Victorias Foods : Heritage Recipes Cherished through Generations

Victorias.

Mention this Negros Occidental component city and it makes me think of two things.

First is SUGAR. It is home to Victorias Milling Company - the Philippines largest sugar refinery at the same time the world's largest integrated sugar mill.

And second, is HOT SARDINES. I can still remember this iconic brand wayback in the late 80s and 90s, in its bright yellow labeled cans.

Opening a can or bottle of Victorias Hot Sardines or Bangus, I can still vividly recall the contents swimming in rich soya or olive oil. And as far as I can remember, I always have that sublime gastronomic experience each time we have a Victorias meal.

I considered it a luxury back then as it was among the really few oil-based products in the sea of tomato-based canned sardines.

Years passed and with more new competing brands out there, Victorias has still maintained its quality and tastes deliciously the same - as always.

A TASTE OF NEGROS

With a good portion of my taste memories having known and being a "suki" of this brand, I really didn't have second thoughts to be part of Victorias Food Corporation's " A Taste of Negros " campaign.

With this thrust, VFC highlights pride of place and pays homage to its origin - Negros, which just two hours away from Iloilo.

And along with all the iconic Negrense delicacies (chicken inasal, piaya, local sweets like Napoleones to its fresh seafood), VFC prides itself to be that delightful Negrense ingredient to help elevate any homecooked meal.

Created from a heritage recipe born in a Negrense kitchen and cherished through generations, Victorias Food Corporation only uses fishes caught from the fishing grounds of the Visayan Sea and milkfish farmed in the fish pens of Bacolod, where the brackish water is perfect for raising the finest quality bangus.

Further demonstrating VFC’s loyalty to the region where it has its origins, as well as their promise to using only quality ingredients, most of what goes into Victorias Foods Spanish Style Bangus and Sardines in Soya Oil are sourced in the Visayas, bringing those real Ilonggo flavors to Filipino homes.

Enter Chef Tope Arañador. A graduate of Center for Culinary Arts (CCA), Chef Tope honed his kitchen skills at Zenaris Restaurant in Canada, Mandarin Oriental, Stella and Madison Restaurants in Manila and since 2013, he has been bringing creative and exciting creations to the Ilonggos as the owner and head chef of PUNOT Restaurant.

With his passion for Ilonggo gastronomy and Visayan comfort food, Chef Tope adds unexpected twists to favorite dishes with Victorias Foods Spanish Style Bangus and Sardines in Soya Oil , making everything truly a delightful gastronomic experience.

LEVELING UP THE "DE LATA"

For our VFC cuIinary journey, Chef Tope first served us Sardines and Tomato Pizza . With Punot's signature thin and crunchy crust and using the VFC Sardines in Soya Oil, it was a visual delight to begin with.

The tomato sauce, mozarella cheese, onions, capers, fresh tomato slices and herbs - all created perfect unison with the sardines as the main topping.

And it was a real delight on the first bite! Not only the toppings of choice appealed to the eyes it had taste - both literal and figurative. I took my second piece after that...

Next was the Bangus Bruschetta which was the ultimate visual delight. Beautifully plated, every angle comes out with the dish as photogenic as it can be.

Chef Tope's version consisted of toasted bread and topped with tomatoes and VFC Bangus in Soya Oil. A perfect fusion of international and local ways of cooking and ingredients.

Completing the trio of dish creations was the Sardine Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Kangkong.

I had a sort of deja vu with this as I may have experimented on the same ingredients before. But Chef Tope edged me out with the use of the sun dried tomatoes.

I liked how the pasta had flaked sardines in its sauce as well as big chunks of it as toppings. With that you can actually taste how well the canned sardines goes well with the dish plus see its versatility for other pasta or dishes as well. The kangkong, olives and sun dried tomatoes created a symphony of flavors complementing the sardines.

These are just three of the many dishes Chef Tope and VFC has prepared for us to enjoy. I heard that there are a dozen more being concocted at Punot.

So I suggest for you to follow Victorias Foods Corporation on Facebook as they already have posted a few of these recipes.

I might also be trying to recreate the recipes (and blogging them too) to make myself also on-hand on trying out to level up my favorite de lata.

And as for the bottled ones, I'd reserve them for a good plate of hot rice enjoying every bit of the sardines or bangus and that really delectably seasoned (hot) olive oil.

Namit gid!

Victorias Foods Corporation products (Hot Sardines and Hot Bangus on Soya Oil) are available in these supermarkets in Metro Manila, Luzon and Panay as well in various states in the US.

Victorias Foods Corporation (VFC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Victorias Milling Company, Inc. (VMC). To know more about VFC, click this link.

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