MANILA, Philippines - The Institute of Culinary Arts and Food Service (ICF), backed by the Pancake House group of restaurants, has found a new home at the Makati campus of the Far Eastern University (FEU).

The result of the collaboration is ICF@FEU, a school that offers a variety of courses -- from cake decoration classes and food aesthetics subjects to customized training programs for bartenders, waiters and cooks in hospitals.

The culinary school, which was recently launched to the press, boasts of modern kitchens, individual cooking stations, friendly installment schemes, alternative classroom activities and job placement programs, and a restaurant (The Loop) where students can hone their skills.

But above all these, ICF@FEU takes pride in its roster of chefs and instructors.

"ICF@FEU puts an emphasis on teaching proper technique to ensure that our students will be ready to face any and all cooking scenarios in the real world," said Ma. Paz Sales, the school's director.

All of ICF@FEU's chefs have traveled to different places, shaped several young minds and won numerous awards as they pursue their passion for cooking and food preparation. But have you ever wondered what these top chefs love to eat?

Abs-cbnNEWS.com asked 5 of ICF@FEU's chefs about their favorite dishes, and these are what they said:

Chef Joey Herrera

Chef Joey Herrera, the culinary program head of ICF, has 6 years of teaching experience, an international cooking competition gold medal, and several more accolades in the bag.

After completing his BS-HRIM degree, he took up culinary studies at the Regency Institute of South Australia and worked abroad. He specializes in French cuisine, and admits to have come from a long line of food lovers.

But at the end of the day, Herrera shared that he finds comfort in a simple adobo dish with steamed white rice.

"The oil of adobo is in my blood," he said in jest.

Chef Jason Stacy

From being a dishwasher, Chef Jason Stacy worked his way up and cooked for the world.

Stacy, who specializes in American-European dishes, graduated from the Western Culinary Institute of Portland's Le Cordon Bleu program in 2006 and worked with very prestigious firms such as the Pacific Coast Restaurant Group (also based in Portland).

Married to a Filipina for 9 years, Stacy shared that he decided to teach at ICF@FEU to learn more about the Filipino palate.

Not surprisingly, his favorite dish is chicken tinola. "I love simple dishes. I love chicken tinola. It makes me happy. Food is all about moments," Stacy said.

Chef Maigie Feria

Chef Maigie Feria admits that she has always been passionate about baking and cake decorating.

After completing a degree in BS Hotel and Restaurant Management in St. Scholastica's College, Manila, she left the country to be a cake artist for the prestigious Le Notre Paris restaurant.

"My specialty has always been baking," shared Feria.

Over the years, Feria expanded her culinary skills to cooking a variety of cuisines. She has also been active as a judge in various students' patisserie competitions.

Asked about her favorite dish, Feria said, without a moment's hesitation, "Chocolate torte with Baileys (Irish cream)."

Chef Ramon Castillo

Chef Ramon Castillo is synonymous to baking, pastries and chocolate.

Already with a degree in finance from De La Salle University and an MBA from Baruch College in New York, Castillo decided to take a different route and finished a professional patisserie course at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School.

Since then, he has shaped many young minds and helped them become accomplished pastry chefs. Prior to joining ICF@FEU, Castillo was a chef instructor at renowned culinary institutions in the country such as the Maya Kitchen, St. Scholastica's College, College of St. Benilde and Center for Culinary Arts, among others.

For the pastry and chocolate artistry expert, life has always been sweet -- a serving of torta di amaretti (flourless chocolate cake with amaretti) never fails to brighten up his day.

Chef Mon Lota

Chef Mon Lota, who hails from Batangas, is highly experienced in kitchen operations and catering services, as well as in conducting seminars about food.

Prior to ICF@FEU, Lota was director for culinary arts at Most Institute -- one of the country's premiere cooking schools -- and has won various accolades for the school.

Lota loves to eat everything, but admits that he finds joy in any Asian dish, particularly Chinese.

"Like Anthony Bourdain (a chef, traveler and writer), I like to travel and go to hole-in-the-wall restaurants," he said.

For more information, log on to www.icf.com.ph and www.feu.edu.ph.