“Everybody loves to eat, but growing up with a Kapampangan mom just elevates your appreciation of food,” Dimples Romana says with a laugh. “I can’t recall a time when I wasn’t cooking or experimenting in the kitchen. It was always just a part of life.”
She was already an established character actress when she decided to take a break from show business and take up culinary arts as an Enderun scholar in 2005.
“I was pretty adept in a home kitchen already, but I really enjoyed learning the technical aspects of culinary arts,” Dimples says. “We often take the basics for granted, but when you know the little things, it gives you the confidence to grow.”
While she eventually returned to acting, Dimples still shares her passion for food with family and friends any chance she gets.
“I love feeding people at home,” she says with a smile. “Food makes people happy and I get happy when people appreciate what I’ve made.”
This love for sharing extends beyond her home. During times of calamity, she and her husband would prepare and deliver food packs for affected communities. It was this spirit of generosity that moved her to join Resorts World Manila’s (RWM) LOVE Dish 2017.
LOVE Dish lets people enjoy special recipes by local celebrities who are into culinary arts at select RWM’s signature restaurants. Proceeds from their sales will be donated to COR Foundation, Pasay Social Welfare and Development, and Right Start Foundation.
“To be able to help is a privilege that not everyone has,” Dimples says. “We all have skills and talents, and when you get the chance to give of yourself for others, you should take it.”
Dimples’ Salted Egg Prawns recipe received the haute cuisine treatment from Chef Cyrille Soenen, RWM’s Director for Culinary Arts and the first and only Master Chef of France in the Philippines.
The salted egg yolk flavor has recently enjoyed its turn in the spotlight, with the ingredient being slathered on everything from potato chips, to custard buns, to fried chicken.
“It’s a very timely and trendy dish, and I’ve put a very Filipino spin on it,” Dimples says of her recipe. “My dish is slightly sweet, very saucy, and goes very well with rice. Chef Cyrille has also added extra touches that gave it an extra depth of texture and flavor.”
Dimples Romana’s LOVE Dish is available at Passion 2F Maxims Hotel, Resorts World Manila.
For bookings and inquiries, visit rwmanila.com or call the tourist/visitor hotline at (02) 908-8833.