Kevin Cherkas at Sage
Canadian- born chef Kevin Cherkas is a world- class culinary master trained at Michelin- star restaurants Arzak, El Bulli and Daniel. Cherkas, who is now based in Bali, Indonesia, was one of the chefs featured at the recently concluded Madrid Fusion Manila 2016. He stayed in Manila for a bit longer for a limited engagement of three dinners at Sage Bespoke Grill at the Makati Shangri- La Manila.
My f r iend and fellow foodie Al icia Sy posted on Instagram that she had eaten at Cherkas’ restaurant in Bali and was excited when she learned that the renowned chef was coming over to Manila. I was thrilled when ShangriLa informed me that Cherkas was confirmed to cook three dinners at Sage.
It was excellent dining experience that included predinner cocktails and a seven- course dinner paired with the finest Spanish wines. Cherkas and his wife Virginia went around the room making sure diners were having a good time. His Ceviche de Pescado consisted of fresh raw fish and chili lime dressing but what made it unique was the watermelon ice that topped this refreshing dish. My favorite had to be his arroz caldoso, which basically looked like a squid ink risotto or paella… but this dish had no rice! Those little morsels were actually squid meat cut up into little morsel- sized pieces. The dish was topped with crispy, popped Valencian rice.
Cherkas’ other dishes included grilled Galician octopus, organic honey fried chicken, and beef and mushroom with a fantastic red Rioja marmalade. I enjoyed both of the desserts he made — “Desayuno,” which looked like a raw egg that actually was a “yolk” filled with a sweet runny mango above whipped coconut and frozen passion fruit; and “Tarta de tearamisu,” which was a black tea cake grass jelly, mascarpone cream and caramelized seeds.
It was indeed a memorable dinner, what with a wonderful meal cooked by one of the friendliest, funniest, multiawarded and most talented young chefs in the world... especially when the dinner fell right on my birthday!
As a featured chef at the Madr id Fusion Ma n i la 2016, Che rka s sha r ed his cook i ng philosophy on serving Western cooking made f rom the best and f reshest local ingredients.
He also runs Cuca in Bali, together with his wife Virginia, serving up cuisine made only f rom the best and f reshest local ingredients thoughtfully curated from ar tisanal producers in Indonesia.