Chef Viren’s

“I am thankful I attended AHA because it trained me to be a world class professional chef.
AHA showed me how it is in the real kitchen, tough and no one will help you but yourself. They gave me a chance to see my potential and where it can bring me. AHA trained their students properly. No special treatment. Every small thing is a big thing for AHA and that made a big impact on me.

To be on time, being organized and discipline in every aspect. Those are the main things I have learned in AHA. Being just on time is not enough, being early was expected from us. Always prepared and ready to go was a very big thing. One lacking equipment was something we students did not want to happen cause it meant youll have to look for it or be sent home.
Another thing AHA thought me was do not take whatever happens in the kitchen to heart. What happens in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen. If the chef calls your mistake then just say ”yes chef” and fix it. Work is work and that is a big thing to bring around where ever you go. Youll be able to apply this in any career you take.

My experience in AHA showed me my strengths and weaknesses. It made me a better person, not just a chef. I adopted with whatever was given to me. People with different personalities in the kitchen is hard and it was one of the experiences that I had to get used to and to just work around it.
AHA life was a very interesting place for me and I will always remember the good and bad times I had there.”

– Chef Viren Bharvani

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Chef Kevin’s

” Even though attending AHA was a bit tough, I still am thankful because I learned that the hospitality industry will not be easy on me. I learned how to handle pressure and how to handle myself in the workplace. My experiences in AHA helped me to become a better chef because I am now confident with the knowledge I have today and that is the reason why I know that I can become a great chef in the future.”

– Chef Kevin Medrano

Chef Sharm’s

” I am thankful I attended AHA, because AHA molds its students to be more creative, disciplined and be a better person. They equip their students with the tools they need not only in the kitchen but also in their daily lives. They truly make diamonds in the rough.

They taught me humility, which is the ability to learn from those around you as well as from your own mistakes, No matter how great you are, if you’re not willing to acceptk your mistakes there is no way you’re going to improve. To always have the desire to learn and grow and having a good sense of taste and a spirit of adventure.

Having the rush of adrenaline you get during peak hours, to work in precision and a cool head in intense pressure, these are the things that keeps my passion going. When things get though, the tough get going, AHA taught me that in a difficult situation, you must persevere harder to meet the challenges given and giving up is not an option either.

Whatever you do in life, do what you enjoy, enjoy what you do.”

– Chef Sharm Chan

Chef Edrick’s

Studying in AHA was never easy for me. I have always loved cooking and it has been my passion and I was almost sure that I was ready for it when I started Culinary school. But AHA’s ways was something that I never expected. It is completely unorthodox but it was all worth it.

They taught me to be punctual. It was always difficult for me to wake up early but AHA taught me that being on time was very important. We had to be at school at 6:30am because classes started at 6:45.  You need to be there 15 minutes early because being on time means being late.

I learned a lot of things and it made me stronger and disciplined. I would never regret going to AHA. I was able to apply everything when I worked at one of the top Japanese restaurants here in the Metro. I realized how perseverance and passion needs to be backed up by attitude and discipline.

– Chef Edrick Cruz

– Chef Edrick Cruz

Chef Louise’s

Honestly, I never wanted to cook nor even be near a kitchen. But when I was in AHA, things have changed for me. I learned to love the art of cooking. Learning the basics, basics that lead me to professional cookery, the passion to perfect things, the eagerness to learn new techniques and to concoct a ridiculous mixture of passion and hard work.

Though it was a tough journey (up until now), but I was able to overcome every obstacle that came my way. Cuts and burns are just something to be laughed and reminisced at.

The sweat and the rush is like a fun exercise. That’s what AHA taught me, to be organized at all times, to work under pressure, to manage my time and be productive in a more efficient and effective way, not only that but AHA disciplined and molded me to become the person who can actually say “Bring it on” and “Is that all you’ve got” to all the challenges I have faced, and about to face.

– Chef Louise Yap

(She did her internship at Casa Marina Waldorf Astoria. She is now a commis chef at Brotzeit. )

Chef Royceleth’s

A Culinary school is where well trained and carefully molded cooks/chefs usually come from. When I decided to get into a culinary school, the first factor i considered was the ability of the school to place their graduates in the industry. AHA gave me more than a job but a life time family, it also molded the character in me, the perseverance and dedication in the craft.

My AHA journey wasnt easy at all, blood and sweat are poured but its all worth it. The only things i knew when i first got into AHA, are just basic  cooking methods anfy expectations were low, but to my surprise they gave me more than expected. They taught me how to become a team player, and how to become humble. The 2 year duration of my stay in AHA, gave me the chance to be part of culinary team and the “eat and cheat cancer” project. Because of those projects I was able to come out of my shell and I saw the industry in a different perspective, heart, soul and talent. At that moment it’s not just about cooking but also about serving others.

Now, as a dietary chef, i was greatful to AHA that they provided the real life atmosphere to their students. The military like training served as a great deal to every graduates they had because it produced the world class professional chef that everyone seek.

– Chef Royceleth Lopez
(Dietary Private Chef)

Chef Wil’s

“If you want to become a great chef, you have to work with great chefs. And that’s exactly what I did.”- Chef Gordon Ramsay. I’m inspired by this statement of Chef Gordon that’s why I did it too… where my heart belongs‒ in American Hospitality Academy (AHA).

