All is Well That Ends Well!
The Cebu Food and Wine Festival was designed to be an adrenaline boost to the business groups in the hospitality industry that have endured the pandemic. This is true for the Visayas region, especially Cebu which had suffered a double whammy of a pandemic and Typhoon Odette. It was organized by the Cebu Food Tourism Board with support from the Department of Tourism and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Grand Finale of the Festival 2022 was held at the Jpark Island Resort and Waterpark Cebu and GM Brain Connely (also the V.P. of Operations) welcomed guests to a lovely spread of Japanese dishes from Nonki Japanese Restaurant with craft beers, wines & cocktails. Two food suppliers were also present, La Carne Cebu and Jiga Farms.
People always form a beeline when roast beef is served at food festivals. And the line seems longer when the food connoisseurs know that La Carne Cebu has supplied the beef which could be sourced from US Certified Angus Beef, Australian Rangers Valley WX Wagyu, or Cape Grim GrassFed Beef from Tasmania.
Live cooking is always an anticipated event and Nonki Chefs were busy preparing the Ebi Tempura, Chicken Teppanyaki & Hotate Bacon. The latter dish, scallops wrapped in bacon easily became one of my favorites that night with the taste of the usually mild-flavored scallops enhanced by the bacon wrap. By the way, have you heard the 5-minute rule of frying the Ebi Tempura to your table for optimum crispiness?
Nonki Japanese Restaurant always places a premium on food presentation and this was shown by the two dishes, Salmon & Tuna Sashimi and the Fresh Fruits on a Platter. Has Jpark Island Resort sourced these delicious fruits from Jiga Farms?
Alcohol beverages like craft beers were served by Monkey Eagle Brewery (Tagaytay City) and Bauhinia Brewery (Cebu City). Old and dependable D+B Wines Spirits is a permanent fixture in food and wine festivals. In fact, they have been recognized as having the best wine selection in Cebu.
Jpark Island Resort’s Chairman and President Justin Uy gave the closing speech of the festival. He related how he felt after Typhoon Odette damaged the property and even contemplated closing it. However, on his walk around the resort, he saw this majestic mango tree still standing tall even with 195 km/hour wind!
Well, he must have thought, excuse me, that if that tree can stand tall, so can I. All is well that ends well!