A gustatory weekend getaway in Baguio

CEBU, Philippines - There was absolutely no doubt that it was simply “the most prestigious culinary showdown in Northern Luzon.” The sheer number of participants was, to use a requisite food-related idiom, proof of the pudding. Over 60 academic institutions and travel, tourism and hospitality establishments from the North joined the 8th Annual Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism (HRT) Weekend not too long ago.

Excellently organized by the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB), the opening event held at the centrally-located Atrium, SM City Baguio, began with the customary parade of participants, a ribbon-cutting and blessing program and the awarding of the winners of the “HRAB Got Talent” show. But the highlight was a cooking demonstration by popular television host and chef China Cojuangco, who quickly charmed and inspired the public.

This three-day affair brought together members of the culinary, tourism and hospitality industries from all over the islands, in a series of standing-room-only seminars, where experts from different fields shared with practitioners practical lessons, from the most basic to the specialized; well-attended fairs that featured a wide range of opportunities for both the neophyte and the seasoned; trade fairs and displays that showcased a myriad of materials and innovations taking hold of the field; and competitions of skills in both the professional and students division. And it was really the contest that provided the meat to these extraordinary delights.

A display of various plating techniques tickles the senses of sight and taste.

It needed a devoted roster of close to 70 judges to select and proclaim the best of the best in countless categories of expertise, that ranged from plating vegetarian dishes to preparing a free-style buffet of cold meat, from designing the floral bouquet centerpiece to complicated ice carvings.

In no way could the quality of any of the contestants’ performances be compromised, at least not under the watchful eye – and even tongue – of Myrna Segismundo, managing director of Restaurant 9501 and the chairman of the HRT panel of judges. Joining her in this awesome task, to name a few, were general manager of Century Park Hotel Philippe Bartholomi, director for Culinary Arts at ISCHAM Norbert Gandler, CEO of Via Mare Glenda Barretto, corporate chef at Discovery Shores David Pardo de Ayala, partner and executive chef at Cyma Greek Taverna Roby Goco, Sala restaurant chef patron Colin Mackay, Le Bistro Vert executive chef Sau del Rosario, Gilligan’s restaurant proprietor Freddie Alquiros, owner of Cafex, Inc. Manny Torejon, Five Cows restaurant chef Eugene Raymundo, owner of Café Uma Juan Miguel Gaston, Titania Wine Cellar’s Tita Trillo, US Culinary Theater lead trainer Jill Sandique, editor of Country Cooking Mickey Fenix, operations manager of Restaurant 9501 Raul Ramos, editor of Where at Cebu Maricris Encarnacion and Claude Tayag, our fellow columnist at The Philippine STAR. There was also myself who did not miss the delicious fray.

A means to inspire and further motivate both students and professionals in the hotel and restaurant activity, the competitions likewise served as an avenue to align the skills of the hospitality industry in Baguio City with the rest of the country through its partnership with ABS-CBN’s National Food Showdown (NFS) where winners of the well-received Royale Chef Wars were to further battle it out and represent the region in the Grand National Chef Wars Final in NFS Metro Manila.

A gigantic wheel of rice is the centerpiece of the Rice and Shine festival.

The weekend boasted of two other highlights – the Coronation Night of Mr. and Miss HRAB where students vied for the titles at the Baguio Convention Center, and the unveiling of the rice festival known as Rice and Shine, which also involved a lot of delirious tasting again at the Atrium of SM City Baguio.

Conceived as a fitting tribute to Filipino farmers, the Rice and Shine Festival not only honored the essential place of rice in the Filipino palate and life, but also focused on the diverse ways by which this prime Filipino staple is to be prepared, celebrated and enjoyed.

Rice was in its full glory as leading hotels and restaurants of Baguio and HRAB members collaborated and cooked several rice concoctions in a spectacular oversized pan 25 feet in diameter. It contained approximately 480 kilograms of varied renditions, from popular ones like yangchow fried rice to local specialties such as kintoman fried rice served with crispy Vigan bagnet. This feat produced some 8,000 servings – free for all who came for he festivities.

HRAB president and general manager of the Baguio Country Club, stressed that the featured rice “is not only a staple served in combination with other dishes but a complete and sumptuous meal in itself, on its own.” What a truly fitting way to close the weekend of gustatory delights.

Certainly the eighth celebration of the annual Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Weekend was a cultural force to reckon with. And the reckoning was a carried out by mouths that were not only eager to be in jubilation but likewise by tummies, which despite their fullness, still yearned for more.

Judges Maricris Encarnacion and Colin Mackay observe a contestant.