Introducing: Way of the Spatula!

Way of the Spatula! What a great name, huh? Well, this is my hungry foodpal Millers website about his journey into (and through) food and cooking.  As you can see, the photos are good enough to eat. I recently sat down with Miller (actually, I emailed him from my cube) and asked him a lot of important questions about food philosophy and nunchucks.  Check it out! If anything, you’ll leave hungry.

Your pictures are so nicely shot – who is your photographer?

• Ha! Thanks. I’m my photographer. ..and I gotta tell you: trying to cook while taking pictures at the same time sucks! I may have to get a tripod or an assistant in the kitchen if I hope to make things even remotely easier. Anyway, yah, I’m trying to pick up some photography skills, what with this being my first forays into digital camera use and food photography. It’s all fun though and, hey, I’m learning.

What is your heritage?

• I’m Filipino but have spent all but two years of my life in the US. My formative years were spent in a mostly Chicano neighborhood over in Southern California and the last dozen or so years spent here in New England.

Do you have a specialty or a go-to food you will never get sick of?

• Arguably, my specialty is Filipino food if only because of scarcity. There aren’t any places out here that serve that sort of food so it stands to reason that if I want any, I’ll have to be the one to make it. Interestingly enough, this means I become the ambassador or gateway to all the people I introduce Filipino food to.. and granted, they’re my takes on these dishes and aren’t 100% authentic (especially if you ask my mother).

Where do your ideas for recipes come from?

• Other people, usually. I like seeing what people do and try to see if I can’t take that idea someplace else. Like Mexico. =]

How long have you been cooking for and where did the inspiration come from?

• I started to manifest a serious interest in cooking mostly out of necessity. One summer when I was home from college, a friend had asked me to housesit for her family. And so I did.. only to find out they didn’t leave a damn thing in their kitchen. So soon enough, I was on the phone, whining to my mother, asking her how to make this and how to make that.

How many cookbooks do you own?

• About one shelf’s worth. Most of them are Cooks Illustrated bound annuals and the others are just an assortment of books on various cuisines. Interesting sidenote: all of them were gifts. *shrug* I do a lot of research online, if anything.

Who/what is your favorite:

• Chef – Mom
• Restaurant – Anna’s Taqueria
• Food – Mexican, Japanese
• Pig Out Snack – Cheddar and sour cream chips

If you had to be one food item and risk being eaten, what would it be and why?

• Marzipan. Because then I’d at least be shaped into something really cool before I face my rather tasty (though not tasty for me) demise.

So, as you can see, Miller is pretty cool and knowledgeable about food. Not to mention a great writer, and can likely slay a dragon with a butter knife.   Head on over to Way of the Spatula and check out the foodfest!