ASK him his name and his answer has its own story, like all the names of gifted men, or even a menu of tales.

?My first name is Him. That?s it,? replies Him Uy de Baron, the 31-year-old chef extraordinaire and consultant to East Café, nestled in the bosom of Rustan?s in Makati.

There are so many stories about his name. ?One is that my mom gave birth to me when my father was away, and was so excited about it. She had me baptized, gave me such a long name that when my dad came back home, he said, ?Why such a long name?? So he cut it short,? Him narrates. ?So he said, ?Him na lang.? It?s simple, he?s a boy and this is the most believable of the stories.?

His parents, Nicholas and Mercedita de Baron, ran an insurance brokerage, and Him was the fifth of seven children. From an early age, he sought good taste. ?I was very interested and curious about food, about flavors and textures, about how things come together ?
and that led me to try things out for myself,? he recalls, adding that he adores his Bulakeña mother?s Filipino comfort foods, such as sinigang. ?I?m a chef, I like doing crazy complicated food but I also like simple food,? he explains, mentioning the first of many powerful contradictions about himself.

There were early signs that Him was different ? and special. Instead of going out to play, he inhabited the kitchen, a place of power for him. ?On holidays, my brothers would be outside playing basketball, while I would be in the kitchen helping my mom,? Him recalls. ?And later on, I would take over.?

Ever the pioneer, Him was determined to blaze new trails, enrolling at De La Salle University-College of Saint Benilde, and emerging in 2000 among the first graduates of the highly competitive Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management (HIRM) program.

Then Him took a slight detour. He went to work for his parents for some time, but the kitchen called out still. ?The kitchen might pay minimum wage but I said, you know what, I was born to cook. So I quit my job and went back to the kitchen,? he says.

Him worked for chef Henry Canoy and then moved to Sydney in 2001. He explains that he excelled in the kitchen but not in the classroom at Benilde. ?When you look at my grades, it was mediocre. So when I had the opportunity to go to Sydney, I told myself, ?Hindi ako bobo [I am not stupid],?? Him says. Enrolling at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney gave him a chance to redeem himself. ?I took up the basics in cooking and discovered a newfound love for the professional kitchen.?

Everything led to that point, he saw: breaking off from his family?s brokerage, coming to Sydney to study and work, chasing his dream of becoming a chef. ?That was the moment I realized I was a chef. That?s how God created me, and that was to be my destiny. From there things fell into place.?

In 2003, Him returned, armed with a list of chefs he wanted to work with. One of the names on that list, Soleil?s Markus Gfeller, had just opened the Asian-oriented East Café in Rustan?s. ?And he threw me in here as head chef,? Him says. At East, he put himself to the test and found his mettle. ?It was the first time I had to do my own menu,? Him says. ?I was thrown into the fire, and it went well.?

After two years as a head chef, he felt the need to spread his expanding wings even further. He became a consultant for East. He no longer oversees the restaurant?s day-to-day operations, opting instead to look at the big picture, such as tracking the Café?s direction and menu.

?I don?t want [my style] to be fusion,? Him clarifies. ?My approach to Asian food is that we try to refine it a little bit more but not mask it with fusion flavors, so it?s not confusing.? His Pad Thai, in other words, is still Pad Thai ? just really, really good Pad Thai.

Beyond that, he has set out under his own flag, starting his own consultancy and catering gig called Chef Cuisine. Him has kept himself busy, redesigning menus and retraining staff for restaurants like Max?s and Travel Café Philippines, and even working with corporations like Del Monte and RFM.

Clearly, he has a star he is keeping his eye on: his own restaurant. But more than that, his own cuisine.

?The fun thing about catering is that your menu is different every night. And so I get to try what works with people, and it?s going to be a culmination of all the catering gigs I?ve done that were successful. I know it could turn out to be a mismatch, but I?m going to find a way to weave it all together to make it cohesive. The restaurant I want to have is really personal.?

That personal taste is diverse and ever evolving: ?I?m very influenced by Asian food. I go to Singapore a lot. French is still there with me, the techniques will be French but the flavors will be Asian. I want it simple yet refined, but also imaginative.?

The intense, deliberate Him has a life beyond the kitchen, no matter how dedicated he seems to be at the burners. He has been married to wife Kirsten for almost five years now, and has two children, 3-year-old Nala (whose name means ?much loved? in South African) and 5-month-old Suki. He spends as much of his time with them as he can.

His other sizzling passion is running. ?I try to do 40 kilometers a week,? he states. He also loves reading, and has had some articles published. ?If I weren?t a chef, I?d be a writer doing food.?

If that were the case, he would be a very adventurous and inquisitive writer. Everytime he eats somewhere new and is impressed, he gets energized. ?When I look at what other chefs do, I still get amazed by the flavor combinations, the imagination, and the techniques. I still eat out a lot.? The eating just never stops.

But Him has a little secret soft spot, too: he likes birthday parties, and loves throwing them for the orphans of Precious Children Heritage Home in Antipolo. ?Every kid deserves a birthday party. Kids in orphanages don?t get birthday parties. So every month we throw a party for all the kids whose birthdays fall on that month,? Him says, adding that he wants to keep it up, maybe even turn it into a foundation eventually.

All of it comes together like the pieces of Him?s life that he has been gathering all over the world and throughout the years: ?I like learning from people but I like being in control. My restaurant will be an expression of who I am ? and who I am is not forced or anything, but it possesses a new vibe. I?m not trying to be anyone or go against anything, it?s just about living now.?

Him?s kitchen runs at his?s own rhythm and speed. ?It?s like my playlist when I run, Chickenfoot, Daft Punk, Florence and the Machine, the Killers, Janis Joplin, Eminem and Morcheeba.? Cooling down, he tunes in to jazz, to the ministrations of John Coltrane and Billie Holliday. ?That?s why I wanted my own kitchen: I?ve worked in kitchens where either they don?t allow music or, when they have music, it?s ? bleah, turn that off!? He has many favorite acts, but the one he likes best is the British band Coldplay; in particular, their debut album, ?Parachutes.?

He has gathered the pieces and is ready to put in the final ones to complete the puzzle. Among his favorite movies is the 1981 Oscar-winning ?Chariots of Fire.? In the film, the runner Eric Liddell, played by Ian Charleson, was asked why he runs. ?He says, ?It?s because I feel God?s pleasure when I run.? It?s the same thing with me. When I do what I?m supposed to be doing, I feel God?s pleasure.?

That pleasure is one infused with flavor, his own personal taste, mixed with all that he has found and loved. ?I am sweet and salty. It?s beautiful, it?s one of the most beautiful flavors: salt caramel, sarap! I could be abrasive ? salty ? sometimes, but I can also be sweet.?

And he continues to refine that flavor, mixing ingredients and plating food. Him seems to just fit in the kitchen, sliding in effortlessly amid the eternal flames and the sharpened edges. ?Kitchens attract the most interesting bunch of clowns and hotheads. I?ve had people draw knives at each other. You really have to know how to play them for them to work. A kitchen is really high-pressure and to really get the best from people, you need to know how to manage them.?

It is here, after all, amid the nakedness of his fiery ambition and the coolness of his determination to find his own destiny, that Him Uy de Baron is most himself. ?

For information, visit chefcuisine.multiply.com.