LOOK WHO’S COOKING!
They brought together some of the metro’s most sought-after chefs and The Blue Leaf’s partner caterers — one chef paired with one caterer — for a first-of-its-kind collaboration to produce a sumptuous five-course menu exclusively available for events held at the events venue
What happens when 11 of the country’s top chefs team up in the kitchen with 11 of the busiest catering companies? They cook up crazily good and creative dishes, from appetizers to desserts, which are guaranteed to get your appetite going.
This was exactly the idea when The Blue Leaf Filipinas in ASEANA City, a premier events venue, teamed up with Our Awesome Planet, one of the country’s top food and travel blogs, to present a grand culinary event called Who’s Cooking?. They brought together some of the metro’s most sought-after chefs and The Blue Leaf’s partner caterers — one chef paired with one caterer — for a first-of-its-kind collaboration to produce a sumptuous five-course menu exclusively available for events held at the events venue.
“We, at The Blue Leaf, have so much appreciation for delicious food. Food is at the center of some of life’s best moments. Food ties us all together, especially when it’s exquisitely made by our country’s very own top chefs and caterers,” Eugene Sandejas, managing director of The Blue Leaf, says.
One team-up had chef Mikel Zaguirre of Locavore and Fyre Rooftop Lounge collaborating with Albergus. For this collaboration, chef Mikel banked on his arsenal of Continental flavors and married them to Asian flavors to create five unexpected dishes: Foiewich (seared foie gras or duck liver on thin buttered toast, served with onion jam and mango aioli; with French Onion Soup made into a spread); Softshell Crab Bisque
(softshell crab fry on banana spring roll, served with julienned radish in sesame oil and crab
bisque); Sous-vide
Short-rib
Green Curry (short ribs, cooked for eight hours in green curry sauce, served with eggplant caviar on coconut shell); Duck A’L Orange (seared duck breast served with sweet potato puree, sweet potato chips and orange-port wine reduction) and White Chocolate Blue Cheese Éclair (blue cheese mousse with sweet white chocolate and blue cheese, topped with poached and pickled pears).
Pair
No. 2 is composed of chef Ed Bugia of Pipino
Vegetarian, Pino Resto Bar, and Burger Project, among others, matched with Bizu. The result: fresh and inventive desserts given a savory twist. Their five-course meal: Mac
and Cheese Macaron (macaroni and English sharp cheddar cheese macaron with bacon); Maine Lobster Éclair (lobster rolled in butter and infused with truffle oil in soft éclair pastry); Pork and Apple Chips (slow-roasted pork belly on apple-infused cracker chicharon);
Foie Rocher (foie gras mousse with candied fruit in a milk chocolate shell with crushed almonds) and Caramel Pop Rock Lollipop (fun milk chocolate with salty sweet caramel topped with sour pop rocks).
The Lechon Diva, Dedet de la Fuente, of Pepita’s Kitchen, working with Center Table, produced a signature five-course menu of favorite Filipino dishes inspired by the flavors of land and sea — Phoenix
Crystal Nest (crispy bihon topped with cashew, chestnuts, chorizo Macao, mushrooms and the chef’s secret sauce); Foie Taco Crisp (gourmet taco crisp with foie); Lechon Flambe (boneless lechon with
balat as base topped with tender meat stuffed with rosemary and herbs); Squid Ink Crisp with Mangoes and Mussels (the saltiness of the squid ink and mussels work very well with the sweetness of the mango chunks) and Mango Crème Mousseline Crepe (custard flavored crepe with rich creamy filling bathed with mango).
Chef Robby Goco and Creamery worked around the healthy Greek cuisine orientation of chef’s Cyma Greek Kitchen and
Souv! By Cyma. Together, they whipped up Mini Wagyu Beef
Kebabs (bite-sized Wagyu beef patties with Green Pita bread, yogurt sauce and red sauce); Cheese Saganaki Station (Greek cheese on crispy horiatiko bread, topped with fig jam and honey); Spanakopita
Triangles (spinach and feta cheese in flaky pastry triangles); Marouli Salata (Greek spring salad of shredded mixed greens, tomato, spring onion, dill and crumbled feta); Seafood Yiouvetsi (prawns, mussels, clams and scallops on a bed of orzo pasta cooked in crustacean stock); and Roasted Leg of Lamb with Aligot (tender cuts of lamb served with roasted vegetables and cheesy aligot).
The team-up between chef Josh Boutwood, who owns Savage and Helm, and Hizon’s Catering resulted in a colorful Scandinavian menu. Their dishes were Swedish-inspired Cured Salmon, Herbed Cream Cheese Served on Toasted Sourdough (open-faced sandwich); Argentinian Roasted Chicken, Basil and Radish Salad and Chimichurri (roast chicken served with three-wild rice pilaf and petit
salad); Roast Pork, Caramelized and Pickled Carrot, Mustard Sauce (sprinkled with chicharon and popcorn); Sous-vide
Beef Cheeks with Parmesan Mashed
Potatoes (garnished with edible flowers and powdered pistachio) and Passion Fruit Gelee, White Chocolate Mousse and Oranges (tangy dessert with creamy white chocolate mousse and thin marinated orange slices).
