[Music]
hello everyone I’m people call me
Michael Spears but yes you saw that
they’re in the video it’s Michael but
that’s my real name
public speaking is not really one of my
best attributes but when I found out
about the topic of TEDx this year which
is spaces I instant I grabbed the
opportunity because it’s not every day
that I get the chance to talk about my
workspace not a lot of people know that
in inside the kitchen there’s so much
chaos there’s so much drama and that’s
what I have to deal with every day and
most people see the end product which is
the food though already and it’s
normally satisfying and beautiful okay
during my during my presentation I’ll be
showing photos of my workplace make it
chin the people I work with and also the
dishes that we create every day and I
apologize in advance because you might
get hungry especially towards the end so
um okay right now I bake and cook in the
Petit souffle and I have two branches I
also have my first legit Bake Shop okay
so these are the photos of the kitchen
before and during construction and then
what it is right now and then in the
pity souffle and I have my first big
shop called workshop it’s literally my
workshop it’s literally my own space I
create desserts there I also teach my
team my staff how to create something
out of nothing literally nothing I also
have a craft cookie shop in century mall
where I allow people to literally grab
their ingredients the the kitchen is
actually a very open where people can
grab their ingredients to create their
the cookies the cookies of the
dream I literally designed it that way
because I want to know my customers
through cookies and milk I also have a
salad bar and a custard bar and a an ice
cream parlor in Bonifacio High Street
which is called freezer burn it’s quite
small literally it’s very small but I’m
I’m really happy what with what we’ve
done there what with what we’re doing
right there and the people my team is
very successful in doing what I’ve
envisioned I’m also in my third year
right now as the pastry consultant for
Unilever and I also work in in their
kitchen and also with selecta I have you
familiar with Magnum that’s what yeah I
don’t have samples right now sorry but
if I planned this better I would have I
would have brought some I’m also working
with Malaysia Unilever and Singapore
Unilever I’m also launching my dessert
line for Philippine Airlines yes it’s
coming April and in between that I cater
with a I cater to the most important
charity events in the country some of
them we support certain causes like
raising the bar for in terms of farming
and also in agriculture and also helping
future teachers of our country and reach
their their goals which is having a to
have a certificate in their license to
teach whenever I have a spare time if I
find any I compete abroad I also compete
here locally and some people may say
that I’m probably the busiest pastry
chef in the country I definitely agree
with them cuz it’s very difficult
everyday it’s such a work it’s a
rollercoaster ride for me every day
but um but I know I have planned I’ve
planned all of this
I Miami this is my ambition to be and
then flow and to influence people to eat
desserts that I make and I really love
what I do I’m very passionate and very
giving and I just want to share I just
want people to smile whenever they eat
my desserts
okay but that wasn’t always the case
I started I had a very humble start in
my career I started as a cash well
employee in a really big hotel where no
one knew my name and literally they
didn’t know my name I was I would pass
actually see them right now most of my
colleagues before and then they wouldn’t
even like they they don’t know that we
worked together before so that was like
ten years ago and this is my tenth year
in the industry and I would carry sacks
of flour and sugar every day but I look
forward to doing this because I get to
work inside a kitchen a pastry kitchen
which is for me it’s my home it’s my
it’s where I create things okay and you
know I’m I was ready for for all of this
where all the hardships I remember the
first the first day that I decided to
have hrim or hotel and restaurant
institution management as my course the
moment I decided and I went to our
orientation in st. Benilde I remember my
professor or the head chef during that
time he told me you know the kitchen
isn’t as glamorous as you think it’s not
a glamorous space to work in and then I
said what is glamorous is it like um
like lots of clothes like fashion
fabulous or something good and then he
said he didn’t even bother expanding on
that and then I got so confused and then
but after that with I’m working for
three hotels and more than a handful of
restaurants I realized that what being
fun for me being glamorous is what you
make up apparently if you treat your
workplace as something that um did you
you live in that’s where you thrive you
can turn it into something glamorous you
can turn it to whatever you want it
should be but that so I’d right now I
didn’t believe I don’t know I don’t I no
longer believed and what the chef told
me because I turn it I turn my space
into something that’s beautiful and
something that is full of full of
delicious pastries okay okay a four-bed
but I remember I have to keep in mind
