Discovering upland Cavite’s secrets

It was wonderful communing with Cavite farmers from less popular towns like Magallanes and Maragondon at the recent World Food Expo (WOFEX). It was where Slow Food Cavite and Slow Food Manila joined forces to display local food and do cooking demos for the public to watch and be educated about.

When people think of Cavite today, they either think of Tagaytay which is the most popular destination, or CALAX, the new expressway straddling Cavite and Laguna, or CAVITEX, the expressway leading to Cavite City and the lowland towns. But there is upland Cavite, towns that sit approximately 300-450 meters above sea level like Amadeo, Silang, Magallanes, Indang, Mendez, Alfonso and Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo or Bailen (its old name).

These upland towns are still agricultural and we hope that they do not become urbanized just yet so we can still find coffee farms, agri-tourism destinations and harvest fresh vegetables and fruits as we also enjoy the cooler climes of these higher elevations. They say it is about five degrees cooler in these towns than Metro Manila, and these days that means a lot.

But it is not just the weather you want to enjoy. You may want to explore and find local produce and eat local fare like quesillo or native white cheese served in freshly-baked pandesal. You may still find rice cakes and Cavite coffee (used to be our biggest export in the 70s) or a chicken tinola, a stew which farmers love to serve their guests using free-range chicken and papaya from the backyard.

The farmers came to WOFEX with samples of their cooking and some of them cooked on the spot as visitors got entertained with presentation of recipes on how to make white cheese, as well as a demo on a local recipe using coconut milk and bamboo shoots. The others brought honey, carabao milk and local fruits like santol, rambutan and kamias.

Since we established the Slow Food Community in Cavite (SF Cavite), a lot of farmers from lesser known towns came out of the woodwork, so to speak. In a chat group, each one takes pride in what he or she volunteers to include in the Ark of Taste – a veritable catalog of ingredients that may soon be extinct if we stop using them or growing more of it. Examples are sampinit, a wild berry that needs to be foraged. Or herbs and “weeds” like pancit-pancitan, now being used by chefs who are giving local food a new twist. New recipes from old ingredients.

It is just the way Nature intends to save itself from extinction. Farmers take to the “streets” and offer their foraged produce to chefs like Jayjay Sycip of The Fatted Calf, who then features it in their menu as a seasonal offering. In one instance, another local chef watched Chef Jayjay annotate or describe the ingredients used in their salads and garnishes, and though some customers seem to not care, I am certain they begin to wonder why we are doing this.

I have always believed that the consumer or diner is a co-producer. If we stop eating it, the farmers will stop growing it. The chef who watched Jayjay for a few hours will soon be one of us, I am sure. When the student is ready, the teacher will come. And surely, Jayjay inspired this young chef to do more than show off his culinary skills.

There is a higher mission to cooking – as I observed another young chef, Don Baldosano, pay respect to pancit-pancitan, alagaw leaf, adlai and other local vegetables at a recent tasting dinner we experienced that was truly unforgettable. I have so many fond memories of that gustatory meal prepared by Chef Don at Linamnam MNL, with fermented banana and langka as inspirational fruits for his refreshing drinks.

Yes, these young chefs are using every trick in the book to preserve and honor local ingredients. Sometimes, they completely change the playbook – find local ingredients and experiment on how best we can include them in recipes using new techniques than just throwing them in a pinakbet or bulanglang.

Recently we also discovered a new brunch place in Bonifacio Global City using adlai, our heirloom grain which is now listed in the Ark of Taste (www.fondazioneslowfood.com) and which can be a lower sugar alternative to white rice. Chef Paulo Galang used it in a loaf of bread – that’s right, an “ad-rye” bread he calls it. It is heavy and filling and is a good option for those wanting a healthier slice of toast. They also use local beetroot, local vegetables as garnish for their entrees, which is a far cry from the usual imported arugula and romaine lettuce.

I am planning a Slow Food event with my colleagues from the Management Association of the Philippines so these chefs can let CEOs and COOs try new ways of eating with old ingredients. Simply put, how do you influence city slickers to try our local ingredients so they can be enlightened to do their part in saving heritage and culture while entertaining their guests on expense accounts? We have to show them a bite-size way of doing their part while having cocktails and appetizers. Thus, we are having Bite Size Slow Food in September to help both our progressive young chefs present their menu to otherwise bored diners who have been eating the same continental selections at hotels and meetings.

We each have a role to play in preserving what naturally grows in our farms. You need progressive thinkers in chefs, and open-minded consumers at the other end. Slow Food may be the movement which becomes the medium of instruction and experience. Because we can serve good, clean and fair food to all if we all do our part in the equation.

Eat slow. Rediscover other parts of Cavite. You may rediscover food you remember from before or a recipe you have never tried from farmers’ recipes.