Balesin features tastemakers across their destinations
Alphaland’s Balesin Key launched Balesin Tastemakers, a three-date culinary series that brings distinguished chefs to two of Balesin Key’s prestigious destinations, Balesin Island and Balesin Pines.
Balesin Key is an exclusive membership that provides member access to three destinations — Balesin Island in Quezon, Balesin City (formerly The City Club) in Makati, and Balesin Pines in Alphaland Baguio Mountain Lodges. This specially curated program started two weeks ago and will run until February 2026.
Alphaland executive vice president for hospitality Alain Borgers shares, “Balesin Tastemakers began with a clear purpose: to bring the country’s most dynamic chefs into settings that elevate their craft and reward our members’ time. Balesin Tastemakers is a deliberate step for us. Both Balesin Island and Balesin Pines can stand on their own, and the unique experience from each location is best expressed through the menus our guest chefs create in the venue. We are presenting three distinct evenings, each shaped by its location, its ingredients, and our service standards.”
The series kicked off with Chef Josh Boutwood, fresh from being minted as the only chef in the Philippines with two Michelin stars for his restaurant helm. His three other restaurants — ember, juniper, and the test kitchen — were also selected for the premier edition of the Michelin Guide Philippines. Guests attended the one-night-only dinner at Toscana Village in Balesin Island in Polilio, Quezon.
Diners were offered craft Arc Gin cocktails to start before savoring the Tuna-Coconut-Citrus, freshly caught raw tuna (caught the day itself) paired with daikon, dressed in sea salt and sesame and paired with sliced radicchio and a leche de tigre citrus coconut sauce. Fjord Trout-Carrot-Coffee followed. This was trout cooked “a la summer’s day in Manila” (or poached in clarified butter) paired with roasted carrot purée, taba na talangka (crab tomalley) sauce and local Arabica coffee.
Josh then served Chicken-Vodka-Mole or stuffed chicken wing lightly coated in a vodka and rye batter and paired with a local mole sauce. He said it was stuffed with chicken breast, which made me panic since I generally find chicken breast too dry, but Josh managed to make the ground chicken breast juicy and soft. This was one of my favorites of the evening, along with the Chilean Sea Bass-Dill-Chili dish — steamed sea bass paired with a chili and kaffir lime leaf sauce, paired with pickled kohlrabi and foraged greens from the island. The final main course was the Wagyu-Smoked Beetroot-Fermented Root Vegetables — A5 Wagyu perfectly cooked on and off heat for three hours, paired with a smoked beetroot purée, fermented root vegetable paste, and a sauce made from roasted beef bones and bone marrow.
The perfect ending to a wonderful meal was the Passion Fruit-Mango — mango mousse paired with passion fruit and chamomile gel. Wines were Champagne Delamotte Brut NV, Lingua Franca AVNI Chardonnay 2022, and Château Luchey-Halde 2016, all from Premium Wine Exchange. The official event partner for all three Tastemakers events is Jeep Philippines.
Chef Jorge Mendez of MoDAN is scheduled for Dec. 6 this year, also at Toscana in Balesin Island. The Michelin Guide selected MoDAN for the guide and his other venture, Some Thai, was given the Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition.
Chef Chele González will round up the series at Balesin Pines in Itogon, Benguet on Feb. 21, 2026. Chele’s Asador Alfonso and Gallery by Chele both received one Michelin Star from The Michelin Guide, while Gallery by Chele also earned the Michelin Green Star recognition for its eco-friendly and sustainability efforts. His other restaurants, Cantabria by Chele Gonzalez and Enye by Chele Gonzalez were also selected for the guide.
Balesin Island is a 500-hectare private island with several themed villages which can be reached by plane under an hour from Manila. Balesin Pines sets the scene at approximately 1,400 meters above sea level near Baguio, with suites, dining, and two helipads for convenient access.
Borgers concluded, “Balesin Tastemakers reflect what our members value most: rare access, thoughtful craftsmanship, and experiences that feel intimate from arrival to nightcap. Each dinner is designed as a complete journey guided by chefs at the top of their field.”
(For membership inquiries, contact +63 2 5337 2031 loc. 245, +63 917 112 2188 or [email protected]. For reservations, contact Balesin Key Reservations at +63 2 5337 2055 or [email protected]. Guests must be accompanied or endorsed by members. Visit balesin.com.)
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