that what did that chef mean by saying
that it’s not glamorous for me what not
a lot of people see is the chef’s
actually do the cleaning every day I
even clean the grease trap under the
kitchen sink every single night when I
was starting I always exceed the floor
every night make sure that it’s spotless
but again I love what I do so much that
I’m I’m I’m open to doing this every
single day the best part of being in the
kitchen for me was I was able to
exercise my talent and at this it made
me who I am right now I have made uh for
me this is where am i I make my dreams
come true my kitchens vary in sizes uh
some are bigger than the others
um some are very tiny but but very
efficient just like my ice cream parlor
but all are designed to create desserts
that are full of inspiration and passion
behind it I have I may have worked in a
lot of different kitchens here in abroad
but for me it remains the same
every every space is up I feel at home
whenever like when I travel abroad and
I’m not sure what I’m going to I what I
make what I can expect from the team
well I’ll be working with immediately
after accepting out of the the airport
and going to my the kitchen where I’m
going to work I feel at home
cost um it’s really literally my home I
know instantly I know where where the
tools are and it’s easy for me and it’s
easy for me to understand what the
equipments are for the back of the house
is what we call the kitchen in the
industry it’s what we commonly call it
but for me it’s where the magic the real
magic happens
it is where I poured so much of my
creativity especially when preparing for
competitions I literally would spend
like an entire week inside AB isolating
myself inside the kitchen preparing for
a big competition abroad and even here
in the Philippines so and I’m happy to
say that it all was worth it so I gained
a lot of medals but in but before before
getting those medals I would it is in
the kitchen where I cried where I got so
frustrated it’s also where I rejoiced
and shared my experience with my
workmates today
I treat my kitchens as a place where I
can teach I teach my staff every single
day not just to bake not just to create
things but also lessons in life because
I know that if you’re if you experience
a lot in your life it will only do you
good
because you already experience that even
if it’s whether it’s bad or good you’ve
experienced it and you can move forward
you can easily you can easily learn and
learn from it and also you can refer to
it whenever you have you are faced with
a challenge I also learn from my team
every day through their experiences and
their their mistakes and also their work
I teach my team to create all the time
and that’s and to eat what we make
because we have we have the taste what
we create every day it is where I try to
influence people how to eat desserts
because I have it in my head in my head
it’s always that how I treat desserts is
very different from most most of us
because I know right now people think
that desserts are only something that
you can give give away or it’s not
really for for you alone it’s for it’s
something that you can share but how I
treat it is it’s something very personal
it’s something it’s like a prize at the
end of a hard hard day’s work and
eventually I want people to realize that
and I want people to start treating
desserts that way and I work with in a
lot of different kitchens I work with a
lot of different chefs some are
extremely talented some are even
handicapped and I work with someone
who’s even deaf and mute that was really
hard but we enjoyed working
other because we’re we wanted to achieve
something that is that we wanted to
achieve something that is very similar
which is pastries we want to create
pastries that bring people together but
give people smiles right now the
circumstances might have it might be
different from ten years ago but for me
the kitchen will always be my second
home um actually sometimes my my first
home so because I I spend like literally
90 per 90 percent of every day in my
kitchen and I just come home and then
bake some more in my own kitchen at home
and that’s always fun for me and I hope
the next time you see or order a dish in
a restaurant you’ll appreciate more or
you’ll understand or try to understand
what went on behind producing that
certain piece of meat out of a certain
piece of dish and or meat or a dessert
so I hope I gave you enough visual and
idea what went behind what goes behind a
pastry kitchen every day so these are
some of my works so this is something
that I created for 18 hours I was given
18 hours to create on it’s just one of
them this is a salted egg dessert and I
created it in my home actually in my
home because I didn’t have the time I
was given the task to create this and
they would dig the budget for Sean
Manila which is the biggest food show in
the world in Asia give me this
opportunity to create a TV commercial
and print ads for the event and then you
know given that circumstance I was able
to create something
that’s very complex but yeah in my not
so equipped space at home but I mean if
you if you feel that way about where you
work for sure you’ll create something
beautiful every day that’s it thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
hello everyone I’m people call me
