Toques of the town
For one rainy weekend in September, the A-Venue in Makati was home to the National Food Showdown, a culinary event of Food and Foodie magazines, and the Lifestyle Network. With ABS president Charo Santos-Concio cutting the ribbon, along with EIC’s Myrna Segismundo (Foodie) and Mikey Fenix (Food), the event became a true eye-opener on how far the food industry, and the hotel and restaurant sector, have come; and how it continues to be a dynamic and growing force. Especially telling was how many young adults counted themselves as future chefs and food practitioners. If in the past, our lolos would scoff and remark, “All that money spent on education, and you end up a kusinero!” there was no denying how today’s food industry has become a very attractive, even sexy, career option.
If you reflect upon it, this is not all that surprising. During periods of inflation, when the economy is on the downtrend, if there’s one sector that retains some kind of stability, if not outright growth, it would be the food industry and dining sector. After all, people still have to eat. Whether blue collar or white, one still has that lunch break and snacktime, and while keeping food prices competitive, while maintaining quality and taste may be part of the “volume game,” there also exists that recession-proof niche of the industry that thrives on corporate accounts and continuously proving one is the “In” spot to dine and be seen at. Across this gamut of dining options, the need for a diverse range of professionally-trained practitioners has led to this upsurge of interest among so many fresh graduates. Dabblers and hobbyists of the past now ache for the certificates and diplomas that can put them one rung above all the others vying for the choice job positions.
And seemingly tailor-made for this ongoing trend is an event like Food Showdown. Iron Chef type competitions, a Goldilocks cake decorating challenge, Fruit and Vegetable carving, flairtending and cocktail mixing, tablescape displays, a Doña Maria Premium Rice Challenge featuring their brown rice, and others involving Century Tuna and Lean Cuisine, Oriental Merchants’ quality pasta and olive oil, Purefoods Corned Beef, Magnolia Chicken, and McCormick’s Flavor Up Challenge — they all highlighted the creativity, ingenuity and resourcefulness of both the professionals, and the eager students, who see the industry as their home or calling. Minute Maid and SM Retail added to the spice with product sampling, and GOMECO supplied the Kitchen Stadium where most of the cook-offs were held. Think about it, 290 delegates, hailing from 36 schools and 16 hotels, coming from all over the country. And in the last week of November, Food and Foodie will partner with Working Mom to create a Holiday event that promises to be one delicious treat for the whole family!
From best-sellers to high brow; and in between
The books today are the latest works of novelists who carry a lot of weight in today’s publishing world, even if for different reasons. Dan Brown is Mr. da Vinci Code, and that’s all that has to be said. Kazuo Ishiguro is one of the most elegant writers around, he wrote The Remains of the Day; while Audrey Niffenegger’s previous novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife, has to be one of the best contemporary love stories written in the last five years (forget the tepid film adaptation).
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (available at National Bookstore): I have to admit I never read Da Vinci Code, and it was with trepidation that I approached The Lost Symbol. Call me a literary snob, but if it’s that popular, I often find it’s not my “cup of tea.” The best things I can say about Brown’s latest is that he knows how to keep his plot moving, the arcane trivia keeps flying; and one vividly imagines the film adaptation. Having said that, I must admit Brown never tries to elevate his writing to anything resembling literary. It’s formula — the Knights of Templar are now Freemasons, the villain is no longer an albino but now covered in tattoos, and instead of Paris or Rome, it’s Washington DC. And I could swear his female head of the CIA is straight out of The Incredibles. A sure bestseller!
Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro (available at The Different Bookstore): A Japanese living in England, Ishiguro has consistently created literature that soars with restraint and elegance, like a slow-moving symphony. Nocturnes is a series of inter-related short stories that have music as a backdrop but concisely dwell on relationships and identity. A crooner who’s past his prime, a couple who use the musical tastes of a friend to play out the disintegration of their marriage, a budding singer-songwriter and the professional musicians he encounters during a retreat to Malvern Hills, a talented saxophonist who’s been convinced he needs plastic surgery to become popular, and a cellist whose tutor can’t play a musical instrument. I still prefer his novels, but I did enjoy this outing.
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (available at National Bookstore): After the phenomenal success of Time Traveler’s Wife, one would be hard-pressed to top that. Instead of aiming for a story with even broader scope, Niffenegger goes “personal,” locating her new novel around Highgate Cemetary in London, where she has worked as a guide; and gives us a life-affirming story that revolves around a death, and deals with identity theft, loss, and twin sisterhood. Elspeth and Edie are estranged twin sisters, and Elspeth passes away in London, bequeathing her home and estate to the twin daughters of Edie, who now lives in the United States. Julie and Valentina travel to London, complying with the strange conditions of the will; and a macabre ghost story, filled with eccentrics, and attempts to cheat death, ensues.
