Set as home page
01/16/2011
Water is believed to attract wealth, so some cultures across the globe opt to welcome the New Year luck with a splash rather than with a bang.
In Singapore, about 20,000 colorful “wishing spheres” are left to float over Marina Bay to carry people’s wishes. In Bali, locals throw flowers and rice grains at sea for good fortune. In Sydney’s Port Jackson and in Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana, millions gather to witness some of the biggest fireworks displays on the planet.
In Boracay, Fox International Channels (FIC) and top confectionery brand Selecta gave hundreds a taste of New Year prosperity via the recently held Cool Decadence: An Epic Boracay Indulgence, featuring all-night dancing and unlimited cocktails and ice cream.
Staged at the newly-opened Epic Bar (sited on the former Hey Jude), the event underscored the different ways people can enjoy ice cream by the beach.
“The event is FIC’s and Selecta’s cap-off celebration. Our goal is to turn Boracay into a dessert junkie,” explained FIC Philippines territory director Jude Turcuato. “Boracay sees more high-end visitors in New Year than at other times, so we want to take advantage of the momentum by introducing the high-end nature of Selecta’s Gold series at the most high-end party place in Bora.”
The shindig also coincided with the launch of Epic Bar’s new attraction, Fruits in Cocktail bar, wherein cocktails come with real fruits. A drink from the bar, strawberry daiquiri, uses the new Berry Strawberry from Selecta’s new Gold series.
Paradise on a plate
Four chefs from five-star hotels in the island battled it out in the event’s highlight, the first Gold Series Selecta Dessert Competition. Chefs Christine San Diego of Ti Braz, Gomer Teodore and Alvin Brillo of Villa de Oro, Eric Arevalo and Jon Tuala of The Tides, and Salvador Mupra of Courtyard Bistro randomly picked a flavor from Selecta’s new Gold series and reinterpreted these flavors based on the theme “Island Dessert.” The chefs were allowed to bring their own ingredients, but they were given only 15 minutes to prepare.
Using the flavor Berry Strawberry, Chef Christine concocted her own strawberry crepe, inspired by her Paris trip. It is stuffed with fresh strawberries and topped with strawberries, mascarpone cheese, crushed pistachios and milk chocolate.
“I love the play of texture. It’s very different from your usual crepes,” commented a judge, Frances Haw of Summit Media Philippines.
“I like the presentation. It’s red, green — Christmas on a plate. The strawberry’s staying power on the palate is fantastic,” remarked another judge, TV host Rovilson Fernandez.
“It has a good balance of flavors,” added a judge from the audience.
Next, chef Alvin, representing chef Gomer Teodore, came up with mango crepe with chocolate truffle out of the Chocolate Truffles ice cream flavor.
“I’m very inspired when it comes to cooking,” confessed chef Alvin. “This dish is very easy to do. I used the chocolate truffle ice cream to equalize the acidity of mango.”
“The presentation is simple, but it’s a great dessert. I love the sweetness of mango,” said Frances.
“It’s very yummy. It’s like a little Boracay in a dessert. You can enjoy it anywhere you go,” enthused Fernandez.
An ice cream tower in mango and caramelized almond out of the Vanilla Almond flavor was the entry of The Tides’ Eric Arevalo, as represented by chef Jon Tuala. The ice cream came with fried tortilla, topped with almonds, mint leaves and mango puree sauce.
Rovilson praised the chefs’ use of local fruits like mangoes. “The mix of texture and crunch in his dish is fantastic.”
“It’s a contrast between the smoothness of milk and the hardness of almond,” said another judge, blogger Carlos Canlas.
Haw agreed. “Wonderful presentation. Smooth and crunchy,” she said.
A fruity ice cream caramel cake was the masterpiece of Chef Salvador Mupra, using the Hazelnut Brownie variant as base. He combined two fruity flavors: kiwi and mangoes, and enhanced these with chocolate and caramel sauces.
“Good presentation,” Haw said of chef Salvador’s opus. “The use of brownie crumbs added twist and variety. This dish is very rich. Like a cake with many flavors.”
“I like the (dessert’s) whole theme,” divulged Rovilson. “It’s a great blend of fruit and flavor. Mangoes very much remind me of Boracay.”
Canlas, in addition, finds the chef’s creation heavy to the tummy. “It does what it has to do. It’s very different. Good texture,” he said.
In between every chef’s presentation, the event’s host, fitness buff Chinggay Andrada, carried out icebreakers that showed how ice cream can be infused into games. First, she invited volunteers to an ice cream shake race, wherein the first one to finish his shake, without touching the glass, wins a prize. Then, she grouped select participants into pairs for an ice cream eating contest. The players were asked to finish a 100-mL cup of ice cream — blindfolded. Rovilson and his bosom buddy, model-TV host Marc Nelson, gamely joined the relay, winning it eventually.
Following the folly, chef Tuala was declared the winner with a score of 95.375 percent. Taste, plating or presentation, and the use of Selecta Gold Series flavor were the basis for judging. Fifty percent of the votes came from the judges, while the remaining 50 were from randomly-picked walk-ins. As prize, the chef from The Tides received P20,000 in cash. After the contest, Manila DJs Erwin Edralin and Manolet Dario kept the crowd up until 4 a.m.
Fans of FIC channels, said Turcuato, should likewise celebrate as 2011 is a big year for their channels. Among the most highly-anticipated, he revealed, are the rebranding of Star Movies into a more world-class station and more homegrown documentaries on National Geographic Channel. These locally-produced films will tackle basketball, President Noynoy Aquino’s life outside Malacañang, and the first green home in the Philippines, among others, Turcuato enthused.