LASA Pilipinas Episode 1: Filipino Palate Complexities
Created by Chef John Buenaventura, the first ever Lasa Pilipinas menu explored the incredibly sophisticated filipino palate, rooted in centuries of fermentation and layers of umami, made richer and brighter by a symphony of strong produce and traditions like coconut husk barbecue and the most beautiful citrus- calamansi.
Venue: Skafos, Canopy by Hilton Al Seef, Dubai
Dubai, 21 February 2020 - The first ever LA-SA Dinner took place at the Skafos Restaurant in the newly rebranded Canopy by Hilton, curated by Filfood and culinary design works prepared by Filipino Chef John Buenaventura. LA-SA, a filipino word for taste, is a new gourmet series by Filfood aiming to increase awareness about the sophisticated nature of Philippine cuisine, variety of Filipino gastronomy talent in the UAE and quality of authentic Philippine ingredients and flavors. The event logo is composed of the ancient filipino script called baybayin.
At the modern Skafos restaurant located in Al Seef Dubai, guests of different nationalities as well as filipinos participated in a haute cuisine Filipino tasting menu which featured fresh filipino fruits and vegetables such as calamansi, saba bananas, mangoes, “Suka Pinakurat” Vinegar, Labuyo chilis, salted egg, shrimp paste and pumpkin, transformed into deconstructed versions of childhood delights that made the evening a timeless experience to remember. Some of Chef John’s notable creations were “Pinakbet” Chips with a shrimp paste aioli, Pandesal with salted egg butter, Calamansi Ginger & Chili Sorbet as the intermezzo and Kare Kare not as a main dish but an accompanying sauce for once with an eggplant pickle and garlic crumble.
The guest list included Filfood Global partners Sonia Delen, President of The Filipino Movement in the USA and Demee Koch, Marketing Development Director of Filfood Europe, Philippine Philippine Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes and Spouse Yasmin Cortes, Sunjeh & Shanaaz Raja, CEO/Co-founders of International Center for Culinary Arts, Andy & Josephine Cuthbert, Chairman of Emirates Culinary Guild and GM of Jumeirah Creekside Hotel & Madinat Jumeirah Incentives and Events, Remco Werkhoven, General Manager of DoubleTree by Hilton Dubai, Flavel Monteiro, award-winning culinary author and publisher of WG Magazines, Filfood Culinary Team members Chef Roberto Fortuno, Pastry Chef Roderick Hinampas, Beverage Master Albert Opena, Filfood Directors, Janet & Jovy Tuano and other influential business and community leaders.
Watch LASA Pilipinas Episode #1 unfold below.
So, what's next you ask? Stay tuned for the next LASA Pilipinas event coming in April 2020.
Tasty regards,
The Filfood Team