‘KITCHEN STRESS TEST’: How struggles in working overseas led an Ilonggo to Masterchef U.K.

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Photos courtesy of Mark Ferasol

Far from his true home in Iloilo City, Mark Ferasol is an auditor who was bogged down by his work in London, United Kingdom for many years.

He later found another calling and passion in another “station”: the Masterchef UK kitchen.

He graduated with an Accountancy degree from Central Philippine University (CPU) in 2008 and became a Certified Public Accountant in 2009. He then worked in Manila for three years before moving to London for bigger opportunities.

In London, he worked for two other accounting firms before his current job. But he began facing mental health concerns while on his second job in 2013 due to work and other career pressures.

Ferasol, a native of Jaro district, then found cooking to be therapeutic and his newfound interest in travelling also helped fuel his now-burning passion for food.

“I took cooking as kind of like, a therapy, and then I got into traveling, so I traveled around the world to explore different cultures, and food is a big part of that. That’s when I tried to understand ingredients and food, cookery, [etc.]. So, it’s been my passion,” Ferasol told Daily Guardian in a Zoom interview.

“Almost every day, I prepare dinner after work, so I go to the kitchen for an hour and a half, and in that moment, I feel like I’m transported to different worlds and I just don’t think about work and the stress of it. Some people think that cooking is stressful, but for me, it’s a way to pause and stop other areas of my life and helped me a lot in terms of distraction and reflection,” he added.

Already a fan of the American and Australian versions of the famed Masterchef series while he was still in Iloilo City, Ferasol said the pandemic pushed him to try something outside of his career.

The first dish that earned him the coveted Masterchef UK apron was the iconic adobo, which he said was a “no-brainer” as a Filipino, but with a Japanese twist using sake or rice wine.

His other audition dish that caught the judges’ attention was pork belly lechon with liver sauce and picked vegetables, a mix of Filipino and Western style of cooking.

“I think the key motivation is really to pursue my career in food and cooking to test my skills and knowledge in the world stage, and ready to have a breakthrough in my time and be able to pursue other interests and passion outside of my job and career, so I could really enjoy a fuller life,” he said.

“You’ve got to do it [adobo]. It’s the most, I think, famous Filipino food around the world. Wherever you go, when you say adobo, it’s associated with Filipinos. I thought it’s the best way to introduce myself to the show to be proud of my heritage,” he added.

By the time of the interview on Tuesday, Ferasol ended his Masterchef journey in the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, he felt that he already achieved his goal of impressing the judges with his Filipino cooking with a twist.

One of the dishes he made which was notable for him was the beer-battered monkfish tempura, marinated like Spanish-style adobo and flavored with starfruit (garangan or balimbing).

If he remained in the competition, Ferasol said he would have the opportunity to make his own versions of the famed La Paz batchoy and sinigang.

“Coming into the show, my plan really, apart from showcasing my skills, is to showcase Filipino cuisine, Ilonggo cuisine in the stage. It’s a big win for me to showcase that adobo and be an ambassador of Filipino cuisine,” he said.

“In the last round I was in, I did not cook Filipino food, it’s more of showcasing different skills. It didn’t work out for me, but to explore myself as a quarterfinalist, I think it’s a big win to even be on the show because there are thousands who applied across the U.K., and only 45 got in. Being a quarterfinalist is already a big win for me, especially in 2 big rounds I was the top cook,” he added.

Ferasol also shared that his Snickers-inspired chocolate bomb was originally inspired by the Filipino candy ChocNut.

CHILDHOOD

Ferasol was born and raised in Jaro district along the old railway tracks of Lopez Jaena Street near the CPU campus until his mother’s death when he was 12 years old.

From there, he had been living with his aunt in different places in Jaro then moved in with another aunt in Oton when he was in college. But he always considered himself as a city kid.

“I’ve always considered myself as a Jaro kid because most of my childhood memories are there in the railways. When we were younger, we called ourselves ‘batang riles (railway track kids)’,” he said.

Ferasol said his inspiration in cooking, in addition to his travels, was his mother, who was a nutritionist-dietitian with a passion for cooking. She even set up her own carinderia or eatery.

“I always go back to my mom. Every time I cook, I always want to honor her memory. My mom used to cook a lot. She set up her own business, a carinderia which was attached to our house. Every day from breakfast, lunch, we would always see her cooking,” he said.

“I take a lot of inspirations from my travel, and my childhood memories and my mom, so I try sometimes to kind of mix and match that and do a fusion of little bits and everywhere, as long as I know the flavors will work, not only on Masterchef but on a daily basis,” he added.

Cooking also makes him miss home, which he eases by hosting Filipino food gatherings whenever he would have the time and resources; or go to Filipino-themed food places in London when he finds it difficult to find ingredients.

“I host Filipino dinners with my Filipino and British friends. I always design either a 3-course or a 5-course meal. That’s my way of evoking memories from my childhood and my home. In London, there is already quite a number of Filipino pop-up kitchens and restaurants I could go to when I miss home,” he said.

Aside from cooking, he is also into daily meditation, as it helps him calm down amidst the pandemic and the stressful load of his work.

“Sometimes, there are days that probably I don’t even breathe, just the excitement of it all, of life, and the anxiety, the stress around it, the noise. Meditation helped me a lot,” he said.

Ferasol said that he is planning to host “supper clubs” at his London home in the next months. As to having his own restaurant here or in the U.K., he said he is taking one step at a time.

And if he has time when he goes on vacation to Iloilo City, Ferasol said he would be willing to give Ilonggos a taste of his Masterchef journey.