This is EAT!

We’ve all heard of text scams — those text messages that congratulate recipients for winning a substantial sum of money in an online lottery promotion or premium items from a raffle draw — and we are aware, too, that these messages are lures used by scammers to entice recipients into replying and sending them money and personal information right away.

So when Ellenita Soliman of Bacoor, Cavite received a text message that she won a Samsung microwave oven in the EAT Dining Festival promo, she totally ignored it.

“I thought it was one of those text scams that have victimized a lot of people already. But then, I remembered I did fill up EAT raffle coupons after dining at Mongolian Quick Stop so I looked for that message again in my inbox. I was so happy when Philippine STAR’s Val Andrade confirmed that I indeed had won a microwave oven,” shares Soliman during the awarding ceremony held at Chateaux 1771 in Greenbelt 5, Makati City.

EAT Dining Festival, which ran from July to September 2011, was part of a series of events that led up to Philippine STAR’s silver anniversary celebration last July 28. In partnership with Ayala Malls and BPI, this one-of-a-kind food fest featured restaurants in Ayala Malls that have created dishes inspired by the STAR and its 25 years of success.

There were a total of 108 participating restaurants at Glorietta, Greenbelt, Alabang Town Center, Ayala Center Cebu, Market! Market!, Bonifacio High Street, Serendra, TriNoma,  Marquee Mall in Angeles City, Pampanga, and Abreeza Mall in Davao.

Samsung HA brand manager Daena Luna awards the Samsung Jewel dual-door refrigerator certificate to EAT Dining Festival grand prize winner Jhasel Vega of San Juan.

Diners who ordered the STAR-inspired dishes at the participating restaurants won instant prizes at the pick-a-prize booth, while those who used their BPI credit cards, debit cards or prepaid cards got the STAR dish for free for a minimum of P1,500 or over. They also got a chance to win the Samsung dual-door refrigerator and five microwave ovens in the grand draw.

Soliman just couldn’t get enough of Magic Wok’s Belmonte Lechon Macau with kangkong, the crispy and juicy lechon kawali served with the delish fried rice; she actually had it thrice that week. Well, her “addiction” paid off as she was one of the lucky diners who won interesting items at the pick-a-prize booth prior to winning the microwave oven.

“It was a lucky streak! It’s my first time to win in a raffle draw, and I want to thank the Philippine STAR, Ayala Malls, BPI, and Samsung for this wonderful prize,” says Soliman.

Soliman was joined by Raynee Rhea Tanalgo of Quezon City, who also won a microwave oven, and grand prize-winner Jhasel Vega, 16, of San Juan City, who won the Samsung dual-door refrigerator worth P134,000!

“For the EAT Dining Festival, we really wanted to feature the best Samsung has to offer. The dual-door refrigerator is designed by Massimo Zucchi, the guy who designs Rolex watches,” says Daene Luna, Samsung HA brand manager.

Feels Like Team Spirit

STAR vice president for advertising Lucien Dy Tioco admits he didn’t foresee that the EAT Dining Festival would be such a huge campaign.

Work of art: The Samsung Jewel dual-door refrigerator is designed by Massimo Zucchi, the man who designs Rolex watches.

“When STAR Lifestyle editor Millet Mananquil informed me that she wanted to come up with a dining festival featuring 25 restaurants and their STAR-inspired dishes, I knew right away that the Ayala people would love the concept. The idea was to get 25 restaurants in Greenbelt to partner with us. But when we broached the idea to Ayala, we got such an enthusiastic response. They didn’t want to limit the scope to Greenbelt; they wanted EAT Dining Festival to be a mall-wide event. And, what a huge success it was,” enthuses Dy Tioco.

Part of EAT were also the star-studded food workshops by the country’s best-known chefs and foodies like STAR columnists/chefs Claude Tayag, Heny Sison, Ernest Gala and Stephanie Zubiri. They were joined by celebrity chefs Gaita Fores, Sau del Rosario, Roland Laudico, Tristan Encarnacion, Bruce Lim and Shirly Mae Galvez.

Ayala Land VP and Commercial Business head of Operations and Support Services Rowena Tomeldan says that every time The Philippine STAR and Ayala Malls come up with a unique and innovative concept, they always get the support of Ayala Malls’ retail partners.

“We didn’t have a hard time getting their support because I guess they appreciate how we work. Besides, the events that we come up with are very well thought out. In fact, from the original list of 25 restaurants, it grew to over a hundred. EAT Dining Festival was such a great concept that it wasn’t enough to limit it to Greenbelt. Ayala Malls have really gone beyond shopping. And we really took pains in finding the best restaurants to showcase in our malls. The EAT Dining Festival also gave homegrown restaurant concepts the much-needed exposure,” explains Tomeldan.

The prize is right: Samsung microwave oven is one of the prizes given away during the EAT Dining Festival raffle promo.

Ayala Malls and STAR have had great projects in the past, but this time — and for the first time — BPI joined and contributed a lot to the success of the EAT Dining Festival.

“We’ve been doing a lot of initiatives with Ayala Malls. Being sister companies, we have synergy. Our customer base, which is credit card holders, shops at Ayala Malls. When they were discussing the STAR initiative, they invited us to join because our customers are the patrons of the participating restaurants,” notes Ginbee Go, BPI SVP-Cards Issuing Division.

According to Dy Tioco, the partnership with Ayala Malls and BPI for EAT was a perfect fit.

“We are privileged that the Ayala Malls and BPI, who have been long-standing partners of STAR for the past 25 years, gave us their all-out support for this undertaking. Like our Lifestyle section, Ayala Malls has always been in the forefront of pushing new concepts and trends. And yes, you can expect something bigger and better next year,” Dy Tioco adds.

Philippine STAR VP for advertising Lucien Dy Tioco (third from right) with BPI Card assistant manager Trixie Llamas, EAT Dining Festival winners Raynee Rhea Tanalgo, Jhasel Vega, Ellenita Soliman, Pivi Diaz, and Samsung’s Daena Luna