Kumbira Festival

The Cagayan de Oro Hotel and Restaurant Association (COHARA) proudly celebrated its 10th year anniversary with the successful holding of the three-day Kumbira 2006 at The Atrium in the city's Limketkai Mall.

The holding of the Kumbira, a culinary show and live competition, has become an annual COHARA tradition since its organization in 1996. Scheduled right before the city fiesta on August 28, it has served as an appetizer for the city's week-long celebration in honor of her patron saint: St. Augustine.

It is where culinary students and professionals in the food industry get to show and prove their skills in cooking, food preparation, table setting, beverage mixing and the like. Kumbira, the local term for banquet, has gained recognition as the most notable culinary event in Mindanao and is considered the second best to the Chefs on Parade in Manila.

"The event (Kumbira) continues to improve and it's getting better every year. The participation of students makes it more meaningful as we are assured of more chefs in the future," said one of the judges, Chef Thomas Wenger of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

COHARA was organized through the initiative of the Department of Tourism Region 10 with the aim of uniting hotel and food industry players, and for the DOT to hasten its reservations in hotels and restaurants to accommodate the increasing number of conventions held in the city.

Since its organization, COHARA has continuously updated the skills of its employees through training and seminar workshops with the experts in both industries. It has worked with the Canadian Executive Service Organization, which trained hotel and restaurant workers on the different aspects of the hotel and restaurant operations.

"We, the members, have become friends in the industry so there's a healthy competition among us," said Alexis "Ging" A. Chaves, COHARA president and Kumbira's over-all chairperson.

For their continuing education, COHARA members regularly attend the Chefs on Parade in Manila and other culinary festivals in the country. The organization has also been recognized as the leader in the promotion of tourism development in Northern Mindanao. It is an affiliate chapter of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines.

As part of COHARA's social responsibility, it involves itself with outreach programs such as milk feeding, gift giving and sponsorship of meals for orphans and the needy in the city.