Italian Autumn Harvest Festival

CEBU, Philippines — Countries that have four seasons load up their harvest in autumn to prepare for the incoming winter. It calls for a celebration once the groundwork is complete, usually in October and November. However, weather has changed these days and cherry blossoms are blooming across Japan; and friends say it is quite cold in Vancouver (1°C) and New York (2°C).

La Chaine des Rotisseurs, an international society composed of gourmands, recently celebrated the Italian harvest festival with a fellowship dinner at the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa. Before that, GM Efren Belarmino and Executive Chef Lee Ramas had invited the officers of La Chaine to preview the food. It was agreed that cocktails and finger foods would be served at 6:30 p.m. to allow guests to navigate thru the usual difficult traffic for the 8:00 p.m. dinner at the resort’s Palermo Restaurant. (Hopefully, the traffic would be reduced once the 3rd Mactan Bridge is completed.)

The dinner began with the service of the Parmesan Shaved Arugula Salad with Almonds and Honey-Balsamic Reduction. The slightly bitter taste of the arugula was perfect to cleanse the palate of the aperitifs served during the cocktail hour. The second course, Minestrone, an Italian thick vegetable soup (tomatoes, chicken broth with kidney beans and pasta) was quite delicious.

Hot Appetizer was Spicy Gambas, made with shrimps, garlic and chorizo oil.  It was paired with a white wine from ZD Chardonnay, California, a suggestion from CEO Manny Gonzalez, principal owner of Plantation Bay.  During the food tasting, I recommended that the spiciness of the dish be reduced to allow all guests to eat their share. Not everyone can tolerate the chilies’ hotness, unlike many millennials today.

Pasta is an integral part of an Italian dinner, and in this dinner three pastas were served: Spaghettini Al Nero (Home-made Squid Ink, Mussels, Shrimps, Peperoncino), Spaghettini Arrabiata (Garlic, Tomatoes, Spicy Sauce) and Roman-Style Carbonara (Absolutely Authentic Roman Carbonara). These were served in tasting portions and Arrabiata was good, the Al Nero tasted better – and the best was the Carbonara.

Palate cleanser was Lemon Sorbet, followed by the pouring of a red wine, Pesquera Reserva from Spain. The Main Course was then served, USDA Prime Tenderloin with Pizzaiola Sauce. The steak indeed was prime tenderloin with its taste enhanced by the sauce, called pizzaiola, because it is made with typical pizza ingredients like the olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and oregano. Unfortunately, many guests were struggling to finish their portions, excuse me, because my good friend GM Efren is as usual, over generous in preparing too many delicious finger foods that was difficult to ignore during the cocktail hour.

A dessert wine, Kressmana Sauternes, France was poured; followed by the service of the lovely dessert, Mango Panna Cotta & Tiramisu.