The likes of Elvis Presley, the legendary King of Rock and Roll, the English band, the Beatles with their mop-top hair, Jimi Hendrix, the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music with his afro hairdo captured our hearts 40 years ago and their melodies are still hummable today . We relived this era once again during the recent Chaine des Rotisseurs quarterly get-together held at the ballroom of the Cebu City Marriott Hotel.
Personable general manager Bruce Winton, dressed as Austin Powers, the international mystery man, and his wife Christina, clad in white go-go boots and mini shift dress, good naturedly welcomed guests with perfectly chilled champagne, wine, and sodas.
Michel Lhuillier, Bailli Delegue Philippines, came as Elvis dressed in white with silver studs complete with wide sideburns, a guitar on hand, dark shades, and white boots. His wife Amparito, Bailli de Cebu, wore a fitted lace top and a breathtaking full skirt in gorgeous matte gold cinched on the waist with a wide matching belt.
Prior to the formal dinner at the Grand Ballroom, two dedicated members of the club were elevated as officiers de la chaine. They were Marco Polo Plaza Hotel general manager Hans Hauri and retiree Michael Hennessey.
A refined and superb eight-course menu — with each dish carefully paired with an exquisite medley of wines — was created by executive chef and F&B director Brendan Mahoney. The dinner got off to a wonderful start with excellent farmed shrimp gazpacho, chorizo dressing, sea grapes, and calamari pasta. The succeeding courses had lapu-lapu poisson cru, hearts of palm with avocado ice cream followed by Philippine rock lobster, mascarpone cream, pomelo sabayan, and slow-roast Bicol vine ripe tomato.
The main course of natural root beer braised black Angus US short ribs was served with glazed fennel, vanilla potato sauce, sweet potato croquette, and toasted barley. Dessert was a twisted chocolate ganache, sauvignon-braised sugar pineapple, and Cebu rice sherbet.
All the kitchen staff under Mahoney’s supervision enjoyed a roaring applause from the guests who truly enjoyed the gastronomic feast.
The wonderful evening was concluded by performances of the University of Cebu and DJ War of the Penthouse who did several dance numbers reminiscent of the ’6os. Immediately after, Michel and Amparito took to the dance floor and exhibited their prowess in dancing the boogie and rock and roll. Everyone soon followed suit.
The exceptional efforts by GM Bruce Winton and the entire Marriott staff in planning this fun-filled event should be commended. They successfully conceptualized and executed a truly fabulous ’60s party.