Let chef Myke ‘Tatung’ Sarthou play with his food along with Juan Carlo Catering, and he comes up with contemporary Philippine cuisine that evokes nostalgia in small bites. Check out this menu: Duck for Cover (Mascovy duck rillettes and foie gras mousse on blackened toast); Pig and Bananas (honey-glazed pork with crunchy bits of longganisang Taal with or mashed bananas); Sultan’s Kiss (a small molded roll of al
dente Maranao rice flavored with buttery uni, mixed with shrimps and topped with salmon roe); A Bull of Its Horn (slow-roasted Batangas beef in Barako demi-glace and calamansi mostarda) and Tropical Rendezvous (deconstructed Brazo de Mercedes with dollops of ube and leche flan topped with crispy cassava chips). Who did chef Niño Laus of Ninyo Fusion Cuisine and Agimat Foraging Bar and Kitchen collaborate with? Why, K by Cunanan, of course, and this is their native Filipino menu: Pata, Bagnet, Buggy (pork trotters braised in bugnay wine, wrapped in homemade bagnet and topped with sampinit fruit); Kadios, Patani, Feta,
Compressed Watermelon, Kasuy (vegetarian croquettes drizzled with freshly foraged
honey); Pugita, Kulma, Cauliflower Puree, Pumpkin Bagoong, Mais and Vigan Longganisa Salsa (octopus braised with local chilies and cooked with dalandan and soy sauce);
Ox Tongue, Buto ng Langka, Pipian Berde (lengua skewers on a bed of jackfruit seeds, served with pipian sauce) and Coconut, Tibuk-Tibok, Latik, Burnt Coconut Tuille (tibuk-tibok with latik crumbs,
katmon and burnt coconut). Spanish chef Chele Gonzalez, who runs Gallery by Chele, teamed up with Mesclun Events Catering + Styling to create an interesting tapas-based five-course menu. On the menu were Gazpacho Ceviche (lapu-lapu ceviche marinated in spicy leche de tigre and served with strawberry gazpacho); Uni Txangurro (a classic Basque dish of spider crab in tomato sauce, sea urchin and Hollandaise sauce on sourdough toast); Pulpo Chimichurri (octopus, mojoverde and paprika potato espuma on black chip); Bolzico Tenderloin (risoni risotto with Parmesan chips, basil oil and jus) and Basque Cheesecake
(burnt cheesecake, raspberry gelato, matcha meringue, white chocolate and almond slivers).
Chef Natalia Moran is the person responsible for a number of Boracay restaurants, including The Sunny Side Café, and when she collaborated with the mother-and-daughter team behind Passion Cooks for Who’s Cooking?, it turned out to be a match made in heaven. Just look at the menu that they came up with: Pork and Mushroom Tapenade (sisig in a creamy tapenade, wrapped in puff pastry); Tinapa Pate on Tutong (modern Filipino breakfast of rice cooked Japanese style, served with smoked fish pate, salted egg and jellied tomato); Shrimp and Corn Fresh-pressed Tortellini
(fully loaded tortellini swimming in a rich shrimp bisque sauce with candied pistachio); Sous-vide Tuna with Couscous Salad and Mango
Coconut Sauce (fresh tuna with mango and lime, a beautiful mix of sweet and sour in one bite); Arabica-rubbed Roast Beef with Fried
Kamote and Truffle Mash (roast beef with chimichurri and soft tones
of coffee) and Guinataan Balls in White Coconut Sauce and Cookie Crumble (bilo-bilo in creamy coconut sauce with white chocolate, plus kamote and banana). be outdone was the Chan (of the
Not to team of chef Kalel
M Café Group, and Friends & Family) and The Red Chef & Events
Specialist. They came up with Pinoy pulutan
with a Japanese twist. Their menu: Ponzu Pinakurat
Kilawin with Wasabi Avocado and Gyoza Crisp (kilawin of shrimp, squid and blue marlin in pinakurat vinegar, topped with wasabi guacamole and served with fried gyoza wrapper); Aligue
Chirashi Mushi with Mentaiko Aburi (chirashi-inspired dish of scallops, shrimps, tamago, aligue and mayo, with unagi sauce and torched aburi); Balut Chawan Mushi with Uni and Ikura (balut yolk and juice, dashi and egg custard, topped with uni, ikura and gyoza sauce); Tapa Maki with Soy Cured Quail Eggs (tapa, egg and rice in one maki, with atchara and ginger, crusted with crispy garlic, and topped with cured quail egg) and Matcha Leche Flan with Kinako,
Adzuki Beans and Langka (matcha twist in classic leche flan, with halo-halo elements).
Chef Francis Lim and Tijoe the Caterer banked on their shared Chinese heritage to come up with dishes that stay true to their classic flavors but given a playful touch: Pork Satay Cups, Fried Crumbled
Tokwa (pork satay in a spicy and crumbly bite); Pork Patatim, Fried Mantou Sliders, Pickled Radish, Pickled Cucumber (open-faced fried mantou slider filled with pata tim with a sprinkling of peanuts);
Steamed Lapu-Lapu, Wansoy Chimichurri, Sweet Soy Mayo, Crispy Fish Skin (classic steamed lapu-lapu punctuate by sesame oil, green
onion and fish skin); Beef Terrine, Crunchy Tendon Chicharon (unadulterated beef flavor, fun chicharon crunch) and Haw Flakes Buchi with Cream Cheese (buchi stuffed with childhood memories in the tangy plum filling that replaces the traditional sweet bean filling). Now that you know who’s cooking, which signature five-course menu is tops with you?
One team-up had chef Mikel Zaguirre of Locavore and Fyre Rooftop Lounge collaborating with Albergus. For this collaboration, chef Mikel banked on his arsenal of Continental flavors and married them to Asian flavors to create five unexpected dishes.
The team-up between chef Josh Boutwood, who owns Savage and Helm, and Hizon’s Catering resulted in a colorful Scandinavian menu.