Chef Nora Daza

Nora Guanzon Villanueva-Daza (1929 – September 13, 2013), popularly known as Chef Nora Daza, was a veteran gourmet chef, restaurateur, socio-civic leader, television host, and cookbook author in the Philippines.

Early life

Daza was born into a privileged family as a daughter of Alejandro Jose Villanueva, a high-profile engineer, and Encarnacion Guanzon, daughter of then provincial governor of Pampanga. Daza experienced a sheltered childhood filled with culinary adventures.

Culinary training

Daza obtained a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics from the University of the Philippines in 1952. She attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, from 1955 to 1956, earning a Master of Science major in Restaurant and Institution Management. At Cornell, she was admitted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Career

Daza became a judge of cooking contests held by Manila Gas Corporation from 1957 to 1960. She hosted television cooking showsAt Home with Nora and Cooking It Up with Nora to wide popular acclaim and viewership for several years. She was appointed Director of Manila Gas Cooking School where she selected, modified, checked, and kitchen-tested over five-hundred recipes for around three-thousand students who enrolled over a period of four years. Daza authored several cookbooks and became a columnist for several national dailies and lifestyle magazines. She has put up fine dining restaurants, including Au Bon Vivant, reputedly the first restaurant in Manila to offer authentic French cuisine.

Daza was elected Vice President of the Philippine Association of Nutrition, Secretary of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines, Adviser-Admiral of the Homemakers Club, Director of Hotel and Tourist Industries of the Philippines, and President of Philippine Home Economists in Business. In 1992, she ran for a seat in the Philippine Senate under the Nacionalista Party but lost.

Private life

Daza's son, Sandy Daza, is a chef and restaurateur specializing in Filipino and Thai cuisines. He has hosted television cooking shows and has written books and articles on cooking and baking. Daza's other son, Bong Daza, is a food entrepreneur specializing in processed meats and fish. He is the estranged husband of Miss Universe 1969 winner Gloria Diaz. He ran for vice-mayor of Makati City in 1998 but lost in the elections.

Daza died on September 13, 2013, in her sleep. She was 84 years old.

Publication

Let's Cook with Nora. Improved Edition. National Book Store, 1969.