By Ricky Laxa
Staff Writer
The Philippine cuisine took center stage Saturday morning during the launch of ASEAN Cook Fest ’21 held at the International Culinary Arts (ICA) in Salmiyah Saturday morning attended by other foreign nationals including spouses of ASEAN ambassadors and charges D’ Affaires.
The first day of ASEAN Cook Fest featured Philippine cuisine spearheaded by Sous Chef Ramil de La Cruz and assisted by ICA Chef Trainers. The cooking class, which lasted three hours, showcased popular dishes from the Philippines; “Adobo and Kare Kare”. Adobo, a Spanish inspired dish and Kare Kare, a Moro and Indian origin cuisine fused with Filipino ingredients and procedures of preparation. Ten participants including wives of Ambassadors from Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia were among those who took part in the cooking session. Other nationals from South Africa, India, France and Romania were also present during the class.
School Director of ICA kicked off the event with a brief introduction of the ICA team and short but comprehensive presentation on background and history of the Philippines dishes. Ms. Princes Conwi, Cultural Attaché of the Philippine Embassy gave boxes of Philippine ingredients made by Mama Sita to all the participants of the event. Philippine Ambassador’s spouse Chef Noor Jarifah Lomondot expressed her gratitude to the other embassies for participating on the event. Master Chef de la Cruz said that due to the availability of most products from Philippines, preparing authentic dishes are possible. “Philippine cuisine constantly evolves due twists on procedures and ingredients but somehow manage to retain authentic tastes. With over 70 dialects spoken in the country and 7,000 islands, although diverse and present different versions of dishes but one common factor remains; its authentic taste as truly Filipino” added De la Cruz. The rest of the other ASEAN embassies have already committed to other days in the coming weeks.
Participants to the event were closely supervised and assisted by four Chef trainers; Moana Senadhira, Mariefe Torio, Raynald Miranda, Bea Carvajal and Mary Abegail Lopez. The event was sponsored by Dadabhai Travels and Al Muzaini Exchange. “We are honored to have been invited to sponsor this event” added Paulita Lundang, Manager of Dadabhai Travesl Salmiya branch. The Times Kuwait is a media partner of the event.