Celebrating Oktoberfest

CEBU, Philippines - Gustavian executive chef Dietmar Dietrich said that Oktoberfest is a thanksgiving celebration where farmers from Munich’s agricultural communities gather for 16 days to party and celebrate life.

Chef Dietmar, who served as Marco Polo Plaza Cebu’s guest chef for the hotel chain’s Oktoberfest celebration, said that traditionally food served are “rustic German dishes” that would include sausages like bratwurst (usually made of veal, pork or beef) and weisswurst (white sausage), and other traditional fares like pretzels and sauerkraut (pickled cabbage).

This year’s festivity started on September 19 and ended on October 4, the first Sunday of October.

So, if Oktoberfest begins on September, why name it after October?

Where it all began.

According to oktoberfest.de, the official Munich Oktoberfest website, the origin of the festival dates back to 1810 when Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. 

Originally, beer was not part of the celebration. What took center stage was the agricultural fair that started on October 12 and ended in a horse race on the 17th.

Succeeding celebrations had transformed the festival into the world’s biggest beer drinking event that has brought the Bavarian culture all throughout the globe. According to Chef Dietmar, Oktoberfest is an international celebration that is observed in many different countries, including the Philippines. Bavaria, by the way, is a region in Germany with Munich as its capital.

The best beer.

The entry of beer into the festival is not surprising.

Chef Dietmar professed that Germany, and the region of Bavaria in particular, produces the world’s best beer brands like Augistiner and Paulaner, both of which are originally brewed by German monks. Other beer brands served since the early times of the Oktoberfest celebration are Löwenbräu , Spaten and Franziskaner (both brands from Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu GMBH), and Hofbräu.

These beer brands would have their own tents in Munich, where the original Oktoberfest party takes place. Every year, the festival would attract millions of visitors and for this year, the 176th year of Oktoberfest, 3.3 million people visited the tents in the first week alone. The organizers of the event predicted that 6 million liters of beer will be consumed for the entire 16-day event.

At home.

While going to Munich to celebrate Oktoberfest might be a long shot for most of us, we can still experience a near-to-the-real thing celebration of Oktoberfest, with all the works, like Bavarian music, the colors of Bavaria (cobalt blue and white), and Bavarian food. Some of the country’s top hotels and properties are hosting Oktoberfest parties that will transport you to Munich in an instant.

Here in Cebu, Marco Polo will be culminating the Bavarian celebration in an explosive food and beer party on October 10, starting with the Keg-A-Lympics at 2 p.m. (participation fee is pegged at P500) and ending in grand revelry, starting at 7 p.m. Guest bands, succulent honest-to-goodness Bavarian food, and free flowing ice-cold draft beer will be served in the party.

A Bavarian Food Fest, will also run until the 15th. Some of the Bavarian dishes that will be featured in the hotel’s Café Marco during the food fest are Frankfurter Meat Pies and sauerkraut, roast pork knuckles, sausages, and rheinischer sauerbraten (meat marinated in wine).

Local flair.

In addition, local celebrations that have retained only the beer-drinking portion of the festivity, are happening across the Metro in bars, watering holes and party venues. Discounts and other promotional offers are being given to encourage customers to drink more beer than the regular, in the spirit of Oktoberfest.

For food, in place of sausages and other Bavarian treats, we have sisig (which is either the original pork cheek, tuna, or chicken), crispy calamares (deep fried battered squid rings), onion rings, French fries, and yes, to borrow a phrase from a famous beer commercial, “roasted highland legumes” or peanuts.

There is also deep fried whole chicken (the one at YO.U is simply divine, but I’m not sure if they still have it) and crispy pata. VUDU’s baked oysters is also yummy and goes specially well with Below Zero San Mig Light.

Another very Filipino tradition that is etched in our local Oktoberfest celebration is the way we drink beer. As opposed to the way Bavarians drink beer, which is by mug, here, many barkadas maintain a very intimate tradition of drinking beer, the tagay. Although, the club-going bunch would prefer to carry their bottle with them for self-defense purposes and to assure the waiter that they are paying customers.

Beer, fun and friendship.

So, for 16 days, the world celebrated fun, friendship and good times as they were given a good reason to party. Although, sans the nationally coordinated parties in large venues, many of us do not fail to spend a few hours after work with friends for a nice chit-chat and a sweet bottle of ice-cold beer. So, we can say, Oktoberfest is but another excuse to party.

Nonetheless, it would be great to know that on 2010, beer party would be on September 18 to October 3. So, before this next big event, it would be nice to prepare yourselves and plan throwing a great near-to-the-real-thing Oktoberfest party in your place. After all, it would just take a little blue-white décor with German beer posters (which you can get from a local supplier or from your favorite bar who may have some old posters in their backroom), several cases of beer, and a limitless supply of pulutan, to throw a near-authentic Oktoberfest party. And, of course, don’t forget the most important ingredient, friends.