Kathy’s love for Chinese cuisine manifests strongly in her classes at the Heny Sison Culinary School, where she has been teaching since 2002. She notes that it was her grandmother who first taught her how to use the chopsticks and how to cook. “She would make it interesting by telling me the history of each meal and why it’s served in special occasions, such as the Braised Chinese Mushroom with Dried Scallop—my most memorable Chinese dish!” Like her grandmother, Chef Kathy often inserts nuggets of wisdom and entrepreneurial advice for her students. She livens up her classes with her animated and spontaneous personality. “It is very gratifying to know that the knowledge that you share can change the lives of some students, to know that they are successful in their own right,” she says of the joys of teaching.

Apart from teaching, Chef Kathy is part of Chef Heny Sison’s food styling team. She also manages her family’s Chinese restaurant, Ding Hao, in Calamba, Laguna, south of Metro Manila, and she runs her own catering service, Fat Kat.