It was my preference to have enrolled in AHA, way back in May 2012. My siblings and I had been scouting different culinary schools in the metro.       

And luckily we had the opportunity to attend the “Open House” of AHA. It was an eye-opener for me. AHA has become my second home to which the dreams that God has planted in my heart was fulfilled like‒the internship i did abroad.  Another thing why I became interested in this school is because AHA is an accredited school of the “American Culinary Federation” (ACF). I felt wowed about this. With this, I felt so much confidence that I can become a World-Class Chef, because of the credentials and achievements of AHA.

Since the beginning of my studies in AHA, I have learned about how important confidence is. When you don’t have confidence you step back and miss out on learning. Also, you will never get better if you don’t think you can do it. A lot of times our mistakes can be fixed and it wouldturns into a learning experience. Being a member of the Culinary Team we had to work as a team a lot and I really learned so much about “teamwork” and how to get along with difficult people. Also, AHA has molded me to become more responsible and taught me tons of wisdom and perspectives in terms of leadership skills.

As far as workload, there were some paper works that we had to write, and projects to do, but showing up for class and paying attention was the biggest part of school. With this, I enthusiastically say that I’ve been there and done that! It was an amazing and indeed tge greatest experience of my life so far.

I think that the traits to succeed as a chef are the same as the traits you’d need to succeed in anything. You need passion. You have to love what you do if it’s making you stand for 10 hours at a time in afort kitchen, getting burned and cut, with the responsibility of feeding people. Truly, the sure path to becoming a successful chef is through your passion. Lastly, finding a business angle to it and pursuing excellence in your passion.

I am thankful that I was enrolled in this kind of school because of the numerous achievements that I attained: 1) I had the chance to compete in the international culinary competition with medals as my way of giving distinct honor and pride to AHA; 2) I had also greatest experience like having the opportunity in assisting Master Chefs in the culinary industry who conducted cooking demonstrations in our school; Thinking deeply, not only the skills, I also owed to AHA the discipline, attitude and as a whole‒ my character which has improved and molded me to become a better person.  

AHA provided me the opportunity to work in the United States and learn more about the American culture and helped me gained more knowledge, skills, and experience, and taught me the ability to be an effective team player, follower and leader, at the same time meets the rigid standards and demands of the hospitality workplace. Additionally, I was lucky enough that I did not experience the culture shock during my tenure as intern in a foreign country for which reason is that AHA has already trained for (not only me but all its students) with all the necessary ability and discipline we need.

AHA, truly trained us of being near to perfection because dealing with kitchen stuff and delivering to customers has NO trial and error process, with this, AHA has its firm stand which pushes each and every student to become more attentive or the so-called “attention to details” and AHA disciplined us to be time conscious and we practically observed it in attending classes ahead of the scheduled time. Also, we are trained to work fast but in an accurate way of doing things. We had also experienced the tight kitchen schedules that we are required to attend the following day in an early call time.  So, with this, we are molded to become more hardworking with dedication to what we are doing. What I mentioned are only a few of all the good teaching techniques and aspects that were taught by AHA that aided me and other students in working in the real world.

THANK YOU AHA for the Gift of Knowledge and shaping me to become a kind of person who strives for continued EXCELLENCE. Thumbs Up to team AHA! So Proud to Be My ALMA MATER!

– Chef Wil Peñafiel

(He did his culinary internship in Chateu On the Lake, Missouri. He is now a Private Chef.)

Chef Janine’s

Cooking is something that i’ve always wanted to do. My view for cooking is not as if it’s an obligation, but as an inspired, creative art form. It involves taking a few ingredients and creating a masterpiece. When I say masterpiece, the entree doesn’t have to be a fancy, elaborate, gourmet dish. Your masterpiece can be small with a couple of ingredients, as long as you put your heart and imagination into it. Education is a big part of what we do as students, but we need real life experiences as well.  Involvement is a way to put your skills out there by stepping out of your comfort zone and “AHA” molded my attitude and perspective in cooking. The principles and experiences I have learned during my stay in AHA helped me proved to myself and colleages that I can keep up with different cultures because the school trained us to be globally competitive while respecting others’ opinions on food.

– Chef Janine Tolentino
(Beau Rivage a MGM Company)

Chef Jane’s

One of the things that I am very grateful about going to AHA is that it provides an international recognised education. It gave me an edge and that helped me get a Chef de Partie job in a famous international chain hotel in Sydney.

AHA instilled punctuality in my life. It may seem like its a miniscule thing but just being able to turn up early implies that I respect my employer and co worker’s time.

At the start of my culinary education the idea of creating a recipe seemed very daunting. AHA has given me a solid culinary foundation with the necessary understanding of techniques,subtleties of flavours, pairing and balance that has helped me become a more confident chef.

– Chef Jane Adair
Chef de Partie
Park Royal Hotel, Sydney, Australia

Chef Michael’s

I am thankful that I entered AHA because it is a great school and it taught me how to value time and to be always on time. To make sure that I will always execute work well and they taught me great culinary techniques. I applied all what I learned at aha which made me a great chef and share my talents and skills to the world. There migh have been struggles but each hardship was a stepping stone to becoming a world class professional chef.

– Chef Michael Pantaleon