Nora Guanzon Villanueva-Daza, popularly known as Chef Nora Daza, is a veteran gourmet

Gourmet

Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by elaborate preparations and presentations of large meals of small, often quite rich courses...

 chef

Chef

A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...

, restaurateur

Restaurateur

A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...

, socio-civic leader, television host, and cookbook

Cookbook

A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...

 author in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

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

Pampanga

Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...

. Daza experienced a sheltered childhood filled with culinary adventures.

Culinary training

Daza obtained a Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 in Home Economics

Home Economics

Home economics is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community...

 from the University of the Philippines

University of the Philippines

The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...

 in 1952. She attended Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 in Ithaca

Ithaca

Ithaca or Ithaka is an island located in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of and a little more than three thousand inhabitants. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It lies off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, from 1955 to 1956, earning a Master of Science

Master of Science

A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...

 major in Restaurant and Institution Management. At Cornell, she was admitted into the Phi Kappa Phi

Phi Kappa Phi

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society established 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study and to promote the "unity and democracy of education"...

 Honor Society.

Career

Daza became a judge of cooking contests held by Manila Gas Corporation from 1957 to 1960. She hosted television cooking shows At 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

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 to offer authentic French cuisine

French cuisine

French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...

.

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. Once, she ran for a seat in the Philippine Senate 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

Miss Universe

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....

 1969 winner Gloria Diaz

Gloria Diaz

Gloria Maria Aspillera Diaz is an award-winning actress in the Philippines, and the first Filipino to bring home the Miss Universe crown.-Early Life and Family:...

. He ran for vice-mayor of Makati City

Makati City

The City of Makati is one of the 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia...

but lost in the elections.