Eat, drink and be merry at Abreeza Mall

MANILA, Philippines - They applauded, they screamed, they lined up to have their pictures taken with him. He was, in every sense of the word, a celebrity. A celebrity chef, that is. But it’s not only his good looks that got the girls and even the boys in the audience going gaga. Chef Tristan Encarnacion knows that for him to give a good cooking demonstration, he needs to connect with his audience. His secret ingredient is his natural charm. Actually, when asked what the secret ingredient in good cooking was, he replied, “You must have the passion and heart for it, and nothing will go wrong.”

Chef Tristan’s featured recipe was pan-seared duck breast with blackberry cream sauce. But since neither duck breast nor blackberries were available, he used chicken breast and grapes instead. This was the first lesson. If certain ingredients are not available, you can substitute.

He also prepared wild mushroom risotto to go with the chicken dish. His advice: “Don’t wash the rice to keep its starch content.”

And then came the best part, the tasting.

Host Joey Domingo called for volunteers from the audience.

Five students from St. Mary’s College of Tagum City, which is an hour away from Davao City, went up the stage and spontaneously became part of the show.

After the hour and a half of cooking demonstration, it took another half hour of picture taking with his fans before chef Tristan could fold his apron away. Actually, it was his chef’s jacket, which he did not put away but instead generously gave it to a lucky student of a culinary school who was among those who came up the stage to have their own chef’s jackets autographed by the crush ng bayan de jour, celebrity chef Tristan Encarnacion.

Not many people know that chef Shirly May Galvez is the older sister of actor and Sumo Sam co-owner Marvin Agustin. Chef Shirly specializes in Korean and Japanese cuisines “with a twist,” she says.

She came with chef Roy Tan of John & Yoko, another restaurant co-owned by Marvin Agustin.

“The thing about doing a cooking demonstration outside of your own kitchen is you often do not know what to expect,” notes chef Roy. Even doing the preparation can be tricky. Fortunately, they were able to use the kitchen of Seafood Island, owned by Raymond Magdaluyo, who also happens to be a business associate of Agustin, for their preps.

The good news is that Sumo Sam will soon have its own kitchen at Abreeza as it opens a branch on Sept. 10 at the mall.

Chef Shirly shared three recipes: the crunchy kani roll (appetizer), Sumo Sam’s Pride (salad), and pepper-crusted chicken (entrée). For the kani roll, you can use Jasmine rice if Japanese rice is not available. Chef Shirly generously shared the recipe of Sumo Sam’s Pride, which is actually an item in the restaurant’s menu. Chef Ray demonstrated how to de-bone a chicken for the pepper-crusted chicken, which was later served on a bed of linguini.

The second day’s cooking demonstration was preceded by TGI Friday’s Champion Bartending competition. First place went to Janvah Nellas of the Mindanao State University; Leo Algueza second place; Luis Jardine, third place.

The front act for the cooking demonstration on the final day of the three-day event at Abreeza Mall in Davao City was the much-awaited mother and daughter cake decorating contest. Seven pairs of six to 12 year olds together with their moms signed up for the challenge. Chef Erwina “Booboo” Maramba of the Center for Asian Culinary Studies (Davao campus) and Wilton USA cake decorating instructor and baking instructor, who was one of the judges, gave the contestants some tips: sprinkle powdered sugar under the plastic sheet so the fondant will not stick to it; apply syrup on the cake so the fondant will stick to it; be patient when mixing colors.

Three of the seven pairs apparently paid close attention and won bragging rights. First prize went to Rhea Lacson and Rishi Cloraine Lason; Marie Yap and Cara Yap, second prize; Pamela Lorraine Lim and Samantha Reese Egano, third prize.

The main event that weekend was chef Heny Sison’s cooking demonstration. She shared three of her signature recipes: choux puffs with mushroom filling; penne pasta with two pesto sauces (basil and walnut pesto); and strawberries in marsala with honey and mascarpone cream.

As always, chef Heny came well-prepared and shared countless tips and trivia with her audience. Did you know that it was the Italians who taught the French how to cook? The basics of cooking originated in Italy and it was only the French who documented it. You can see the Italian flag in their pizza Margherita, with its white sauce, red tomato, and green pesto. Chef Heny always keeps cooked pasta in her freezer so that it’s ready to use anytime. When cooking Italian food, she prefers to use rock salt instead of iodized salt. Precious morsels of wisdom, food for thought.

And so, another weekend of Philippine STAR’s EAT Dining Festival cooking demonstration tour came to pass. The next event will be at the Ayala Center Cebu from Sept. 9 to11 with chefs Heny Sison, Shirly May Galvez, and Tristan Encarnacion.