MANILA, Philippines--In one of my restaurant courses at school, my classmates and I had to do a theme night. My theme was a Philippine dinner. I was supposed to prepare two dishes and a dessert. I had to come up with something unique, exotic, easy to prepare and, most of all, delicious. I had eight people under me and had to supervise the preparation and service.

My experience with the family restaurant in Paris inspired me to choose dishes that diners raved about: A succulently tender spare rib dish, grilled prawns with creamy crab fat sauce, and for dessert, sans rival. Making the dessert was so difficult that I had to do it five times before I felt it was good enough to serve.

Combination

Among desserts, the sumptuous sans rival is a sure winner. You can either have it crunchy or chewy. I love the combination of butter, cream, nuts and the crunch of baked egg whites.

A friend from Vancouver, Anna Legaspi, makes a mean sans rival. On past birthdays, I would get one from her and keep it to myself?it was that good. Another friend, Michelle Tiangco, once brought a fantastic mango sans rival from one of the bakeshops on Pasong Tamo Extension. I have not encountered a sans rival of the same caliber since?until I met Jill Sandique Deliz.

We were judging the Cagayan de Oro Kumbira cooking competition with other chefs from Manila when Jill asked me if I had ever tried her sans rival. ?Not yet,? I answered. I was excited because I was aware of this pastry genius? reputation. It took three weeks before I received a ?Delize?-marked box full of precious sans rival. She reminded me to keep them in the freezer if I wanted them crunchy, and in the fridge if I wanted them chewy.

Jill?s sans rival was unique because it was made with pistachio nuts, instead of the usual peanuts. Pistachio sans rival! When I took my first bite, it made me hum with satisfaction! It was outstanding and truly ?delize-ious?!

If you want to satisfy that sans rival craving and experience the same ecstasy, call chef Jill at 0922 826-2673 or 0917 777-7170. Happy eating!

E-mail sandydaza@shaw.ca