MANILA, Philippines ? When chef Sara Moulton was doing a series on unusual careers for her TV show on the Food Network, she asked master food stylist Delores Custer to be a guest.

After all, Moulton herself had taken Custer?s class in food styling in New York, where Custer is based. During the show, Custer talked about techniques in food styling and showed viewers how to style a beverage so it looks chilled.

?We made lemonade and apple pancake,? she recalls. ?I also showed Sara how to use a Microplane zester.?

Moulton is only one of hundreds of chefs who have taken Custer?s class. They come from Colorado and Florida, from Washington and Ohio, as well as from distant countries such as South Africa, Germany, India and Argentina.

Pictorials

Many chefs and food professionals from the Philippines have also flown all the way to the United States to study with her, among them Helene Pontejos and Maricel Manalo of San Miguel Corp., Café Ysabel chef-patron Gene Gonzalez, Gino Gonzalez and Gianina Gonzalez, also of Café Ysabel and the Center for Asian Culinary Studies, food writer Corito Llamas, Rose Marie Lim of Caro and Marie Cooking School in Cebu, Dennis Hipolito of Unilever, Henrik Yu, Gina Navarro, Jill Sandique, Myrna Segismundo, Suzette Montinola, Marivic Diaz, Gigi Angkaw.

?Many chefs take my class because it helps them get ready for pictorials if, for instance, someone would be doing on article on them,? says Custer. ?Most chefs don?t like paperwork and just prefer to cook, but it?s always good to have a couple of recipes ready. Sometimes [they want to learn food styling] because they?re thinking of doing a cookbook or want to know how to promote their products.?

Some of her students, long after they?ve taken her class, still turn to her when they need help. Just the other day a former student called her all the way from Pakistan to ask advice on how to do an omelet for a TV commercial she was shooting.

Even her own daughter Danielle, who was named by Food and Wine Magazine as one of America?s best chefs, has taken her classes on food styling and recipe writing at the Culinary Institute of America in New York.

?One of the things that surprised me was how much Danielle enjoyed writing recipes,? Custer recalls. ?She has developed a good skill for that.?

Custer has also twice taught the staff of the Food Network a course on food styling and food presentation. Very often, says Custer, at the end of a show, the food is plated and it?s the staff that does this.

In gratitude for her help, when the Food Network recently came out with a cookbook, the entire staff gave Custer a copy of the book which they had all signed specially for her.

Fun project

Aside from her regular classes in New York, Custer travels all over the world to give seminars. ?When I went to Argentina to teach, I stayed at the Sheraton and the hotel brought in their main chefs from all over South America and Central America to take my class,? Custer recalls.

Another project she did which she found a lot of fun was teaching at the Disney Institute in Orlando, Florida.

?I did a one-day workshop for food writers,? she recalls. In fact Custer says she loves working with writers because they always ask good questions.

These days many people who take her class are young bloggers who want to learn how to take photos for their blogs and websites.

All these classes keep Custer extremely busy. In June, she?ll be giving a lecture in Boston University, while in the fall, she?ll conduct a workshop for General Mills as well as for a food service company in Wisconsin.

Luckily she has found some time in between to give a class in Manila this July. Custer will be teaching food styling techniques, the latest trends in food styling, step-by-step techniques behind the camera, as well as other topics during her seminar at the Sofitel Hotel on July 25.

Seminar fee is P2,500 for those registering and paying on or before May 31, and P3,500 after that date. For particulars, call 8978008 local 354 or 258 and look for Dolce or Alizza, or e-mail damiamo@inquirer.com.ph.