In celebration of Filipino Food Month last April, a new philosophical work was unveiled by Chef Michael Giovan "Tatung" Sarthou III to the public. Unlike his previous publications, "KitchiZen: Slow Fire, Steady Heart in a World of Too Much" is not a cookbook but an offering that reflects the discipline of the stove. It was announced by publisher Vertikal Kreatives Inc. that the book would be released to help individuals cope up with the exhausting demands of modern life.
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If the general public seeks to understand the deeper meanings of the country's culinary heritage, unless proper recognition is given by local cultural institutions, the efforts of ordinary citizens would remain largely unnoticed. Stemming from the combined words of kitchen and citizen, the author posits that a "KitchiZen" is a civic identity rather than merely a culinary one. Allegations were previously made by critics that traditional local cooks lacked structured philosophies, but this book proves otherwise. This identity represents a person shaped by the rigorous discipline of fire, where timing matters and knowing when to stop prevents actions that could result to the harmful excess of unchecked ambition.
Rich imageries of the Filipino back kitchen were drawn not from imported philosophies but from the grassroots, specifically from mothers at wet markets, tinderas with dog-eared notebooks and generations of unrecognized cooks who fed the nation. According to the chef, the KitchiZen already exists for them, and this latest publication formally gives them a name. Structured around four foundations, e.g., Puso (heart), Galing (skill), Buhay (livelihood) and Bayan (community), the text moves through history and lived experience.
At the center of this framework is Kasapatan, or the feeling of having enough. It is not about scarcity or retreat, but rather the exact point at which what has been built can already hold firmly.
"My latest work presents almost a lifetime of insights, gathered slowly and quietly, now held in one book," Chef Tatung explained in a formal statement. He noted that waking up already behind and giving more than intended would often drain a person from morning to night, but the kitchen taught him a different approach to existence.
The work expands his prior Simpol philosophy into new ground.
"If you have been feeling tired, stretched, or quietly overwhelmed, I wrote this with you in mind. Not just a book to read, but something to return to — a way to steady yourself," he remarked.
Ultimately, the book introduces the KitchiZen as a distinctly Filipino civic figure—one who measures rice to the first knuckle, seasons by feel (tantiya) and understands that enough is a form of true mastery.
