Anticipated

Pau was my seatmate in the office, how I miss our daily hilarious conversations in yahoo messenger. Now I have no one to share my emotions regarding the drought in sahara desert, the effect of winter and the efficacy of petroleum jelly. Everytime I experience a bad day... how I wish Pau was here and definetly the bad spirit around me will be our topic and I know we'll end up laughing out loud thru our yahoo messenger. LOL! On the other hand, Anton was always with us during our food saga.

Pau's coming soon and He'll bring me SIMPSONS stuff from Kwik-E-Mart. Exciting!!!

Nadia Camit-Upton

There are so many things to write about this person but why am I running out of words to describe this lady? Maybe because she happened to be a good copywriter turned Associate Creative Director slash mushy poet. Maybe I’m afraid I might describe her in a wrong way. So ladies and gentlemen with no further ado, Nadia Camit-Upton. A product of AB Literature in University of Santo Tomas, then she pursued advertising by starting as a copywriter at McCann Erickson then moved to DDB Philippines and then became an ACD at Leo Burnette Manila. Way back in 2001, I met her in DDB and we became teammates and partners. We jived easily because of our daily mushy sharing and exchanging of fashion ideas. Year 2003 was the last time we saw each other then after four years…

Here I am anticipating Nadia’s arrival along with the British guy she married, Graham Upton. He is one of the most celebrated graffiti artists in London and was also featured in BBC News.

So finally I met Nadia again after four long years and now she’s with her very wonderful husband. I must say that she is a very lucky girl to find someone like Graham. I believe her husband is courteous and a god-fearing individual.

Graham is fun to talk with because of his British accent and his witty personality. He is a hardcore English guy who fell in love with a very passionate and talented pinay. I really had difficulty understanding his words, but on the other hand it’s lovely to listen to.

I’m very happy about the tale of this couple. I know what happened to Nadia’s love life in the past and I can testify how hard her situation was. Then came along Graham, a one real blessing from God. I consider him mana from heaven given to Nadia. I know they had the great time because they cleaned up every plate. Always a good sign!

When they dined at the Artist Chef, they were celebrating their second monthsary as a married couple. I wish them luck!

The book with VCD that Nadia wrote: “Fragments of the Moon”
Available in PowerBooks.
Thank you for giving me a copy.

And the fame… a good addition to my collection.

Sweet note from Nadia.
I know she’s happy now living with her husband in London.
Have a good life Nadz!

Dimetapp Days

Let me introduce you to Joanie aka Elphie. Dimetapp's official mascot.

Aside from being an Artist Chef on weekends, I'm also an Art Director on weekdays. And I guess part of my job is sacrificing myself to wear Jaypee's costume for my Dimetapp print ad. I understand that the kid was just a year old then so it's very hard for him wear this and pose for the best angle possible. So I decided to wear it and be the one to pose on camera then paste Jaypee's face during post production instead.

With me is the very sweet Marjorie So, Account Supervisor of Dimetapp during that time. Miss you Marj. Awww...

Well, well, well... This is CHRIST the official make-up artist of different celebrities. Among those celebs is Donita Rose. Imagine this moment... :-)

And not only that, Chechel Joson the well known stylist was also there to help fix my Elphie costume.

And to complete the photoshoot, Mr. Raymund Isaac was taking my photo.

All of us having a souvenir photo with Donita at Raymund Isaac's studio.
Nice to bring back memories with the people you love working with... sigh.

But of course petite Joanie with the very pretty and the very good stylist Chechel Joson.

This is Jaypee, Donita Rose's son who was with her in Dimetapp's TV commercial, print ads and billboards, back in 2005.

What these two ladies have in common? they both love to cook. Really great working with Donita Rose, very down-to-earth, bubbly and she's full of stories to tell.

Jay W. San Luis

In my years in advertising not all my copywriter partners became my good friends. As an Art Director my relationship with them is very important because I feel that more than work, it's also important to build rapport and friendship. Jay became my good friend not just because he’s nice to work with but also because he’s a god-fearing, respectful gentleman--with those qualities I couldn’t ask for more. Through the years of working together we also went through tough times and shared laughter together. Jay is my witness that more than friendship I found commitment by ending up with someone who is also a Copywriter. Now being the Associate Creative Director of his team, Jay came a long way because of his perseverance and I know he’ll still go far. I’m glad that he finally tried The Artist Chef.

These are the little paper lamps surrounding the floor with petals.

The Artist Chef posing while waiting for her guests.

Some of their stolen and candid photos

Jay is with his wife Roxanne. They have been married for two years and blessed with two kids. Rox was still pregnant during the time they dined. She just recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Beatriz.

Roxanne was also my boyfriend's classmate during college.

Bye and Thank you Jay and Rox, see you next time.

This is a sweet and touching note from the couple.

Juana's Paella Valenciana

Ladies and gentlemen, my very own version of Paella Valenciana! (applause!) Who would have thought that I will soon cook spanish and mexican dishes? Surprisingly, I am now into those things. I love spanish and mexican cuisine but one thing I don't like about most of their dishes---very hard to prepare. Good example paella. Imagine cooking paella for how many hours? Oh well, good thing I discovered easy way of preparing it. I shortened the preparation but surprisingly the result is more than what I expected. A delicious paella versus the paellas you can taste in food caterers or restaurants. On the otherhand I cannot conclude that my paella is better than the authentic spanish restaurants like UNA MAS and ALBA's. I can only guantee that I like it the way it is compared to other restos I have dined in. And according to people who have tasted it, it's deliciously good.

This paella is made of ifugao rice then boiled and simmered with the broth of clams which I sauteed with garlic before putting it on the rice. Set aside the rice after cooking, prepare a huge wok then heat with olive oil. Then start sauteeing garlic, onions, tomatoes, green & red bellpeppers, green olives, giant squid rings, prawns and clams. Add cumin, saffron, salt and pepper. To make it a little bit spicy add spanish paprika. When everything is cooked, add the cooked ifugao rice to the wok with the rest of the ingredients. Gently mix them all together and pour red wine or sherry then add the remaining clam's broth. After cooking top with sliced hard-boiled eggs and diced lime.The paella is best eaten with my Green Tea Shandy.

Another photoshoot during lunchtime. The light shining from my window is perfect at that time of the day. Photography, cooking, and food styling by yours truly.