Chef Instructor Hannah Lei Tiro
Inspirational Speech
Toque Ceremony of Batch 23

Administrators, Faculty, and Staff of Culinary Institute of Cagayan de Oro, parents, guests and apprentice chefs, Good evening!

Tonight, I'm honored to give an inspirational message to our aspiring chefs here. But before giving that, I would like to congratulate all of you, batch 23 for your successful grand buffet.

Let me share this to you first… when I was younger, I was already exposed to cooking and baking. I love and enjoyed working in the kitchen but it was never in my list of dreams and ambitions. I graduated college and became successful in my chosen field. I was following my dream-path, but somehow, my passion caught up with me and subconsciously, it was carving its own path for me to walk on. I then realized this is my calling. It was never my dream to become a chef and more so, a teacher. But God has made me both. Being a chef instructor was never easy for me. It was a great challenge. CIC played a big part of my success because it has opened an opportunity for me to expose and hone my skills in the kitchen. My chef instructors, who happens to be my colleagues now, they were my inspiration. Especially Chef Malou who always pushed me and motivate me to become good and even better in what I do. What I am now, what I have become, I owe it to them, my CIC family. Being a chef instructor may not be my dream or ambition but now it became my passion. Why? Because, aside from the fact that i got to work in the kitchen, I am also able to share my knowledge to the students. Imparting what you know or learn is something really fulfilling. While I was composing this speech, I was really thinking on what to say that could inspire you so I also thought of sharing this, when I was a student at CIC like you, I wished to work in a cruise ship or in famous hotels and restaurants abroad. Later on, I dreamt of having my own restaurant. But I said to myself “don't be too ambitious”, you cannot afford to have one.  But God is so good that He has his own way of making my dream become a reality.

The reason why I’m sharing this to you is because I want to emphasize that we all have our own dreams and ambitions and it could be different from our passion. I know some of you here are already successful in your career-paths but just like me, you were searching for something more, right? You are all here because this is your calling, your dream. But let this be not just your dream and ambition. Let this be your passion. Dreams they say are best when sleeping and ambitions are sometimes too far and too high, but our passion is in our hearts. It burns and makes us alive and wanting to do more and more.

Apprentice chefs, you are very blessed to have your parents and families to support you. Do not waste this opportunity to make your dreams come true. As you have come to almost the end of your student life, you are now ready to face a greater challenge, always remember that learning doesn’t stop here. Sooner you will begin your professional experience as trainees, and that means more learning. You must be open to new ideas, techniques and innovations in food.

When you go out your way to training experience, I want you all remember these, be disciplined, love your work, always keep an open mind and dream big. Dreams might sound childish, but remember, everything starts with a dream. Extraordinary ideas come from simple dreams. Now let your dreams motivate you to go further in life. If failure strikes and you feel like giving up just remember to keep going because it’s all part of it. And above all call on to Him for guidance.
Someday you will become real chefs in the culinary world; but wherever you may be, do not forget these qualities: perseverance, courage, strength, commitment, compassion, sacrifice, passion and determination. With all these, you can all be equally successful.

I will end this with my favorite quotation by Francois Minot. “ Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.” Congratulations apprentice chefs and good luck to your training. May God guide you in making the people enjoy their last bite. Thank you and enjoy the rest of the night.