Michael Spears but yes you saw that
they’re in the video it’s Michael but
that’s my real name
public speaking is not really one of my
best attributes but when I found out
about the topic of TEDx this year which
is spaces I instant I grabbed the
opportunity because it’s not every day
that I get the chance to talk about my
workspace not a lot of people know that
in inside the kitchen there’s so much
chaos there’s so much drama and that’s
what I have to deal with every day and
most people see the end product which is
the food though already and it’s
normally satisfying and beautiful okay
during my during my presentation I’ll be
showing photos of my workplace make it
chin the people I work with and also the
dishes that we create every day and I
apologize in advance because you might
get hungry especially towards the end so
um okay right now I bake and cook in the
Petit souffle and I have two branches I
also have my first legit Bake Shop okay
so these are the photos of the kitchen
before and during construction and then
what it is right now and then in the
pity souffle and I have my first big
shop called workshop it’s literally my
workshop it’s literally my own space I
create desserts there I also teach my
team my staff how to create something
out of nothing literally nothing I also
have a craft cookie shop in century mall
where I allow people to literally grab
their ingredients the the kitchen is
actually a very open where people can
grab their ingredients to create their
the cookies the cookies of the
dream I literally designed it that way
because I want to know my customers
through cookies and milk I also have a
salad bar and a custard bar and a an ice
cream parlor in Bonifacio High Street
which is called freezer burn it’s quite
small literally it’s very small but I’m
I’m really happy what with what we’ve
done there what with what we’re doing
right there and the people my team is
very successful in doing what I’ve
envisioned I’m also in my third year
right now as the pastry consultant for
Unilever and I also work in in their
kitchen and also with selecta I have you
familiar with Magnum that’s what yeah I
don’t have samples right now sorry but
if I planned this better I would have I
would have brought some I’m also working
with Malaysia Unilever and Singapore
Unilever I’m also launching my dessert
line for Philippine Airlines yes it’s
coming April and in between that I cater
with a I cater to the most important
charity events in the country some of
them we support certain causes like
raising the bar for in terms of farming
and also in agriculture and also helping
future teachers of our country and reach
their their goals which is having a to
have a certificate in their license to
teach whenever I have a spare time if I
find any I compete abroad I also compete
here locally and some people may say
that I’m probably the busiest pastry
chef in the country I definitely agree
with them cuz it’s very difficult
everyday it’s such a work it’s a
rollercoaster ride for me every day
but um but I know I have planned I’ve
planned all of this
I Miami this is my ambition to be and
then flow and to influence people to eat
desserts that I make and I really love
what I do I’m very passionate and very
giving and I just want to share I just
want people to smile whenever they eat
my desserts
okay but that wasn’t always the case
I started I had a very humble start in
my career I started as a cash well
employee in a really big hotel where no
one knew my name and literally they
didn’t know my name I was I would pass
actually see them right now most of my
colleagues before and then they wouldn’t
even like they they don’t know that we
worked together before so that was like
ten years ago and this is my tenth year
in the industry and I would carry sacks
of flour and sugar every day but I look
forward to doing this because I get to
work inside a kitchen a pastry kitchen
which is for me it’s my home it’s my
it’s where I create things okay and you
know I’m I was ready for for all of this
where all the hardships I remember the
first the first day that I decided to
have hrim or hotel and restaurant
institution management as my course the
moment I decided and I went to our
orientation in st. Benilde I remember my
professor or the head chef during that
time he told me you know the kitchen
isn’t as glamorous as you think it’s not
a glamorous space to work in and then I
said what is glamorous is it like um
like lots of clothes like fashion
fabulous or something good and then he
said he didn’t even bother expanding on
that and then I got so confused and then
but after that with I’m working for
three hotels and more than a handful of
restaurants I realized that what being
fun for me being glamorous is what you
make up apparently if you treat your
workplace as something that um did you
you live in that’s where you thrive you
can turn it into something glamorous you
can turn it to whatever you want it
should be but that so I’d right now I
didn’t believe I don’t know I don’t I no
longer believed and what the chef told
me because I turn it I turn my space
into something that’s beautiful and
something that is full of full of
delicious pastries okay okay a four-bed
but I remember I have to keep in mind
that what did that chef mean by saying
