CEBU, Philippines - If there’s one person who has given essence to the cinematic one-liner “trabaho lang, walang personalan”, it’s Indonesian executive chef Uyung Al Wazir of Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino Mactan.
At the food station of Uno where representatives of the said hotel, of Cebu Pacific Air, and of media outfits gathered for a feast of savory Bacolod dishes, over the weekend, as well as for the drawing of a winner in a recent promo, it was noticed that Chef Wazir defied spiritual beliefs (or orientation?) as he and his crew served pork dishes prepared the Bacoleño way like the pork pochero, kare-kare and sisig.
Unlike Cebuanos who literally “beef” up the pochero, the Bacoleños use pork pata for their pochero with sweet potato aside from sweet corn.
“I work to the pleasure of our guests. When you’re a chef, you break barriers. You take into consideration – and respect – the cooking culture of a particular region,” Wazir stressed.
The Bacolod Fest promo from October 1 to 8 encouraged guests to feast on Bacolod’s all-time favorite dishes to get a chance to win a free trip to the City of Smiles with roundtrip airline tickets and accommodations good for two at the Grand Regal Hotel in time for the “MassKara Festival”.
Rogelio Te of Davao City emerged big winner. The draw was carried out by Cebu Pacific representative Agnes Gupalor with Hembler Mendoza, general manager of Waterfront Mactan, and food and beverage manager Gina Adlawan.
Here are the dishes, spiced up the Bacoleño way, by the other chefs – Julius Lasala, Jessie Laurente, Enrique Mahinay, and Chief de Partie Rito Mananquil – under overall supervision of Chef Wazir.
“I give the instructions, they do the tasting,” Wazir pointed out.