Revolutionizing Chamorro Cuisine

Guam has many brilliant and gifted individuals in a myriad of professions and trades. Through their specialties, these exceptional people work to instill pride and respect for our culture and island, as well as represent our beloved Pacific home to all members of the trade. One figure in this league of extraordinary talents is Peter Duenas, a budding restaurateur, experienced local chef, and television personality. Duenas, more notably known as “The Outdoor Chef,” is co-creator and star of the local television cooking show bearing the same name. The show takes the viewer on an adventurous culinary ride; from hunting wild boars with cross bow to net fishing in the middle of the night, while sharing  tricks of the trade and a couple of recipes.

Our conversation took place at the site of Duenas’ restaurant, Meskla Chamorro Fusion Bistro, which opened in late Marchof this year. The restaurant boasts a calming, home-like atmosphere, a contrast to the surrounding bustle of Marine Corps Drive. According to Duenas, this was the impression he had aspired to achieve.

“I wanted it to have a homey atmosphere, but yet (with) a touch of class…People asked if it’s going to be fine dining. I said no. The reason why I called this a bistro, a Chamorro Fusion Bistro, is because I still wanted to keep away from the fine dining stuff and become, what I call ‘fun dining,’ I want it to be fun dining. We want to develop a kind of a family-oriented type of environment.”

Upon entering, the amount of hard work and dedication that was invested into Meskla is clearly noticeable. The tables, chairs, bar and upholstery are handmade, with niches reserved along the walls for the locally inspired artwork of Duenas’ brother and business partner, Bryan. With success in his profession and a flourishing local cooking show, many wonder what inspired Peter Duenas to pursue the culinary arts in the first place.

“I guess it probably had a lot to do (with the fact) that I was a chubby child, and I loved to eat food so that was the drive behind it,” Duenas joked. “I love to eat and I was fascinated by how food is prepared, what makes food taste good, and how to make good tasting food.”

During family get-togethers, Duenas showed interest in participating and observing the preparation process of the party’s menu; from slaughtering the pigs to cleaning, butchering and preparing the dish, Duenas wanted to see it all.  His eagerness to learn caught the attention of many of his relatives. “I guess it was always talked about in my family that this boy is going to be a chef one day. It was always said, I can remember very clearly many of my family members saying that,” Duenas said.

The road to his senior year in high school was marked as an experimental stage in his life. In his own words, he became a delinquent, taking a toll on his relationship with his parents. “I was out and about, roaming the streets, raising havoc, (and) my friends weren’t very good influences, nor was I,” he said. One day, his parents offered him an opportunity to attend a seminar that promoted team and confidence building, as well as professionalism. The seminar resulted in notable changes in Duenas, which led his parents to present him a deal of a lifetime. If he could pick a career path, they would fully support him both financially and mentally.

“It was at that point that I said ‘okay, let me think about it.’ A day later, I said ‘I want to be a chef. I want to pursue my love for the culinary field.’”

The pursuit led him to downtown San Diego, California, where he attended an 18-month program in food & beverage management, hospitality management, and culinary arts at Century Culinary Schools. “Two years later, I ended up back here in Guam, and pretty much stayed here most of those years. I’ve gone back to California for a year at a time, a couple of times, and that was it. I always managed to come back here, and I started my culinary arts career here, really.”

Throughout his years in the culinary field, ten of those years were spent at Sam Choy’s on Guam. Many apprenticeship opportunities arose for the local boy, including chances to work with distinguished chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Todd English, and Dom DeLuise, to name a few. Working in the culinary field definitely has its perks. In addition to working for or alongside such notable chefs, Duenas met some celebrities, such as The Godfather’s Al Pacino and Playboy Enterprises Inc. founder Hugh Hefner.

With experience in the field that he loves, Duenas branched out to accomplish something most chefs ultimately aspire to do: open their own restaurant. A motivator for this endeavor was his dissatisfaction in the representation of Chamorro cuisine.

“Not (to say) that the food that’s going out to tourists or off-islanders is bad; it’s good food. Red rice, barbeque, finadenne, and maybe chicken kelaguen are the four things that we’re known for…I guess what I’m saying is I always wanted more for Chamorro cuisine. I wanted to bring Chamorro cuisine to the next level.”

