Wazzup Pilipinas!
Filipinos love to eat. This is probably why there's a lot of restaurateurs setting up their own food business here in Manila. Both local and foreign brands have proliferated as fast as our backyard mushrooms. It seems in every corner of an area, there's a restaurant coming into scene. We see a lot of popular international restaurant franchises now setting foot in the Philippines.
Thus, it is not surprising that a food-related event will be very successful as everyone seems to be eyeing to be a chef nowadays. Everyone wants to be a culinary expert so they can be called "chef" with the utmost qualifications and credentials. Setting up a restaurant is always easy, but you need to provide great tasting food with superior presentation so it will please all the senses that Filipinos will adore.
Madrid Fusión, one of the most globally anticipated annual gastronomic affairs, is set to seize the Manila summer with three exciting events—the International Gastronomy Congress, Trade Exhibition and Flavors of the Philippines Festival. A grand launch was held at Fairmont Hotel in Makati last March 2, 2015 led by Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Mon Jimenez.
This will be an interesting event to be part of this coming April. I can't wait for April. But never worry, time flies so fast especially when you're having lots of fun eating your way towards the said date. More restaurant reviews soon along the way as we get near Madrid Fusion Manila.
Organized annually in Madrid, Spain since 2003, Madrid Fusión has been locally dubbed as Madrid Fusión Manila and will be held at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City from April 24 to 26, 2015. Celebrating over 300 years of cultural ties, Madrid Fusión Manila aims to renew the culinary spark between the Philippines and Spain.
Internationally renowned, Michelin-starred Spanish chefs and notable Filipino celebrity chefs will take center stage at the Congress to discuss and demonstrate the latest trends and techniques to transform global cuisine. Food connoisseurs and gastronomes will surely enjoy the Festival happening simultaneously all over Metro Manila, including a Tapas Festival, food tours and tastings, roving food trucks, bar crawls, and more.
Featured Spanish Chefs:
● Andoni Luis Aduriz (Mugaritz, 2 Michelin stars & 3 Repsol suns)
● Elena Arzak (Arzak, 3 Michelin stars & 3 Repsol suns)
● Quique Dacosta (Denia, 3 Michelin stars & 3 Repsol suns)
● Ramón Freixa (Ramón Freixa Madrid, 2 Michelin stars & 3 Repsol suns)
● Francis Paniego (Echaurren, 2 Michelin stars & 3 Repsol suns)
● Paco Roncero (La Terraza del Casino, 2 Michelin stars & 3 Repsol suns)
● Mario Sandoval (Coque, 1 Michelin star & 3 Repsol suns)
● Paco Torreblanca (Torreblanca Bombonerías, Best Pastry Chef in Spain and Europe)
Featured Filipino Chefs:
● Fernando Aracama (Aracama)
● Margarita Fores (Lusso)
● Jay Gamboa (Cirkulo)
● José Luis Gonzalez (Gallery Vask)
● Pepe Lopez (Rambla)
● Rob Pengson (The Goose Station)
● Bruce Ricketts (Mecha Uma)
● Myrna Segismundo (Restaurant 9501)
● Claude Tayag (Bale Dutung)
● Juan Carlos de Terry (Terry’s)
I've got the chance to interview the youngest among the chefs namely Chef Bruce Ricketts of Mecha Uma and it is admirable that an early age he has already made a significant achievement in the culinary world. This participation in the Madrid Fusion Manila event will surely catapult his career much further. I've seen a lot of chefs having their own television shows and are now treated as celebrities since they share the limelight of showbizness.
The Trade Exhibition will feature Spanish and Filipino premium products such as Spanish wines, cheeses, sausages, hams, beers, and sweets, as well as, Philippine rice, cacao, coffee, mango, coconut, liqueurs, chocolates, cheeses, nuts and artisanal salts, and various world-class kitchen equipment.
"The whole concept behind Madrid Fusión is to get the best in culinary arts to come to Manila, share their knowledge, and learn from our local culinary chefs at the same time. Not only are we excited to
learn from the modern techniques, this event serves to challenge our food artisans to bring out the best in their craft and to start a crusade to make Manila the center of culinary excellence in this region,"said Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr.. Madrid Fusión Manila is a joint partnership between DOT, the Tourism Promotions Board and Madrid Fusión organizers Foro de Debate and ARUM.
I think the question that really raised eyebrows during the press conference was the pricing for the event. We've seen that the price for students are a bit steep for the Philippine setting. There are group discounts available but the amount is still too high for an ordinary student. Thus we could expect participation of only the middle to high class attendees who can afford to pay the fee. However, the panel did explain that the event was not an ordinary gathering or workshop. The learning that participants will get from the event is equally high-end.
I've also asked if there will be online access via livestreaming or similar technologies to allow us to view some of the highlights through the Internet. There was assurance that there will be a technology provider to provide online updates through social media but they were not very clear about the video access. Since the event is still in April, there will be plenty of time to setup these requirements if budget and approval will be provided.
Thank you for the selfies with Chef Claude Tayag. This is not my fir5st time to meet the chef. I've listened to one of his talks in Pampanga before during the Pampanga Culinary tour organized by one of the museums there.
For information on the chefs, the activities and registration, please visit http://madridfusionmanila.com.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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