A few days ago SM Hypermarket Iloilo hosted the third leg of its cooking demos and this time it brought in an Ilonggo chef who’s making waves in the big city. Speaking fluently in Ilonggo during his stint was Chef Menoy Gimenez, the executive chef of the Cravings group – which includes Cravings Restaurant and Bakeshop, The Coffee Beanery and C2 Classic Cuisine, among others. 
He also takes charge at the kitchen of Casa Roces - a heritage restaurant in a converted family home near Malacañan Palace and has a heritage menu," "The menu is inspired by the family’s published cookbook, recipes from the 1940s and ’50s of relatives living here or abroad. That’s where it started." Celebrations, a Culinary Feast from the Roces-Reyes Table was published in 2010 and is filled with the family’s recipes handed down from generation to generation. (from Business World Online)
The recipes shared by Chef Menoy had a sort of international flair as it ranged from Japanese and Chinese specialties to Mexican and Italian dishes– yet all having the familiar ingredients. The product sponsor is among the most recognizable brands today – CDO Foodsphere. With products ranging from hotdogs and canned tuna to process Pinoy favorites like tocino and tapa, CDO is among the major players in the food processing in the Philippines.
For starters, Chef Menoy decided to go Japanese with a Maki Roll that utilized San Marino Chili Corned Tuna. As a big fan of this brand of corned tuna, I expected it to be good and it was! The cucumber and mangoes provided the contrasting sweet and fresh flavour and texture to the corned tuna’s spice and saltiness. The rice, Japanese mayo and garnishing completed the flavour as well as visuals for the dish plus the rice made it a complete meal.
Then we traveled to Mexico as it was Burrito that was next on the cooking menu. Making use of San Marino Tuna Paella, Chef Menoy first concocted salsa and “refried beans” – a mixture of beans and olives. The using a soft tortilla wrap, he placed all the three mixes then added vegetables, seasoning and cheese. After heating it in the microwave oven, he browned the burrito in the pan and resulted to a very delicious, filling and (again) very delicious dish that instantly became my favorite that day.
Next was Chao Fan rice – a Chinese specialty but made to suit our taste using CDO Young Pork Tocino. He emphasized that CDO makes an almost fatless tocino and the most tender in the local market. It was a mix of vegetables, egg and tocino with seasonings like chicken powder and oyster sauce served with leeks and chicharap.
“Viva Italia” was next on the menu as Chef Menoy prepared two Italian classic dishes – pasta and pizza, using San Marino Chili Corned Tuna and CDO Beef Tapa. It was the classic pasta Puttanesca – anchovies, capers, olives, olive oil, etc, with the infusion of the corned tuna over penne pasta. It was one spicy pasta dish I don’t mind eating over again even if the insides of my mouth burns like hell. 
The pizza recipe had a Japanese twist to it as well as Greek as teriyaki sauce was used instead of tomato sauce and soft tortilla as crust. Using vegetables like cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, leeks, etc., it almost was unrecognizable as a pizza if not for the cheese that bought back the taste of pizza. Add Filipino to the list, by the way as CDO beef tapa was used as the meat topping.
And finally, an easy to prepare snack item utilizing the most popular CDO product - Ulam Burger! It was like the mix of leftover ingredients from the other recipes like – tortilla wraps, cheese, tomato salsa, lettuce and mayonnaise, but using Ulam Burger, it became a new gastronomic creation on it’s own plus given the familiar taste of Ulam Burger, it surely be one of favorites.
Another afternoon (though it ended past pm) full of cooking and eating has ended but we all went home with new ideas just using what we already are familiar with and staples in the kitchen. All it takes was one tiny spark of inspiration shared by Chef Menoy and CDO Food products through the SM Hypermarket Master Chef program.
After all, it used to be that we only eat to live. Today, however, the role of food and cooking has changed and expanded. What was just a “tummy-filler” has become a way of entertainment, a fitting celebration, a form of self expression, a lifestyle and even a new culture!*Complete recipes will be posted soon
ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
Many thanks for Jonel Uy of LetsGoSago and to Ms. Aren Patron of SM Hypermarket Iloilo
Many thanks for Jonel Uy of LetsGoSago and to Ms. Aren Patron of SM Hypermarket Iloilo
