s hearts through food is what matters to the thirty-year-old chef.

"It's not only how good the food is, it's also about how much love and passion you put into a dish and share it to people", said Catanghal.

Hard work pays off and this is true for Catanghal. He even won an award from a cooking competition entitled “Gino Cerca Chef” hosted and judged by Gino D’acampo and Fred Siriex.

He continues his passion even on social media. He creates dishes and shares his skills through vlogging to help and encourage everyone to cook in their own kitchen. His ultimate Filipino-Italian dish is our very own “Leche Flan” served with luscious coconut and lime sorbet paired with a

pineapple chutney cannolo. He also introduced a lot of our dishes like Adobo, Filipino-style barbecue, Kilawin, and Sinuglaw to international guests in Sicily. He tweaks the recipes to give them a unique and personal taste using Sicilian and Filipino ingredients.

Know more about Chef Morris Danzen and learn more recipes by following him on social media.

Print Recipe

Ube & Blueberries Tiramisu Cake

Author: Chef Morris Danzen

Ingredients

4 pcs large eggs yolks and whites separated
500 grams Mascarpone Cream Cheese
4 ml Ubeness Ube Flavor
110 grams sugar
2 cups Espresso coffee or arabic coffee
300 grams blueblerries
2 packs (40-45pcs) Lady fingers (Savoiardi)
1 piece lemon zest
basil or mint leaves for decoration

Instructions

In a large bowl whisk 500g mascarpone cheese and lemon zest. Then 100g chopped blueberries.
In a separate bowl, combine 4 egg yolks and sugar, continue mixing with a whisk or electric mixer until the sugar has dissolved and egg yolks are lighter in texture.
With a rubber spatula, gradually mix and fold to combine the egg mixture and the mascarpone cheese.
Prepare the meringue. Simply add the egg whites to one bowl and add the sugar gradually, whisk with a hand whisk or a mixer until it is light and fluffy. Pour into the mascarpone mixture then whisk until combined.
Add 4ml of Ubeness to achieve a very nice purple and ube yam flavor to the mascarpone mixture.
For the assembly, dip the lady fingers top and bottom into espresso coffee. (You may also use normal or arabic coffee. Make sure the coffee is cold.) Arrange the lady fingers at the bottom of the cake pan.
After the bottom layer of dipped ladyfingers are arranged, pour the mascarpone mixture gradually (1/3 at a time) on top and smooth it out using an offset or rubber spatula. Repeat the process until you achieve the desired height of your tiramisu cake.
Top with marinated blue berries and chill overnight. (You may also add some lady fingers or chocolate shaves on the edges of the cake for decoration).

Video

Recipe made with
Ubeness

or directly send an email to customerservice@pamanafoods.com

Tip! Our flavorings are highly concentrated, enjoy more by shaking them before use and storing them at normal room temperature. (Do not store in a refrigerator nor in a cold place. )

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Chef's Tales:A journey like no other