A 'burp' episode on Rated K with Louie

With all the inventions and gadgets and the never-ending upgrading of technology, the world seems to be running at a galloping speed. Television, which is essential in modern living, has no choice but to keep up with the pace.

Until two to three decades ago, talk shows only had one guest per episode. Today, female celebrities spend hours in the beauty salon getting dolled up  only to be asked two questions in their guest stints.

Even a docu-magazine show needs to have several topics on its menu to prevent viewers from changing channels  what with everyone suffering from short attention span, no thanks to various distractions all around. When Balitang K, for instance, was launched in the latter part of the ’90s, this program hosted by Korina Sanchez only had three features at most per episode.

Today, her Rated K has more items compared to the ingredients that go into the richest halo-halo this side of town. I caught one episode several Sundays ago and Korina had a priest who ended up marrying a nun (they both left their vocations for their love for each other), a paraplegic who becomes a runner, and a poor family who gets a new dwelling place two years after Ondoy.

And we didn’t even count yet the show’s piece de resistance  current activities of showbiz people who had gone on vacation, away from the entertainment scene. This topic even had to be divided into several segments as it followed semi-retired artists to find out what is keeping them busy these days.

Baron Geisler after his rehab had gone into Bible reading. That’s not really big news because Ricky Lo only a few months ago had an interview with the actor for this paper and for Startalk.

But Melanie Marquez studying law was news to me. The former Miss International is now also into visual arts. She melts and molds different colors of candles and turns these into framed artworks.

 The Melanie segment could still have been expanded because I wanted to know where she is taking up law (as per my last interview with her, she married an American surnamed Lawyer). I also wanted to see in detail her art pieces made from molten candles. But that feature went so fast the viewer is left hanging and crying for more.

More substantial was the part on Elizabeth Oropesa, who is now a full-time healer based in East Fairview. When we were still both members of the Cinema Evaluation Board, we noticed that she just disappeared and when I asked around, she was supposed to have decided to keep her base in Baguio City  yes, to practice her healing.

After four years, she is now a licensed acupuncturist and even holds a doctorate degree on alternative medicine from Sri Lanka’s Columbus University (couldn’t the staff have gotten it wrong  maybe it’s Colombo University because that is the capital of this country that used to be called Ceylon?).

The most delectable feature in that umbrella topic, of course, has to be Louie Heredia’s paella.

Louie isn’t actually retired. Not so very long ago, he had a very successful ‘80s reunion concert with other big pop music idols from that era. In fact, that even went on tour all over America.

As for his paella, I’ve tasted that in 2007 when I hosted a reunion at my house for former Lunch Date regulars  Randy Santiago (with wife Marilou), Tina Revilla and Toni Rose Gayda. Even Wilma Galvante (the genius behind that quality of a noontime show) was there.

Since it was a potluck affair, Louie brought paella and it’s the best I’ve ever tasted. While I was able to savor it, I was unaware all along that he puts a secret powder (unrevealed) that he stirs into this dish that makes it taste different from other paellas. I only found that out in Rated K where Korina even succeeds in asking him to sing his signature song Nag-iisang Ikaw while cooking his culinary masterpiece.

Louie’s paella doesn’t come cheap at P3,200 per order but that can feed an entire party. I will be the one to tell you that the price is worth it because he never scrimps on ingredients (like whole crabs mixed into it).

Ordering paella from him will also double as charity work for you since he donates a percentage of his income from the paella business to indigent patients who cannot afford to pay for medical examinations. Philippine Heart Center’s PR Sonia Arellano is even called in to testify on Louie’s generosity.

Louie is a friend, but I wasn’t even aware of that kind of charity deed from his end  until I watched Rated K, which  with its multi-segments  had become a cornucopia of information.

And so how do I rate that episode of Rated K? Like Louie Heredia’s paella, it’s, burp, filling.