Themes, things and wonderful beginnings
This season of plenty and warm-hearted celebrations with the family makes me grateful for a lot of things. After years of hosting various events, one cannot imagine the kind of effort necessary to make any celebration truly memorable. As a food stylist, a theme is of utmost importance.
One of the many privileges I enjoy as a culinarian and food stylist is getting involved in wonderful celebrations that more often than not include familiar faces as well as being surrounded by impressive talent; as we work together, we discover new ideas and great camaraderie in making magical moments come alive through various events.
The master: Juan Carlos de Terry shows the art of ham carving. At the recent Inaugural of W/17, an interior designer’s haven that is the brainchild of Kaye Tinga and Andrés “Andy” Vázquez-Prada (located at Warehouse 17 at the La Fuerza Compound along Pasong Tamo), I was assigned to prepare the dessert buffet. Creating a dessert buffet is always such an exhilarating experience, since W/17 is a venue that showcases unique pieces. They aim to provide home décor with character that suits your personality as well as provide livelihoods for various segments of our society. By merchandising locally designed products with world-class pieces, W/17 introduces the local designer to global competition. As I considered all these things, I had to think of desserts that were not only delicious but also visually stunning. You may think, “It’s just a dessert buffet, no big deal, you’ve done monumental cakes, this should be a breeze,” yet in handling significant events such as this one I’m compelled to think of what desserts I can prepare that complement both the venue and the theme. Does one serve cotton candy and donuts at a wedding or do you prepare elegantly baked cakes and pastries that suit both the occasion and the venue?
With that, I warmed the dessert buffet with a presentation of chocolate pralines beautifully embossed with W/17’s elegant logo, highlighted with a Marron Glacé Crepe Cake, composed of 30 layers of crepe filled with chestnut crème topped with marron glacé, a classic Concorde cake, some Opera slices, and an assortment of theme-colored French macarons. Also in the spread was an imposing croquembouche, or tower of caramelized cream puffs complemented with sponge fingers, a pillow type soft cookie filled with Italian butter cream and dusted with powdered sugar. These were accentuated with a refreshing display of Italian orange cake, lemon torte and strawberry shortcake to add color and for a perfect finish, a silver dish filled with Madelines half-dipped in chocolate. With a little flourish and a step back, an elegant dessert buffet awaited every single guest at W/17’s opening celebration.
Where local meets global: W/17, an interior designer’s haven On rare occasions such as these, where I am tasked to work with a group of people whom I consider the master class in their craft, I am overwhelmed and humbled at the same time. The spectacular spread was a mixture of exquisite floral décor and succulent food presentation by no less than Antonio Garcia of the Mabolo Flowershop. I was mesmerized by Juan Carlos de Terry of Terry’s Selection as he demonstrated the art of carvery, the proper way of carving a ham, which he did on a full leg of ham for all of us to see, combined with an impressive cheese table, which was covered with a wide variety of cheeses, artisan breads, dates and fruits sure to please any palate with its distinct and subtle flavors.
Before this momentous occasion was celebrated, Maricris Vazquez-Prada invited me to her home and asked me to bring anything I needed for the dessert buffet. With that I was whisked away into a wonderland of all things fine and beautiful, from elegant flatware to exquisite porcelain from everywhere in the world. Meticulously arranged, the organization and variety of wares was stunning, but more than that, Maricris gave me an experience I would not forget anytime soon by giving me an excellent Christmas gift: the recipe to the most awesome frozen eggnog I have ever had this side of the world.
The experience of working with the launch of W/17 left me with a lot of things to be thankful for: the realization that I am blessed to work with people who find joy in doing their work with excellence and with whom I can freely discuss ideas without sounding intimidating or arrogant, blessed to be able to witness beautiful things during monumental occasions, and more importantly, to be given a part to play in the grand scheme of the making milestones a memorable experience for everyone.
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Visions of china: The chinaware collection of Maricris Vazquez Prada, neatly arranged according to style and design 
