Robert Spakowski: The Chef of Tapella Tapas Bar and Restaurant

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Yeah, I think I guessed it right. Tapella is probably a playful combination of the words "tapa" and "paella" to indicate the specialties in the Spanish restaurant. But I forgot to confirm that with the chef because the food he served was more than enough to convince me that the restaurant was more than just about those two dishes.

When you hear Chef Robert Spakowski's name, you'll immediately deduce that he is a foreigner, or one with a foreigner for a father, but many of us would expect that he would be mostly talking in fluent English with very distinctive accent. Thus many of us were surprised he was more comfortable speaking with us in the vernacular.

Hearing him speak in Tagalog definitely removed the intimidation. We felt more comfortable knowing we would be interviewing someone who could easily speak in our mother language. No more nosebleeds for us.

To be able to capture everything he will share to us, I've decided to make a video recording so I can share every bit of the discussion, and oh boy! how interesting his life story was. Hopping from one job to the next and some times going back to where he started. Sounds like the story of my life!

One of my companion was able to summarize the essence of his story in one paragraph:

"Robert Spakowski was one of the first batch of graduates at the Center for Culinary Arts in 1999. When I asked him if being a chef is what he wanted when he was growing up, he told me that he really wanted to be a scientist and cooking is just a hobby. Chef Robert was eleven years old when he was first introduced to Japanese cuisine. He also worked at Chef's Secret. It was during chef Robert's random visit in Shanghai that he got to work out of the kitchen. He became a general manager of a 300-seat Italian restaurant in Beijing. He also held the post of the Executive Chef and Consultant of Planet Caviar in Shanghai, a Michelin-star restaurant from Switzerland. Chef Robert has also trained for a while in Spain but it was at the International Culinary Center in New York where he got most of his culinary training."

This guy with different nationalities due to many origins of his parents would really love to talk about how he seems to be a unique mixed breed but one thing is certain, he is a true-blue Filipino especially now that he is the man behind Tapella Tapas Bar and Restaurant.

Tapella Tapas Bar and Restaurant seems to have more seats outside for Al Fresco dining so just like the other restaurants in the vicinity, the place must be very busy during night time especially for professionals who work during the daytime and need a place to have a delightful dinner with colleagues, clients or friends. Perfect to meetup with just about anyone as it is in the heart of the Makati CBD.

I was actually invited to try out the restaurant and was told I could bring three companions with me. But because it was a week day, my wife and kids were all out at work and school so I decided to bring along fellow bloggers with me.

Foodies like me, each one enjoyed what Tapella had to offer. Our lunch was a fitting treat as we were all about to face a long day ahead as we attend another event after the restaurant review.

You can check out the video coverage of our interview with Chef Robert Spakowski below to get to know more about the man behind Tapella Tapas Bar and Restaurant:

If you are going to ask me how scrumptious the dishes at Tapella are, you will absolutely thank me for sharing to you our experience and our obvious recommendation for you to try out Tapella Tapas Bar and Restaurant too. It is definitely a great choice for your lunch or dinner treats whenever you're around the Greenbelt area, specifically at the lower ground floor of Greenbelt 5 just beside Greenbelt 1.

What were the dishes served by Chef Robert Spakowski to us? Aside from the complimentary breads, there was the Mixed Greens with candied Walnuts and Goat Cheese with Tamarind Balsamic Dressing, Mango Gazpacho with Salmon Roe and Crab, Marinated Fresh Anchovies, Sisig, Sausage and Egg on a Bed of Shoestring Potatoes, Truffle Cream Pasta, Garlic Sauteed Shrimps, Beef Salpicao, Red Snapper in White Wine Parsley Sauce with Mussels and Mushrooms, Seafood Paella, the Grilled Villagodio-Style Angus Beef Prime Rib, and finally a Choco Lava Cake for dessert.

Complimentary breads for starters

Mixed Greens with candied Walnuts and Goat Cheese with Tamarind Balsamic Dressing

Mango Gazpacho with Salmon Roe and Crab

Marinated Fresh Anchovies

Red Snapper in White Wine Parsley Sauce with Mussels and Mushrooms

Seafood Paella

Sisig, Sausage and Egg on a Bed of Shoestring Potatoes

Truffle Cream Pasta

Beef Salpicao

Garlic Sauteed Shrimps

Grilled Villagodio-Style Angus Beef Prime Rib

Choco Lava Cake

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