I MET him through Philippe Agustin, a Filipino-New Yorker who, having been in between jobs when I visited, became my de facto guide to the city. I knew nothing about New York, much less about fancy food, that when my cultured bum buddy introduced his Upper West Side neighbor Chef Jayme proudly – “He worked at Balthazar” – I just smiled, all the while wondering if Balthazar was a shoe store or some kind of museum.

It’s a restaurant. Apparently quite a popular one.

I realized soon enough why Chef Jayme was an asset. As with other Keith McNally (owner/creator) restaurants, if you are not Nicole Kidman or Keanu Reeves or some other celebrity, you would ordinarily have to wait an average of 45 minutes to get a seat at the chic French bistro. With Chef Jayme, we not only got seats within five minutes, we got a few kitchen freebies too.

Chef Jayme in fact is from Manila. He studied at La Salle, got his undergrad from the College of St. Benilde, but later followed his passion for cooking and enrolled at the International Culinary Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Balthazar was Chef Jayme’s first stint after graduation. He says that this was where he learned everything he needed to know. He started out peeling vegetables but moved up to fish and meat until he had been fully trained by critically acclaimed New York chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nazar.

Post-Balthazar, he continued learning, moving on to work with the internationally acclaimed and very popular Italian celebrity chef Mario Batali at Otto Enoteca Pizzeria in Greenwich Village. He must have made a good impression because Batali allowed Chef Jayme to work in two more of his restaurants, Lupa and Babbo. By the time my bumming was done a few months later, Chef Jayme had moved on to another fine dining establishment called Fiamma. Then on to training with Wolfgang Puck at Postrio. Then back to Fiamma when they offered him to open their branch in Arizona as executive chef. All this in the short period of three years.

I figured Chef Jayme would live in the United States forever. We shared with each other our dreams: I was going to become an Asian Katie Couric and he would become some kind of Asian Batali or Wolfgang Puck. But apparently he had always had a craving for home. He used to email me about his dreams of opening his own restaurant in the Philippines, with the early ’90s mentality that Filipino restaurants were very much behind. I was quick to inform him that quality restaurants have been mushrooming not only in Makati but also in Quezon City, Taguig and even as far south as Tagaytay. Still, Chef Jayme wanted to come home and show Manila what he’s got.

Fast forward to 2009, and he is back home. He is making his entrance by way of Jozu Kin, a Japanese fusion restaurant owned by children of the Villavicencios of Triple V fame. But as corporate chef, Chef Jayme is determined to show that Jozu Kin is no Saisaki. So while standards like giant tempuras and gindara teriyaki are maintained, Chef Jayme has put in his own New York flair.

“I used what I’ve learned and ‘Japanized’ these,” Chef Jayme explains. He did it the other way around; instead of ’Frenchifying’ Japanese food, he ‘Japanized’ his favorite Italian and French dishes. Take foie gras. Who would ever imagine foie gras at a Japanese restaurant? Chef Jayme has created a dish called Pan Fried Foie Gras with Hachimitsu Glaze. Apparently, orange blossom hachimitsu is a favorite pairing for foie gras in pan-Asian restaurants in New York; and Chef Jayme has recreated this favorite at Jozu Kin. The pan fried foie gras is excellent, by the way, although the pairing of rice and mangoes, an unexpected combination, may take a bit of getting used to.

From Balthazar, he brings to us “Sushi Ebi Balthazar Style.” This is sushi but lathered with rosemary, garlic and thyme. The Asian flavors are very pronounced, although I do not recall this concoction at Balthazar at all. Maybe it was one of those things on the menu I couldn’t afford. Inspired by Batali, he offers the Black Pepper Pasta. Inspired by Postrio, he offers Miso Glaze Gindara, which blends the sweetness of sugar and soy sauce cunningly without destroying the flavors of the fish. As well, there’s pan seared scallops bathed in truffle oil. My favorite is the Spicy Tuna and Crispy Salmon Temaki, which blends all flavors of sweet, spicy, salty, savory and umami in a seaweed cone, tickled with crunchy touches of fish skin.

More than Chef Jayme’s creations, the restaurant also capitalizes on its ingredients. They use Maldon sea salt, premium fish and beef (Matsusaka) and extra virgin olive oil. This sea salt, by the way, is amazing. I think if you have this salt you won’t need any Chef Jayme in your kitchen, he-he.

A few years back, when I wrote about Chef Jayme in an article targeted for cooks who wanted to work abroad, I wrote, “For now, we Filipinos loan Chef Jayme to New York. We can only hope that in the near future, New York will pay its dues and bring this culinary genius and his expertise back home.”

It has. And we welcome him home. •

Jozu Kin. Unit ES 2 Forbes Town Center, Burgos Circle, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Tel. (632) 403 1875. Ground floor wheelchair accessible. Approx. P800-P1500 per head. Parking lot quite far but parking by sidewalk allowed. Only select credit cards accepted.