Top Phl chefs take center stage in Paris

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine food products and fibers took center stage in Paris, France  at the opening ceremony of the Philippine exhibition – Archipelago of Exchange at the Branly Museum last  April 8, 2013. 

The affair was attended by 90 of France’s top media practitioners and museum lenders at a sit-down luncheon, and by 500 high profile guests at a cocktail reception. 

The event was a continuation of the Department of Agriculture’s European Food Circuit Tour project that aims to promote Philippine agricultural products catering to the mainstream European market. 

The annual food event, dubbed as Hapag Yaman – Top Chefs Working with the Best of Philippine Products, covers major European cities, in cooperation with the respective Philippine Embassy. 

In 2012, the event was held in Brussels and featured nine renowned Belgian chefs (five with Michelin stars and an award-winning pastry chef among others).

This year, the food promotional event, which comprised the Philippine exhibition’s parallel activity in Paris, featured 10 Filipino Manila-based chefs headed by two prominent principal chefs, Margarita Fores of Cibo and Cibo di M Signature Caterer and Victoria Pacheco of Chateau 1771. 

Fores impressed luncheon guests with superb execution of dishes – salad of muscovado-glazed duck ala mangue, Davao pomelos, Philippine mango, Ashen goat cheese log with field greens and rucola; soup of Philippine sinigang of langoustine and grouper; entree of beef tenderloin inihaw with Bignay au jus complemented with Philippine-made papaya atsara and nata de coco, and organic black and Dinorado white rice; dessert of pannacotta duet topped with dulce de leche, and tsokolate, pili and honey with Chevre cheese and Philippine dried fruits accompanied by Cordillera organic coffee with Coco Natura sugar. 

For the cocktail reception, Fores presented the tropical flavors and specialty offerings of the Philippines: pork crackling or chicharon curls with garlic mousse topped with salmon roe; barquillos cylinders with chive mousse topped with jambon de Paris crisp; crostini trio: creamed seafood ragu, chicken liver pate topped with calamansi marmalade, and beef tenderloin tagliata with Bignay au jus; Alaminos taba ng talangka and pork crackling sushi rolls.     

Chef Fores also served French cheeses – brillat savarin, mimolette chevre and caramelized brie de meaux complemented with fruits, jams and honey from the Philippines; and leche flan with macapuno for dessert.   

Pacheco’s delectable offerings, on the other hand, during cocktail, elicited rave comments on her tuna gravlax, seafood brochette, lamb caldereta, fresh smoked spring roll and ox tongue adobo vol-au-vent and saba banana tart. 

The chefs made use of the ingredients which were sourced from Fresh Start Organic Food Store, Global Organic and Wellness Corp. (Glowcorp) and Sagada Cooperative for the organic black rice, white dinorado rice, heirloom rice and muscovado sugar; Castillejos Agri-Farms Inc. for the assorted fruit jams; Los Ricos Compania Corp. and The Churner Group for the Coco Natura and Suchero cocosugar; Zubufoods for the Calamansi Marmalade; Echostore Sustainable Lifestyle for the Civet Blend Coffee; Marigold Manufacturing Corp. for the Mama Sita’s assorted food mixes; Blufin Seafood Corp. and Philfresh Corp. for the octopus, squid, cuttlefish and tuna. 

During the cocktails, drinks were provided by Bleeding Heart Rum Co. (Don Papa Rum), Distilleria Limtuaco (Mango Rum) and VuQo Inc. (Philippine Premium Vodka). 

The display setting elicited praises for its unique and excellent craftsmanship and aesthetic appeal. The Philippine Chamber of Handicraft Industries Inc. (PCHI) was tapped by the Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA) to do the design for the museum’s foyer using Philippine natural fibers like abaca and piña which were mounted in glass panels for display while various prints and colors of tinalak were used as accents on the dining tables – all to complement the gastronomic experience, and invoking Filipino elegance to the venue. – DA-Office of the Agricultural Attache in Brussels