that it’s not glamorous for me what not
a lot of people see is the chef’s
actually do the cleaning every day I
even clean the grease trap under the
kitchen sink every single night when I
was starting I always exceed the floor
every night make sure that it’s spotless
but again I love what I do so much that
I’m I’m I’m open to doing this every
single day the best part of being in the
kitchen for me was I was able to
exercise my talent and at this it made
me who I am right now I have made uh for
me this is where am i I make my dreams
come true my kitchens vary in sizes uh
some are bigger than the others
um some are very tiny but but very
efficient just like my ice cream parlor
but all are designed to create desserts
that are full of inspiration and passion
behind it I have I may have worked in a
lot of different kitchens here in abroad
but for me it remains the same
every every space is up I feel at home
whenever like when I travel abroad and
I’m not sure what I’m going to I what I
make what I can expect from the team
well I’ll be working with immediately
after accepting out of the the airport
and going to my the kitchen where I’m
going to work I feel at home
cost um it’s really literally my home I
know instantly I know where where the
tools are and it’s easy for me and it’s
easy for me to understand what the
equipments are for the back of the house
is what we call the kitchen in the
industry it’s what we commonly call it
but for me it’s where the magic the real
magic happens
it is where I poured so much of my
creativity especially when preparing for
competitions I literally would spend
like an entire week inside AB isolating
myself inside the kitchen preparing for
a big competition abroad and even here
in the Philippines so and I’m happy to
say that it all was worth it so I gained
a lot of medals but in but before before
getting those medals I would it is in
the kitchen where I cried where I got so
frustrated it’s also where I rejoiced
and shared my experience with my
workmates today
I treat my kitchens as a place where I
can teach I teach my staff every single
day not just to bake not just to create
things but also lessons in life because
I know that if you’re if you experience
a lot in your life it will only do you
good
because you already experience that even
if it’s whether it’s bad or good you’ve
experienced it and you can move forward
you can easily you can easily learn and
learn from it and also you can refer to
it whenever you have you are faced with
a challenge I also learn from my team
every day through their experiences and
their their mistakes and also their work
I teach my team to create all the time
and that’s and to eat what we make
because we have we have the taste what
we create every day it is where I try to
influence people how to eat desserts
because I have it in my head in my head
it’s always that how I treat desserts is
very different from most most of us
because I know right now people think
that desserts are only something that
you can give give away or it’s not
really for for you alone it’s for it’s
something that you can share but how I
treat it is it’s something very personal
it’s something it’s like a prize at the
end of a hard hard day’s work and
eventually I want people to realize that
and I want people to start treating
desserts that way and I work with in a
lot of different kitchens I work with a
lot of different chefs some are
extremely talented some are even
handicapped and I work with someone
who’s even deaf and mute that was really
hard but we enjoyed working
other because we’re we wanted to achieve
something that is that we wanted to
achieve something that is very similar
which is pastries we want to create
pastries that bring people together but
give people smiles right now the
circumstances might have it might be
different from ten years ago but for me
the kitchen will always be my second
home um actually sometimes my my first
home so because I I spend like literally
90 per 90 percent of every day in my
kitchen and I just come home and then
bake some more in my own kitchen at home
and that’s always fun for me and I hope
the next time you see or order a dish in
a restaurant you’ll appreciate more or
you’ll understand or try to understand
what went on behind producing that
certain piece of meat out of a certain
piece of dish and or meat or a dessert
so I hope I gave you enough visual and
idea what went behind what goes behind a
pastry kitchen every day so these are
some of my works so this is something
that I created for 18 hours I was given
18 hours to create on it’s just one of
them this is a salted egg dessert and I
created it in my home actually in my
home because I didn’t have the time I
was given the task to create this and
they would dig the budget for Sean
Manila which is the biggest food show in
the world in Asia give me this
opportunity to create a TV commercial
and print ads for the event and then you
know given that circumstance I was able
to create something
that’s very complex but yeah in my not
so equipped space at home but I mean if
you if you feel that way about where you
work for sure you’ll create something
beautiful every day that’s it thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
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