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Creative Dinner: Traditional Filipino dishes created with Canadian ingredients. Above: Chef Joseph Gomez with Canadian Ambassador David Hartman. — Photo by Margaux Salcedo
The Canadian Embassy has a secret that I am about to reveal: they have one of the best chefs in the country in their kitchen!
I had the honor and pleasure of attending a dinner with women political leaders hosted by Canadian Ambassador David Hartman for Her Excellency Rechie Valdez, Member of Parliament and Minister of Small Business. Her Excellency was joined by Minister Marco Mendicino, Chair of the Canada-Philippines Parliamentary Friendship Group. Other women leaders on the Philippine side included Budget Secretary Amena Pangandaman and Bataan Senator Geraldine Roman.
I was eager to engage in an exchange of ideas on how our two countries can strengthen collaboration to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), but to my surprise, the chef's food was as inspiring as the personalities of the people around the table.
This chef's name is Joseph Gomez and he is amazing!
Budget Secretary Amena Pangandaman and Minister Recy Valdez, Member of the Canadian Parliament.
When the amuse bouche was served, I was blown away. On a pebble on my plate were three elaborate Filipino creations: Lumpia Pani Puri, Mushroom Adobo Toast, and Kesong Puti Malunggay Macaron. The first macaron was a delicate sphere that, with one bite, filled my mouth with a healthy dose of deconstructed lumpia. The second was a slender piece of toast with the umami of mushrooms and a hint of adobo. The third was a savory and amazing macaron made with our carabao cheese and moringa. I was incredibly impressed.
Next came a very Asian-inspired appetizer, Seared Tuna, a unique dish with an avocado crema, but this was clearly just a buwelo in preparation for the first main course – a unique interpretation of Chicken Inasal, which was not just charcoal-grilled chicken – the first piece was a bread roll and the second piece contained marinated chicken wings as well as stuffing.
Finally, we were served Beef Wellington, made with Canadian beef, but the chef went the extra mile and served it with a Caldereta demi-glace sauce, and best of all, it was paired with a Canadian wine, Henry of Pelham Baco Noir 2019.
All this was offered while speaking about the Canadian government's keenness to support Filipino small businesses, whether in Canada or in the Philippines.
We thank Secretary Rechi for your support of our country's small and medium-sized enterprises, and we look forward to further cooperation and partnership between the Philippines and Canada.
