When I heard that the EAT Dining Festival was going to be held at the Alabang Town Center last weekend, there was no hesitation about having to drive.
At a leisurely pace and without heavy traffic, the drive to Alabang took 45 minutes from my Loyola Heights home. The Alabang Town Center is strategically located within the suburbs of Southern Manila and is built in a Mediterranean courtyard-inspired style. This is in keeping with the easy and unhurried lifestyle of the place that is conducive to extended meals with family and friends. It is true that the wide variety of restaurants at the Alabang Town Center should satisfy all sorts of cravings. But boning up on cooking know-how is also a good idea for those days when one would rather stay put and fix a home-cooked meal.
The latest installment of the EAT Dining Festival cooking demonstrations showcased the culinary skills of chefs Stephanie Zubiri, Ernest Reynoso Gala, and Heny Sison. With assistance from hosts DJ Grace Lee and Sports Unlimited’s Marc Nelson, the chefs won the audience’s approval with their yummy recipes. Each demonstrated that when the proper ingredients and techniques are used, cooking need not be a drawn-out and complicated process.
“I believe the recipes should be unique but at the same time easy, fun, and something you can make at home,” says chef Ernest, who prepared three dishes in the span of an hour. He has shared these original recipes in previous columns written for Philippine STAR. “When the crowd walks away from the demo and brings home what they learned, you know the demo was a success,” he says.
Chef Ernest prepared a Valentine crab salad, a potato/beet/kani salad set on a bed of crisp, green Romaine lettuce. The pink-tinged salad was named “Valentine” because the chef thought up the recipe on that special day. Afterwards, he quickly put together a Ribbon with Mushroom Trifolati, made richer with the Magnolia quick-melt cheese that he endorses, and rounded up the trio of dishes with Singaporean-style pork satay.
“The value of public cooking demonstrations is that it encourages awareness and knowledge of food,” says chef Ernest, who shares that he is guided by the motto “Live well, eat well, cook well.” His advice is to “cook from your heart to satisfy your soul (because) food is culture, food is the language of your palate, and food is beautiful. The more you absorb, the wider the variety and range. Your options increase, so the possibilities are unlimited.”
For chef Heny Sison, the basics are important. “I always follow the rule ‘less is more,’” she says. “Use the freshest ingredients you can find in the market. Make it simple and healthy. Also mastering basic cooking principles is very important to be able to cook food to its perfection.”
The crowd was delighted by her choux puffs with mushroom filling, penne pasta with two sauces — a basil pesto sauce and walnut pesto sauce; and for dessert, strawberries in Marsala with honey and mascarpone cheese. “The presentation is an important factor to consider when it comes to dining experience,” she reminds us. “We eat with our eyes first. Balance, unity, focus and flow should be taken into consideration.” She mentions her preference for using classic white plates or earth-tone colors for plating, so that one’s vision is drawn to the food.
The multi-tasking chef, Philippine STAR columnist and Olive magazine editor-in-chief flipped a local favorite, adobo, by giving it a Malaysian twist. By spicing it up and adding nasi lemak and a continental basil, amaranthe and bacon conchigliette, she created a fusion dish that incorporates both Eastern and Western styles of cooking.
“I like showing that Filipino food can be diverse and sophisticated if we get a little creative,” chef Stephanie explains. “The adobo has some interesting twists to it that transform it from mundane to festive. There’s balsamic vinegar for that caramelized flavor and some depth with cinnamon and allspice. The siling sinigang adds a nice kick to it as well. As for the pasta dish, I love using indigenous ingredients in new ways. Far from the adobong kangkong, our lowly water spinach is glorified in a rich European-style dish that is nutritious and tasty. The pink peppercorn and lemon zest make all the difference.”
She continues, “food shouldn’t be complicated but there’s no excuse for it to be boring. I love to play with flavors, spices and fresh herbs to transform a dish. Take your simple adobo, add fresh thyme and serve with garlic potatoes — it suddenly has a European flair. If you add fresh cilantro, lemongrass and some chilies, and serve it with basmati rice, it takes on a more pan- Asian feel. All it takes is a little tweaking.”
It is at this point I understand that the cooking demonstration component of the EAT Dining Festival is more than just a venue for talented chefs to share their recipes. It is an opportunity for our artistic chefs to spread their enthusiasm and love for good food, even for cooking newbies such as myself.
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Catch the last installment of the EAT Dining Festival on Sept. 23 to 25 at Bonifacio High Street and Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, featuring chefs Claude Tayag, Tristan Encarnacion, and Bruce Lim.
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E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@gmail.com.