FIRST FOOD SAFARI - September 24/25, 2011

The evening of Sept 24, 2011 was the launching of Tour Flair’s First Food Safari at Restaurant 101 in Enderun Colleges, at McKinley Hill in Bonfacio. Nicolas Cantrel - Enderun’snewly arrived French chef form Alain Ducasse in Paris, was to prepare a French/ Filipino fusion gourmet dinner – a first in Filipino cuisine. Chef Cantrel was winner of the acclaimed Iron Chef earlier this year, and was Master Chef to many of Ducasse’s Michelinstarred restaurants in France and New York.

All the guests proceeded to Enderun’s demo kitchen on the second floor where Chef Cantrel wowed everyone with his demonstration of the local banana – “saging saba” – baked to perfection with ham and gruyere cheese. Mouthwatering! This was followed by his Frenchified version of the traditional local favourite, Karé Karé de Pata ( stewed pig's knuckles in peanut sauce) with Ravioli. We all had a small tantalising taste of this special dish as it was to be served as the main course at the dinner.

Cantrel Demonstration Kare-kare Ravioli

We then all proceeded to the foyer where an aperitif and hors d’oeurves were served at the bar. The gruyere lumpia (spring rolls) served piping hot and the “escargots” with coconut on a pastry shell were to die for. Enderun’s signature cocktail really put everyone in the right mood and we still had a 4 course dinner - with wine pairings - to look forward to.

At dinner we were served an entré of Stuffed Crab with citrus (crabes farcis aux agrumes) washed down with a fabulous Pinot Grigio followed by Chef Cantrel’s special sorbet to cleanse the pallet before the long awaited Kare Kare Ravioli (ravioli de beufs aux aubergine). This dish was certainly something out of this world – like something no one ever tried before and it was absolutely divine! The fusion of the French/ Filipino cuisine really brought out to perfection the texture and flavour of the dish. Even the die-hard Filipino food enthusiasts and famed local Chef Sau del Rosario were totally impressed. One of the foreign guests commented that it was one of the best dishes she had tasted in a long time. Congratulations to Chef Extraordinaire Nicolas Cantrel! And to top it all off, he served us the most exquisite “mille fleur de noix de cajou” – his version of Sans Rival.

All 35 guests were overly satisfied -- certainly a fitting start to TOUR FLAIR’S FOOD SAFARI

The next day, a group of 30 met at Enderun for a full day Food Safari in Pampanga – just an hour north of Manila. Our first stop was the turn-of –the –century kitchen of Lilian Borromeo, one of the pioneers of traditional Pampango cuisine. We saw how hot chocolate was prepared in those times – from the grounding of the cocoa beans and peanuts in an antique stone grinder to the final delicious Pampango hot chocolate drink. She demonstrated her famous local deserts and San Nicolas cookies using the old traditional utensils, pots and pans.Her stories behind the origins of the dishes were truly interesting. Everyone had their fill of hot chocolate, cookies, tomato jellies, and “tibuk-tibuk” – and of course, we had to buy, to take home these incredible freshly prepared goodies.

Lillian Borromeo giving food demo Grinding the "tsokolate"

Then it was off to Angeles – where we were greeted with a refreshing fruit drink by renowned Filipino Chef Sau del Rosario at the ancestral home of the Henson family. Chef Sau was trained in all the top Manila hotels, then furthered his training in France in several Michelin Star restaurants. He managed restaurants in Shanghai and Singapore before returning to Manila to open his own, among them the popular Museum Café. The Henson home was builtusing wood and stone in 1824 by Angel Pantaleon de Miranda who founded the city of Angeles. This beautiful Spanish/Filipino home, with it’s wood beams, antique wooden flooring and furnishing and kitchen was a fitting venue for the traditional Pampango cuisine prepared by Chef Sau. Chef Sau’s demo of Pampanga tamales – local style – was followed by a 6-course sit-down lunch. Each dish was exquisitely plated, one tasting better than the next, and as they were served to the guests, Chef Sau explained the history and background of the different dishes. He outdid himself with his special “Guava Soup” and traditional “morcon". This was followed by tasty “kakanins” (local desserts).

Menu: Paco Salad with Prawns; Burong Mangga with Fried Catfish; Bulanglang – Guava Sinigang Stew; Rellenong Bangus – Stuffed Milkfish; Morcon – Meatroll; Tibok-tibok, Jalea de Ube, Flan

Chef Sau demonstrating tamale making Pampango style

After a sumptuous and filling lunch, all the ladies – in true form – went to the local shops to buy more sweets and goodies - specialties of the region.

Chef Sau serving guests Paco Salad with Prawns

And still we were not satisfied. We hopped on the coaster, and crossed all the way to Arayat, in the foothills of the famed Pampanga mountain, to converge on a small, quaint “halo halo” shop (this is a local dessert with a mix of corn, beans, pastillas de leche, and carabao milk with crushed ice). A really fabulously delicious end to the FOOD SAFARI!

This is just the first of a series of Filipino Food Safaris that TOUR FLAIR will be promoting around the Philippines. A Food Safari to Vigan - a heritage listed Spanish town up north, and to Ilocos Norte, as well as the historical town of Pila, Laguna south of Manila, are being planned. Chef Sau del Rosario will be the host chef.