Third time’s more charm
Generally the topics should and would adhere to the theme, but in my experience, the speakers would normally delve more on food topics of their respective expertise and this is actually even better for congress participants.
The first time the city hosted Madrid Fusion Manila in 2015 raised a lot of eyebrows as Manila was chosen over far more illustrious Asian cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Singapore notwithstanding the long Spanish heritage the Philippines had with its former colonizer. The “franchised” gastronomic event from Spain was a seemingly ambitious project, but it succeeded on its first endeavor and took the local and Asian culinary scene by storm thanks to the vision of our Department of Tourism during the previous Aquino administration. This year, Madrid Fusion Manila is on its third year with more expectations and high benchmarks set by the two previous staging.
April 6 to 8, all roads lead only to the Mall of Asia for us gourmands as the SMX Convention Center hosts the 3rd Madrid Fusion Manila, this year with a serious theme: “Towards a Sustainable Gastronomic Planet.” The press release from the Department of Tourism said that this year’s Madrid Fusion Manila will explore how to transform gastronomy while respecting environmental limits and enhancing cultural traditions.
The highlight of this event — like at all Madrid Fusions, both the original one in Madrid (where it has been held since 2003) and here in Manila — will be the International Gastronomy Congress, where the biggest international and local culinary names will take the center stage at the large souped-up high-tech auditorium, complete with giant LED screen, ultra slick onstage kitchen and work stations, and simultaneous digital translation through audio headsets (used for non-English speaking chefs). Generally the topics should and would adhere to the theme, but in my experience from the handful of both Madrid Fusions I attended, the speakers would normally delve more on food topics of their respective expertise, and this is actually even better for congress participants.
This year’s impressive list of visiting culinary dignitaries who will take the stage includes several Michelin star chefs. Leading the way is the very hot and in demand Jordi Roca — previous winner of the title World’s Best Pastry Chef — from the threeMichelin Star restaurant El Celler de Can Roca (Spain) which is currently ranked as the No. 2 restaurant in the world according to the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Other big names are Pedro Subijana of three-Michelin Star restaurant Akelarre (Spain), Paco Perez of two-Michelin Star restaurants Miramar and Enoteca (Spain), Gert de Mangeleer of the three-Michelin Star restaurant Hertog Jan (Belgium), Simon Rogan of the threeMichelin Star restaurant L’Enclume (United Kingdom), Magnus Ek of the two-Michelin Star restaurant Oaxen Krog & Slip (Sweden), and many more.
Their Filipino counterparts at the congress will be local icons Gene Gonzales, Robby Goco, and the fast rising Jordy Navarra. The depth and breadth of this lineup is as good as it gets!
PREVIEW AT MADRID FUSION XV
In my proudest Filipino moment at Madrid Fusion XV in Spain, I was at the well-attended auditorium at the Palacio Municipal de Congresos in Madrid when it was the turn of the Philippines to officially launch the upcoming Madrid Fusion Manila. Tourism directress Verna Covar-Buensuceso delivered a short but very meaningful talk, confidently predicting that the Philippines will be the next big culinary hub in the world and announcing that from April 6 to 8, the country will once more host Madrid Fusion Manila, our third year in a row. The official launch came after chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou’s mesmerized the audience with his talk on Philippine salt and showed a video of his journey to discover Mindanao cuisine, including that of the complex and exotic looking Palapa sauce — a traditional Maranao delicacy composed of very toasted/ burned coconut, chili, ginger, scallion, and lemongrass. There was a surreal, Anthony Bourdain-like quality to the video and it surely kept the Madrid Fusion delegates glued to their seats. Finally, chef Tatung ended with a demonstration of two dishes from Mindanao, one being a seafood assortment with Palapa sauce. His performance at the Congress was one of the most applauded presentations in all of Madrid Fusion XV.
Aside from being at the center stage, Madrid Fusion Manila also had a strategic stand right next to the entrance of Madrid Fusion XV. The stand was one of the busiest in the entire Gastronomy Exhibition area. Not only were Filipino dishes being sampled (I heard champorado [chocolate rice pudding] was a hit), even cocktails made from local spirits like the ultra premium Don Papa rum, and Manille Liqueur de Calamansi, were being served.
The other highlight of Madrid Fusion Manila is the International Gastronomy Expo. The exhibition center this year will once again showcase gourmet food, cheeses, wines, other beverages, ingredients, technologies, fresh produce, services and rare finds from Spain, the Philippines, and other countries. There will be plenty of food tastings as well as free seminars and talks within the Expo area covering different culinary and gastronomy topics. Like when I had new discoveries in Madrid Fusion XV, I am sure there will be something new for attendees this year.
Finally, I am happy to announce here in my column that I once again will be very much part of Madrid Fusion Manila 2017, and will be the host of the Wine Tunnel that will feature several Spanish wines. For specific schedules of Congress speakers, other activities and seminars, please visit the official Web site at www. madridfusionmanila.com.
Despite a relatively hefty price for participating delegates at P20,000/ head ( group and student rates are lower), Madrid Fusion Manila is still a “must-attend” for people in the culinary
business. This is the best transfer of technology one can ever hope for if one is serious in this very competitive and ever-evolving industry. In conversations I had with fellow journalists and organizers at Madrid Fusion XV in Spain last January, I was pleasantly shocked to find out that Philippines had gotten more “buy-ins” on the Congress than even Spain did last year. The sheer numbers of paying local delegates shows that people involved in local gastronomy are serious at improving their skill sets to meet the best international culinary standards. Indeed, the third time around for Madrid Fusion Manila will be as charming as ever or perhaps even more.