Ryan Jaranilla was second in command at the Olympic Catering Services of the Athletes’ Village in Beijing. He was in charge of planning the menu of over 12,000 athletes and 5,000 media people for the 2008 Olympics.
The kitchen was open for 24 hours everyday. Each day, the menus were different and tailored to diets of different types of athletes – a weightlifter needed a heavier meal than a gymnast. He had to factor in cultural food preferences, too.
“Definitely not a picnic,” he said to the Filipino press contingent.
Chef Ryan, as he wants to be called, works as a regional manager and executive chef for Aramark Corporation. Aramark is a food services company that the general public is likely to find in corporate cafeterias, theme parks, university cafeterias, sports stadiums, and the like. Aramark has also been the food company of choice for the Olympic Games for the last 10 Olympics.
The company held an internal contest of sorts to create a formidable team that it sent to Beijing. Chef Ryan bested 250 manager-level applicants from Aramark and became one of 11 manager-level applicants chosen for the Beijing Olympics.
Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of the Philippines. He went to the U.S. in 1991 to pursue greener pastures. He first worked part-time in a hospital and food and nutrition services.
In the States, he met Alex Jose, one of his mentors. Jose had the ability to inspire and motivate his people. He encouraged the young Chef Ryan to excel in his chosen field by building credentials and honing his craft.
Chef Ryan studied and earned associate degrees in nutrition and culinary arts from Westlake Culinary Institute, and certifications in catering management and event planning from California Polytechnic University in Pomona.
Armed with much needed credentials, the talented Chef Ryan went on to manage events, plan parties and create menus for Wolfgang Puck Catering. Prior to the Olympics, some of his more posh parties included the 2000 Academy Awards and the 2001 Grammy Awards.
He transferred to Lufthansa Airlines and became a sky chef as he managed food services and fed airline passengers.
In 2003, he joined his current employer, Aramark, and continues to hone his experience in hospitality and food industry. He manages the food services for University of California at Irvine (UCI). Part of his job includes cooking in the kitchen, planning the daily menus, and preparing for changes every now and then by introducing new dishes.
He holds monthly events called Dine with the Directors, a revolving test-marketing group comprised of about 30 students and faculty who try his new creations.
The fruit of this test bears Chef Ryan’s roots – Filipino food has become a staple on campus. He owes part of his success to the schools population; mostly of Asian descent. Always on the menu are chicken adobo, vegan pancit (made with tofu and vegetable broth, to satisfy these discerning palates) and halo-halo.
He is inspired with the traditional Filipino dishes and thinks that with just an improved presentation, Filipino food could appeal to a larger mass audience.
On the side, Chef Ryan runs his own catering and event-planning business, Dream Events by RJ. A business he’s had on the side for 10 years. He has created fairytale-like weddings and other special parties. His next big event will be a princess-themed party for his niece.
Throughout his career, Chef Ryan has participated in select culinary competitions. Most recently, he was a finalist in the Aramark Regional Higher Education Culinary Competition, held at the University of Southern California. He impressed the judges with his Asian-inspired glass noodle salad and barbecue pork stick, followed by an Asian-inspired sesame-ginger salmon served on top of paella. He finished off his entry with a coconut crème brulee served in coconut shells. He competed against 50 other Aramark chefs.
His interest in field of cooking is traced from his younger days in Iloilo. He was
was brought up in a family that encouraged creativity and appreciation for meals. His father was a soldier, but when he wasn’t working, he was cooking.
According to Chef Ryan, his grandmother is a great cook, too. She would call him to go into the kitchen and ask for help in washing the vegetables and do mundane stuff.
Another source of his inspiration was his aunt who was the Martha Stewart of their small town. Whenever there were town fiestas or weddings, she would decorate the church and the places where celebrations were held.
His task in the recently held Beijing Olympics is a culmination of a lifetime spent in the food and hospitality industry, where he has grabbed all the opportunities to hone his craft.
