The "ber" months are coming

Very soon the “ber” months will be upon us. Thoughts of Christmas will come to mind. Carols will be played in public places and decor will be sold. Gifts will also be considered. A list, maybe a long one, will have to be prepared. Food is perhaps the most practical thing to give. Many will depend on ordering food gifts, especially those who do not want to be bothered with tedious preparation.

Lately we discovered a home-based baker who produces exquisite cakes and delicious viands. The young lady calls her outfit Gracey’s Kitchen, based in Quezon City, with telephone number 951-9713. She uses Valhrona chocolate for her baked goodies, hence her decadent chocolate cake with creamy caramel sauce is a winner. A junior costs P330 while the big one is at P950. Her apple pie is done with butterscotch, costing P400 and P750. Ensaymada is a favorite of ours. Gracey’s does a really yummy one at P300 for six pieces and P580 for a dozen. The unique espresso rockyroad walnut bars for P300 will delight anyone with a sweet tooth and the Valhrona dark chocolate cake plus the orange pound cake are mouth-watering. A very special item on the menu is caviar pie with shallots, dill and eggs topped with caviar. If you want a ready-to-serve holiday spread, take the paella valenciana, good for 20 persons at P2,000; lengua (8 to 10 persons at P1350); or stuffed chicken. While currently based in Quezon City, Gracey’s will be found at bazaars and at Mercato in the Global City starting in September. For gifts, she will make decorated packaging. Delivery can be requested but charges will depend on distance.

Chef-ing is one of today’s more popular careers. A lot of TV stations have some of their much-watched programs focused on culinary arts. When featured chefs are from 8 to 10 years of age, one gets truly amazed. We were glued to our television set for weeks and marvelled as the amazing boys and girls of “Junior MasterChef Australia” did the cooking, plating and presentation of their individual entries. Their techniques, styling and creativity are incredible. We wondered what their backgrounds were with regard to food preparation. Their confidence is admirable.

If kids have an aptitude for cooking, they do need some encouragement. We remember when a young four-year-old, whose mother is a great cook, offered to make breakfast for us during one of our visits to Hong Kong, using a stool to reach the stove. He even asked how I wanted the eggs to be done. Needless to say, he did a good job. We are happy to note, as well, that at a very young age (from 2 plus), little students in prep/nursery schools are given cooking lessons, happily bringing home what they “put in the oven.” One particular case is a baked stuffed potato with ground beef, minced bell pepper and grated cheese. It was delicious.  

We have watched various cooking demos on TV, including our very own “Kitchen Superstars,” but have yet to tune in to the one with younger participants.

For the former, we would like to see the host and judges inject more life into the show, a presence that would create more excitement. However, we are happy to see that aspiring cooks are getting much encouragement.

After focusing on the San Miguel On-line Cooking Contest in a previous column, we got information that the SM chain has embarked on a unique program to highlight a culinary lifestyle, so to speak. Sometime ago a friend commented that we used to eat to live, now we live to eat, to find enjoyment, to create, to be imaginative. To mark the 10th year of SM Hypermarts, the company launched a three-pronged series of activities that would culminate in September.

First off is a grand cooking demo series taking place in various stores every Tuesday and Thursday at 3 p.m. with the country’s talented professional chefs. Second is the kitchen make-over in which five lucky shoppers will have their kitchens made-over in cooperation with the Philippine School of Interior Design. The final event is the supervised cook-off in September in five locations with the help of government agencies and local communities. All these are aimed at uniting diverse sectors in what SM calls “Food-dom.” Take your pick, participate.

Happy cooking!

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