Celebration, gratitude and recognition

First, please accept my apologies for failing to write regularly during the last several months. I have been in and out of the hospital since December last year and my recuperation has taken longer than anticipated. In celebration of my 77th birthday, my son suggested that I celebrate it in the Salon Carlos P. Romulo of the Prince Albert Rotisserie. The Intercontinental Manila is scheduled to close by year end.

I promptly called Christian Pirodon, the general manager, and asked if I could reserve the room on my birthday. He confirmed the reservation immediately.

Gratitude

Before I proceed further, the Romulo family would like to express once again our gratitude to Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala for graciously naming the salon in memory of my father’s long and distinguished career. Jaime was the first from the private sector who went out of his way to recognize my father. On the occasion of CPR’s 80th birthday, held in the hotel ballroom, Jaime prepared a unique presentation of Dad’s accomplishments depicted in slides managed by a computer and projected on a large screen….the first of its kind. Romulo memorabilia was also exhibited in a special room at the old Ayala museum.

That birthday was also the occasion when American Ambassador Mike Armacost awarded General Romulo with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Among the many notables given the same award was Winston Churchill.

The Ayala Group should also be recognized for taking steps to insure that Makati would be the financial capital of the Philippines. The construction of the Intercontinental Manila in 1969 and the Mandarin Oriental in 1976 was an important milestone for the emerging business center. I would suggest those hotels have a place in Philippine history. The Mandarin is now under construction. It is my hope that another “Intercon” will soon be constructed.

My personal relationship with CP and Billy

Christian Pirodon continues as the area general manager of the Intercontinental Group managing the three Holiday Inns in Makati, Ortigas and Clark field as well as the Crowne Plaza . I have been very fortunate with the personal support and assistance of Christian wherever I travel, whether it be Europe, Hanoi, Hong Kong or Bangkok. My relationship started with the introduction by my father, who spoke highly of him. We first met him when he was the Maitre d’of the L’Hirondelle, a French restaurant in the Mandarin Hotel. After many years as a hotelier Christian decided to run his own restaurant in France. My father recalled his visit with Christian, the chef and proprietor. On the other hand, Christian fondly recalled that he was visited by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs despite his busy official schedule in Paris. Clearly, the two had a close personal relationship.

On behalf of the Romulo Family, I presented him with a BSP-minted commemorative medallion of Carlos P. Romulo on the occasion of his 100th birthday. It was presented with the gratitude and admiration of the Romulos. My father would have wanted him to have it.

In the late 1980s, when I was president of IBM Philippines, I hosted a customer CEO dinner for 80 guests in Prince Albert. Billy King was the executive chef at the time. I specially requested he prepare a “soufflé grand marnier,” specifying the soufflé should not fall until all the guests had been served. He reluctantly agreed. I later learned he practiced the night before our dinner with multiple soufflés. The dinner was a great success and my customers requested this should become an annual event. That was the beginning of my personal relationship with Billy. That dinner was more than 25 years ago. Billy has never failed me. He was always very supportive with dinners I hosted as an IBM executive and as the Secretary of Foreign affairs. In my personal opinion, he will be rated one of the great chefs in the Philippines who developed and trained other notable chefs who are now proprietors of their own restaurants.

There is another individual that deserves our gratitude and recognition responsible for the excellent service in the restaurant. I refer to Francis Felipe who retired last July after 30 years of service. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors. Francis, we will miss your delightful introduction to every course ending with “Bon Appetit.”

With the two guest chefs, Billy King (left) and Christian Pirodon.