Houseware and Kitchen Tools at the World Food Expo in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - The summer season is a most anticipated time of the year, especially for children who wish to take a break from the school routine. It is a great time for them to relax and learn new things such as a new sport, playing a new instrument, or how to play around in the kitchen.

This summer, parents and children alike can spend quality time together baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes, or parents can teach children the basics of cooking and meal preparation. Hands-on kitchen training for both parents and their children is, of course, a lot easier with the right tools.

At the World Food Expo (WOFEX) at the SM City Cebu Trade Hall on April 24 to 26, the specialty houseware chain, Gourdo's, introduces the top brands it carries. The product line includes the Wilton baking and cake-decorating products, Microplane kitchen tools, Lodge cast iron cookware - all imported from the US - and Wusthof knives from Germany. There are also product demonstrations at the Gourdo's booth.

On April 25, certified Wilton Method Instructor-Chef Booboo Maramba creates beautiful edible treats with the Wilton Cake Stamps using the Dab-N-Color line. Booboo, actually Maria Erwina Carandang Maramba, has been baking since age 13. Although a graduate of Chemical Engineering from the Ateneo de Davao University, her fascination with the art of cake decorating has prevailed over her academic training, and she has turned what used to be just a hobby into a business - the Natalie's Cakes and Pastries.

In August 2001 Booboo attended the International Cake Exploration Societe (ICES) Convention in Portland Oregon. Then she took up cake decorating courses at Wilton School in Chicago and Collete Peters in March and April 2006, with her final cake project eventually being featured in the cover of the 2007 Wilton School Catalog. Booboo received her Wilton Method Instructor's accreditation in April 2007 in Shizuoka, Japan.

Booboo Maramba has been teaching cake decorating since 2003. She is considered as the most renowned cake decorator of Davao, where she resides with her husband and children. It sure takes a cake expert like Booboo to know what tools are best and necessary in the craft.