CHEF Ross Pangilinan Leatherby’s Café Rouge, www.patinagroup.com CULINARY CREDENTIALS I’ve been cooking for 11 years. My interest started when I was a kid, watching cooking shows like the Frugal Gourmet. Growing up, my grandparents lived with us, so they always made traditional Filipino food. My dad would also take us out to all kinds of different restaurants. My parents made it possible for me to go to culinary school and later work in France.
TOP THREE PROUDEST CHEF MOMENTS 1. 2.
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Being recognized as one of Zagat’s: 30 Under 30: LA’s Hottest Up-and-Comers in 2012. Putting together the team I currently have at Leatherby’s Café Rouge as well as all of the services and events we have been able to do together. Without a good team, nothing would be possible. Being included by this magazine as one of the top five chefs in Orange County.
COOKING STYLE | INFLUENCES My cooking style is eclectic. I like to cook and create food from everywhere. I try to keep my food clean, simple and not overly complicated. All the chefs I have worked for and all of the traveling I have done influence my cooking style.
SECRET FACTOID I grew up skateboarding and had three sponsors: Liberty Board Shop in Brea, Sketchers Shoes and Ambiguous Clothes. Skateboarding used to be my life until my junior year of high school when throwing myself down a set of stairs on my skateboard started to seem like a bad idea. So, I signed up for culinary school, and now I am the Executive Chef at Leatherby’s and am married with a daughter on the way. I also like to play golf, and I am a big Tennessee Titans fan.
FAVORITE COOKING TOOL My fish spatula. I have had it since culinary school, and it has been everywhere with me. I’ve used it on some great pieces of fish. And it’s still my favorite tool even after I dropped a piece of fish on the floor with it when I was cooking in France, and the chef de partie called me some not-so-nice French names.
WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN THE KITCHEN, YOU’RE … Spending time with my wife, friends and family in La Mirada. We like to go out to eat and just enjoy life.
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| RE:DEUX 2013 Issue