What's cooking? Ask Lizzie Zobel, Ina Ayala, Lizette Cojuangco & co.
MANILA, Philippines - We cherish a meal as much for its flavor and ambience as we do for the memories they create or call forth. When we entertain, we open our homes and our worlds, inviting our guests to savor what we love and enjoy.
Sharmila Hiranand, Lizzie Zobel, Ina Ayala, Lizette Cojuangco, Marianne Po, Anne Marie Saguil, Mandy Taboada, Marit Yuchengco and Kit Zobel have done just that with Martinis & Aprons: A Lifestyle Cookbook for Those Who Like to Entertain, the latest cookbook to hit the country’s bookstores.
From planning your party to setting the stage with flowers and décor, from creating a cheese platter to carving a holiday turkey, Martinis & Aprons presents with recipes, basic tips and entertaining ideas that would be most helpful to “a newlywed and, at the same time, a housewife who loves to entertain — like us,” says Ina Ayala.
Martinis & Aprons has a host of entertaining tips and treasured recipes from Manila’s top hosts and hostesses such as Chu Chu Madrigal, Carol Garcia, Maricris Zobel, Gina Roxas, Doris Ho, Karen Santos, Pia Lim, Raul Manzano, and many others.
Tina Maristela-Ocampo and floral designer Jaime Santiago Jr. talk about making your table bloom with just the right décor; restaurateur Margarita Fores shares her favorite pasta picks; wine connoisseurs Alex Lichaytoo, Edouard Miailhe and Fred Uytengsu share their thoughts on enjoying the fruit of the vine; and readers can now get their hands on Sigalit Djemal’s recipe for caviar pie.
For two years, the women behind Martinis & Aprons worked hard to make this dream a reality, going through more than 200 recipes generously given by friends and loved ones, taking photographs of 35 dishes in three days, and heartily discussing, debating and deliberating on every single aspect of the book.
Having a worthy cause helped immensely: all proceeds from the sale of Martinis & Aprons will go to Holy Family Home Foundation in Makati. Run by the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters, it is a refuge for abandoned and neglected girls, providing them not just with shelter and food, but also spiritual and emotional growth, so that they can become productive members of society.
“We have volunteered at the Holy Family Home and some of our children have also served as volunteers,” says Sharmila Hiranand. “It is a beautiful institution that is close to our hearts and one we have been connected for many years.”
With a wealth of information and the best of intentions, with a martini in one hand and an apron in the other, these women open their worlds to readers.
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Martinis & Aprons: A Lifestyle Cookbook for Those Who Like to Entertain will be available at Fully Booked. It is sponsored by Focus Global, Inc., the exclusive Philippine distributor of Tempur, Sub-Zero, Siematic, Wolf, KitchenAid and Ethan Allen.
