So, when Cebu Holdings Inc. recently celebrated its 15th year in the real estate business, it launched "Cebu, Cebu," the first ever videoke album collection of popular Cebuano music.
The affair brought together composers, lyricists and singers. "Cebu, Cebu" is a compilation of 14 tracks that include compositions by Florencio Rigodon, Ramon Aliño, Manuel Velez, Raul Enad, Eutiquio Solis, Mannie Cabase, Roland Amila, Maning Villareal, Fr. Fritz Malinao, Gibs Cabaral and Vicente Rubi. It likewise featured Msgr. Rudy Villanueva, who made the arrangements for the title song with Elvis Somosot, who was responsible for the sound engineering of the album.
Guests were treated to an evening of unforgettable music by Cebuano artists, with the special participation of our very own Dulce Amor. Her powerful rendition of the immortal Visayan songs Babayeng Sugbuanon by Paking Balbona and Matud Nila by Ben Zubiri thrilled everyone present.
Astra Zeneca, the fourth largest pharmaceutical company in the country, was the leading producer for the year. Regional manager Hector Villamor and district manager Felix Rule accepted the citation. Other awardees included San Miguel Corporation, Caltex and Unilab Biomedics.
For its top travel accounts, the number one slot went to Andrew Teh of Global Link Travel and Tours, followed by Joan Young Tiu of Wanderlanes and Shuichi Tanaka of Attic Tours.
For the most number of social events booked for the past year, a special plaque of appreciation was handed to Teresing Mendezona, who without a doubt is Cebu’s premier event organizer.
A different set of awardees made up the list for the Waterfront Hotel Mactan. Among the winners were Philippine Airlines, followed by Keppel Cebu Shipyard, International Wire Group, Paul Yu and Company and Fairchild Semiconductor. Club Paradise, Club Corea and No. One Tours were the recipients of the top travel accounts.
Adopting the bistro-style cooking technique France is famous for, the eager would-be chefs created a menu that included a choice of either hot or cold appetizer, meat or seafood as the main course and a selection of ice cream and fresh tropical fruits on caramel or chocolate and Grand Marnier parfait with crème anglaise for dessert.
We were pleasantly surprised to learn that proceeds from the well-attended event were donated to a worthy charitable institution with a community outreach project.
The two-year intensive course, based on the City and Guilds International Catering and Hospitality Curriculum, the leading assessment and vocational awarding body in the United Kingdom, aims to provide a hands-on practical educational program in the culinary arts that would train and prepare students for employment and advancement in the competitive hospitality industry.
Proprietor and main lecturer is Jeremy Young who has successfully completed the superior level of the classic cycle cuisine course at the Le Cordon Bleu of French Cuisine in Paris.
His work experience includes the Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Beach Resort and the Victoria and Albert’s fine dining restaurant with a five-diamond rating by AAA.