Lady chef relishes serving Digong’s favorite dishes
BAGUIO CITY – After being sought to cater to President Rodrigo Duterte during the Philippine Military Academy graduation weeks ago, Chef Mariciris Salinas-Agas of Bay Leaf restaurant located in the heart of the City still feel the elation of serving the country’s premier leader.
“I never knew that the President was so down to earth and had a simple taste for Filipino inspired recipes,” said Agas.
The process, according to the enterprising Chef, is hard and tedious, where a number of food tasting and menu presentations had to go through the President’s food tasters prior to approval.
“But in the end all is very satisfying when you learn that the critical food tasters and the President give his nod with the food prepared,” she explains.
Chef Agas disclosed that the President’s food tasters also gave her tips as to what food he prefers and of his favorites from the main course to the desserts. “When I heard that his favorite for dessert are usually anything with bananas, I had to make something that looks and tastes special but with a Filipino twist,” Agas shares.
“He has a genuine appetite for simple Filipino recipes which shows that he is truly a Filipino by heart,” she reveals.
From the original seventy person in the list, Agas said that a day before the event when she finally got the bid, she was asked to add five hundred more as the President decided to have lunch with the graduating cadets with their parents.
“That was the hectic part,” she said, “I thought to myself can we do this, but the inspiration in her made the unthinkable possible.”