Nomad chef ends commitment fears in romantic Tagaytay

Chef Jayme Natividad, executive chef at Taal Vista Hotel

On my last visit to Tagaytay, I noticed that at Taal Vista Hotel, there were three weddings going on at the same time in different sections of the hotel. Meanwhile, non-guests were gathered and eating at the packed hotel’s all-day buffet restaurant Veranda, their signature restaurant Taza, and at the lobby lounge.

It made me wonder how their executive chef Jayme Natividad could still manage to sit with me and offer their gorgeous halo-halo and buko paradise (a fruit cocktail of pineapple, papaya and nata de coco served in a coconut shell with condensed milk and whipped cream), their latest offerings for summer 2019, while all these events were going on.

In fact, while we were waiting for the buko paradise, he had to excuse himself for a few minutes to make rounds before finally giving me 15 minutes of quality time.

“You’re like a doctor, doing rounds!” I teased him as he sat down. He explained he has to because he has learned that the only way to make sure that everything goes on smoothly at every event is by proper communication and diligently doing the rounds.

It’s no easy task. At Taal Vista Hotel, they have 16 event halls: one ballroom and six function rooms in the Mountain wing of the hotel, and a grand ballroom that is often divided to create three smaller ones plus six functions rooms in the Lake wing of the hotel. That is on top of the restaurants and in-room dining.

Chef Jayme has learned to manage the challenge of having several events in several restaurants at the same time. First, he says, the most important thing is planning.

Banquets at Taal Vista Hotel

“No detail is too small when planning banquets or events,” he says.

“Like in a full service restaurant, you need to think way ahead. You think of the various possible scenarios that could occur then make sure you are prepared to ensure that operations will continue to run smoothly.”

He explains their process: Once an event is scheduled, they organize the menu, all the items they would need; check all equipment; assign teams and discuss the menu and other specific requests with each team.

Second, he makes sure that he has a good team for each event. “I have sous chefs in charge of the kitchens: banquet, cold kitchen, pastry. I have at least 50 team members,” he explains. Then he does rounds, making sure preparations are moving smoothly.

Oftentimes, the 16 event spaces have events not only for dinner but also for all meals of the day (breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner). Chef Jayme recalls the Asean events in 2017 when they had to create not only the welcome dinner and the gala dinner but also breakfast, lunch and dinner plus themed snacks for the coffee breaks for the delegates. The bigger challenge was that guests from various countries had different dietary requirements such as halal food or vegetarian requirements.

But the most challenging times for chef Jayme are the best. He remembers learning from Babes Austria, former Malacañang and Taal Vista Hotel executive chef, when she handled the Apec dinners in 2015 at Taal Vista. He paid attention and when it was his turn to be in charge of the Asean dinners, he was more than ready.

Chef Jayme and team for the Asean banquets at Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay —PHOTOS COURTESY OF Taal Vista Hotel

For aspiring chefs, chef Jayme’s advice is to learn the ropes first. He did. After graduating from the International Culinary Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he moved to New York and worked in the kitchens of Keith McNally restaurants like Balthazar in the late 1990s until the early 2000s. He also worked the kitchens of Gramercy Tavern, Otto, Lupa and Fiamma before moving west to open Fiamma at the James Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona and then San Francisco to work at Florio and Postrio. His last stint in the US before moving back to the Philippines was as executive chef of Raymond’s in Montclair, New Jersey.

In the Philippines, chef Jayme joined SM Hotels in 2013, hired first as executive chef of Park Inn by Radisson in Davao before moving to Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club in Batangas in February of 2014. A few months later, he was tasked to do research and development for a concept restaurant in Taal Vista Hotel which eventually became Taza. Then he became its executive chef. Soon, he was tasked to handle all the culinary operations of the hotel.

I have known the chef since his days in Balthazar in Manhattan in the early 2000s when we used to visit him before closing hours. I know him to be a nomad, hopping from one restaurant to another because he easily gets bored, yearning to learn from different chefs at different restaurants. So I was surprised to realize that, for the past five years, he has made Taal Vista home.

“I find myself challenged every day here,” he confides, after I teased him that he has finally gotten over his commitment issues. “Even if I am in one place, I am continually growing as a chef.”

Now he is focused on making the culinary operations of Taal Vista Hotel get better and better. To his and his team’s credit, since he arrived on the scene, he was able to put Taza on the Philippine culinary map by joining Madrid Fusion Manila, getting Taza on the list of Tatler’s best restaurants for four years in a row, and making Taza a favorite on Trip Advisor. Recently, he traveled to Latin America to reboot and get new ideas to bring to the hotel’s kitchens.

I think there is something in the Tagaytay air that in spite of the daunting task of handling thousands of plates every single day, chef Jayme seems to be truly inspired.

Taal Vista Hotel. Kilometer 60, Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City. For inquiries, call (0917) 8225 or (046) 4131000.