Through Meskla, he hopes to accomplish that goal by mixing Chamorro flavors and techniques with classical French cooking methods, as well as incorporating Asian flavors and cooking styles, a combination that is sure to delight even the most discerning of taste buds. Ryan Fernandez, manager of the Meskla Chamorro Fusion Bistro, finds Duenas’ vision something that should be admired. “He really wants to take Chamorro flavor to a whole new level,” said Fernandez. “To me, that’s one of a kind. He’s willing to take from the different areas and make it a Chamorro thing. Also, he wants to make the taste of Guam known throughout the region.”

Combining his zeal for cuisine with his passion for Guam and the outdoors creates a unique fusion. This down-to-earth, truly magahit person has taken his individual interpretation of Chamorro cuisine to an entirely new synthesis at the Meskla Chamorro Fusion Bistro. Peter Duenas, is most definitely revolutionizing Chamorro cuisine.

Q&A with Peter Duenas

How did the concept of “The Outdoor Chef” come about?

-      IIt’s a very funny story. One day, my brother and I were talking and then, my brother, Bryan Duenas, who is a graphic artist and an artist by nature, period, and loves art and all aspects of it, we were talking one day, and I kind of said “Hey, what if we get some camera equipment and start filming what I like to do.” And what I like to do, obviously I’m a chef by trade and I’ve been for many years now; I also have a culinary degree and I’ve gone to a few culinary schools. I also love to hunt, fish…I’m an avid outdoors man. I guess you could say, any chance I get, I’m out there. And, it gives me peace of mind. There’s excitement, there’s adrenaline, not only that, it’s beneficial if you’re successful in either the hunting or fishing, in the sense that whatever you catch, you get to eat. So I told him, I said, “hey, why don’t we do a show that focuses on the two things that I like to do, which is hunting or fishing, outdoors period, and cooking. You know, half and half. Initially, we thought about doing DVDs, that was our game-plan. Let’s get some camera equipment, let’s get some audio equipment, and let’s start doing these DVDs.  Two weeks later, camera equipment and all this stuff from New York, and “The Outdoor Chef” just kind of evolved into what it is today. We’ve never looked back since. From DVDs, we said “hey, let’s do a TV show.” We thought about doing a one hour TV show, and we got some advice from friends in the industry who said “one hour’s kind of long. It’s a lot of work.” So, we basically took a 30-minute slot and just did it. We definitely had support along the way. Joey Calvo from KUAM gave some great advice. We just kind of went along with it, and never looked back since.

Did you and your brother develop Magahit Productions?

-      We developed a company called Magahit Productions. Magahit is a Chamorro word for “it's true,” or “it’s the truth, it’s for real.” We kind of liked the name, not only because it was local Chamorro, but because it had a nice meaning to it. There’s no acting, there’s no pretending, it’s for real. That’s the stuff I like to do, and the food I make is “for real.” For the most part, I try to be who I am. We’re sitting here, talking, and that’s who I am. I’m a regular local boy; I love to eat, I love the outdoors, and have a good time too, but at the end of the day, a lot of people tell me they like the show because it’s real, local stuff and there’s some humor too. Those things make us feel really good like, you know “hey, we’re not out acting, trying to be something we’re not.” We’re promoting Guam people, Guam food, incorporating it into my own professional style. That’s it, and there’s straight up-and down, there’s no pretending.

Is there one thing you’re afraid to do?

-      No, I actually am pretty enthusiastic about all aspects of the outdoors. I don’t know about skydiving, but I’m definitely down to give something a try at least once to see if I like it. Our next show coming up this weekend is a snowboarding show in Japan that we did this past Christmas season. We’re all around; we just kind of like to do whatever. And if someone gives us a suggestion like “hey you should do this,” we’ll try to run with it as best we could, even if it’s something I haven’t done. I’ll at least give it a shot and see how it works.

What is it that you like to do in your downtime?

-      Like I said earlier, every chance I get, I like to go out and indulge in the outdoors. It kind of gives me peace of mind. When I’m working really hard and stressing out, it kind of relieves some of that. Whether it be fishing or hunting, those are my two favorite things to do. And if I’m not doing that, then spending time with family (at) family get-togethers whenever possible, barbeques, (and) hanging out with friends. Now that I’m doing the “Outdoor Chef,” some of the only chances I get now because of (Meskla) is when I’m filming and some of my friends come over and hang out and get to enjoy some of my food through that, and of course, also being a part of that outdoor activity, whatever it is. I like to do normal stuff too, you know, go to the movies and do all the regular stuff that people love to do.