(Ninth in a series)

FOUR months from now, chef Carlo Miguel will face the biggest, yet the sweetest, challenge of his life: marrying the woman of his dreams, Ria Vinzon.

On Feb. 21, in picturesque El Nido in Palawan, Miguel and Vinzon will exchange "I do's" after having been together for over two years.

The romance began in a blind date set up by common friends at People's Palace at Greenbelt.

"We hit it off right away," recalls Miguel, now executive chef of Sala and Sala Bistro. "There was no shortage of conversation on our first date. Everything felt so right. We saw each other again two days later."

Since then they've been inseparable. They share a lot of things-music, golf, food, gym and spa.

Miguel describes Vinzon, a businesswoman, as a person who loves life.

"She's like a ball of energy," he says. "Very vibrant and has a big personality. She's a kid at heart."

She also loves to cook, but definitely not as good as the seasoned chef, who started working in the kitchen of a restaurant in Sydney, Australia, when he was 16. His training-a good 10 years-was in Australia. He went to the Northern Sydney School of Culinary Arts.

"Being half-Filipino and half-Indonesian, she has prepared for me the traditional nasi goreng. Simple but very delicious," he points out.

Of course, he's no critic to her cooking. "Never," Miguel assures. "You know, when chefs have a meal cooked for them, they are the least critical. It's nice that they do the cooking for us."

When he has time-off from the resto, which is rare, Miguel cooks something special for her. She likes lamb, mushrooms and seafood so he works around those ingredients. An example is this special Prawn Cocktail (see recipe below) with very light dressing.

The prawn dish is traditionally made with mayonnaise, ketchup, tomato puree, brandy, Worcestershire and Tabasco. But Miguel tweaked it a bit by using a very light sour cream, horseradish with onions and canned tomatoes cooked in olive oil.

Wedding bells

Miguel's marriage proposal was-you said it, yummy.

"I proposed on our second anniversary in May. I took her first to People's Palace where we first met. We had lunch and had a day in the spa. I brought her home and cooked dinner."

She had no idea at all. Miguel baked a heart-shaped lemon sponge cake loaded with fresh strawberries. He also had grilled lamb tenderloin on a green pea risotto with salsa verde and ravioli.

"I proposed to her just before dinner," he says. "She cried. She wasn't expecting it."

"Our wedding will not be too stiff. Since it's on a beach, it will be quite relaxed and casual. The reception will be on a different island. Guests will be transported by boat," says Miguel.

He won't be cooking that day. His associates and good friends like Colin Mackay, owner of People's Palace, Sala and Sala Bistro, will be on top of the kitchen preparations. Menu will have very light, fresh island-filling food with Thai influence, such as whole baked fish-in-banana leaves with Thai-flavored sauces.

Now, is he really ready to take the plunge?

"Honestly? I'm so looking forward to starting the next phase of my life."

Chef Carlo's Prawn Cocktail

8 pcs fresh tiger prawns
1/2 pc lemon
300 ml water
50 ml white wine

Mari-rose sauce:
200 g tomato (canned)
1 pc onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp horseradish
1 tbsp creme fraiche
4 pcs basil leaves
a dash of brandy
a dash of tabasco

Salad:
1 pc butter lettuce
1 tbsp green apple (peeled and diced)
1 tbsp fennel (diced)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice

Bring water, lemon and white wine to a boil. Drop in the prawns and poach for three minutes and take out of the pot. Cool in the refrigerator, peel and clean the black trail. Set aside.

For the sauce: Dice the onion and sweat in the olive oil on low heat for 10 minutes. Add the crushed tomato and season.

Increase heat to medium and cook until well reduced about 35-40 minutes. Add chopped basil and cool. When cool add horseradish, creme fraiche, brandy and tabasco. Check seasoning and set aside.

For the salad: Wash lettuce and dry in a salad spinner mix with apple and fennel and dress with oil and lemon juice.

To assemble: Place some of the sauce in the bottom of two martini glasses, then add some salad and prawns. Drizzle some sauce over each prawn and garnish with lemon and parsley.