Madrid Fusión Manila: A Culinary Tale of Two Cities
Philippine Primer attended the trade exhibition and joined one of the food tunnels held at the biggest gastronomic event that hit Manila.
As we said in our previous article, Madrid Fusión Manila is one of the world’s biggest and most forward-thinking culinary events. It has a solid 12-year track record of bridging together cultures through food. This year’s event aims to highlight the 300 years of shared history between the countries Spain and the Philippines. As most of us already know, the Philippines was once a colony of Spain. This explains the similarity in culture, language and most importantly food.
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OPEN TO CHEFS, FOODIES and food-and-beverage companies, Madrid Fusion Manila is part of the “Visit the Philippines Year 2015” festivities and aims to bring world renowned and Michelin starred international chefs together in order to share their knowledge and skills and also show the world what the city of Manila (and the Philippines) has to offer gastronomically.
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April 26, the last of the three day event, was a fine day for food and wine. Like previous days, the three landmark events of Madrid Fusion Manila were held.
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JAMON IBERICO, sliced and plated,
PREMIUM SHERRY from Barcino Corporation was served to participants with flair.
DIFFERENT VARIETIES of this staple food will always be part of food exhibits in the Philippines and of a quintessential Filipino meal.
DARE YOU TRY labuyo (hot pepper) sauce on cucumber mint sherbet?
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The Primer team, for one, spent part of their afternoon sampling Philippine and Spanish cheeses paired with jams, honey, nuts and grapes. Cheese is undeniably a defining part of each of these country’s cultures. Each cheese had its own delectable and distinct taste to offer. Coupled with the freshness of a grape, the sweetness of honey, the unique kick of mango-calamansi jam and the texture of nuts, each variety is truly an unforgettable experience for both ones memory and palate.
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Philippine Primer joined the food tunnel on Philippine and Spanish cheeses, jams, honey, nuts and grapes.
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The kinds of cheese offered during the event’s sampling of Philippine and Spanish Cheeses would be Murcia al Vino, Manchego Joven, Mahon and San Simon. As for the Philippines, the featured cheeses were Kesong Puti, Mozzarella, Gouda cheese, and Cream Cheese.
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SPAIN’S MAHON CHEESE was offered with freshly-baked bread, grapes, mango-calamansi jam and special nuts.
HONEY accompanied the Philippines’ mozzarella.
QUEZO SAN SIMON is hard in consistency and quite flavorful.
EVERYTHING WAS ALMOST GONE as people obviously enjoyed the Philippine cream cheese on crackers with some grapes and nuts.
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The three-day international event has come to an end, but we will keep in mind our learnings on fine food and wine, what it symbolizes in a country’s culture and how it trickles down across nations and continents through globalization.
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Photos and article by Carol Premacio
