I love French Food

In the 60s, daily food fare of your favourite food columnist was Filipino with its innumerable variations; festive food was Spanish, Chinese or American inspired. The only French food I knew was sans rival cake (gateau le san rival) and a loaf of bread called French bread (baguettes).

Then came the 70s, working then as a sales representative for Abbott Laboratories, I had my first love affair with French cuisine with a invitation to dine at Au Bon Vivant, the first French restaurant in Metro Manila operated by Nora Daza. All I can recall was the onion soup, Chateaubriand steak and a cup of rice that was very unique – the cooked grains were transparent like pieces of glass.

“In other words, the French influence is not on our cooking, our dishes, our daily bread, but on gastronomy — the art or science of good eating, the aspiration to or passion for epicurism” (Doreen Fernandez, Tikim: Essays on Philippine Food and Culture, 1994).

Start na my research about French food and I found out that as early as 1898, during the Declaration of Philippine Independence in Malolos, French Cuisine was served to our forefathers. In the menu were dishes like Abatis de Poulet à la Tagale (Tagalog adobong atay at balun-balunan), Coquilles de Crabes (relyenong alimasag in the shell) and the Dinde truffe a la Manilloise (Manila turkey with truffles?).

Fast forward to 1994, with an invitation from a most generous employer, Michel Lhuillier, I joined the French club dedicated to the art of good cuisine, good wine, and good company, the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotissuers. Now, included na gyud French food in my repertoire of foods for special occasions.

Add the work load as a food columnist in The Freeman, eating French, Spanish, Japanese, Swiss, African and other cuisines, excuse me, has become a weekly affair and part of my assignment was to join the “Saveurs de France” at the Tides restaurant, Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa (April17 to 26, 2009). Shangri-La’s Executive Chef Emmanuel Guemon brought forth his vast gastronomic experiences to present a feast of French favorites, the cuisine of his native land.

Shangri-La GM Raymond Bragg together with Honorary Consul to France, Michel Lhuillier and La Chaine des Rotisseurs’ Amparito Lhuillier led all guests to the opening of “Flavors of France”. With a glass of Mouton Cadet, 2006, Bordeaux, Baron Philippe de Rothschild on one hand and a camera on the other, photo opportunity first before digging in into such delicious dishes as Chef Guemon lovingly identified each specialty!

The Executive Chef’s comfort food was the Duck Leg Confit with Mushroom Fricassee, a specialty of Gascony, France. The confit is prepared using the age old technique of salt curing a piece of meat and poaching it in its own fat. Definitely, the duck has a lot of fat since it is a by-product in the production of foie gras and the confit may be sold in cans which can last for several years. Cebuano version perhaps would be adobong baboy swimming in pork fat nga natu-og and placed in a tin can of biscuits.

My favorite was the Seafood Cassoulet, described by Jude Bacalso as “steaming moule mariniere with the surprise of lobster under the flaky pastry.” With the service of Laurus Gabriel Meffre, 2006 Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, a dessert wine, it was time to say goodbye to this most delicious chapter of French Cuisine.