“Are you sure it’s OK for you to go there on your own?” my sister asked the night before my flight to General Santos, a city located in South Cotabato, at the southern tip of Mindanao in the Philippines. From the concerned tone of her voice, her question could have stopped at, “Are you sure sure it’s OK for you go there PERIOD. On my departure, she bid me goodbye with a kiss on the cheek and a grievous “take care” like she won’t ever see me alive again. Except for GenSan’s reputed sashimi-grade tuna and being home to world-famous boxing athlete Manny Pacquiao, I didn’t know much about GenSan. My brother-in-law who had spent work time in the city assured me that I’d be safe. Later I would tell this to my hosts who laughed like I just said a very funny joke. These guys couldn’t even remember the last time they heard of a bombing incident in the city.  And they were right, there were far more terroristic attacks in Manila than in this place, or any other place in the country for that matter.

GenSan turns out to be a bright, sunny place, the weather as consistent as that of Davao, and life as cool and laidback as any other province I had visited around the country. The city happens to be a melting pot of migrants from all over – Luzon, Visayas, neighbors in Mindanao, and I’m sure foreign countries, too — where Christians and a small population of Muslims peacefully co-exist. Nice to know that there are a lot of cabalens from Pampanga, too

I was invited to be one of the judges for the culinary competition leg of the Tuna Festival Culinary Expo 2009, the biggest food show in SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII). The TFCE competition’s underlying goal was not to pit people against each other, but to also measure current educational standard and find out if this is on par with the industry. The opportunity to witness the passion and motivation of those working behind this event as well as being part of another worthy cause made my first trip to GenSan all the more meaningful. This is also because their sentiments resonate with mine — and I’m sure with many — as far as the standard of education in the country is concerned, specifically in light of too many so-called hospitality/culinary schools popping up like mushroom all over the place.

On my niece’s second year as HRM student at one of Angeles City’s biggest schools in Pampanga for example, she tells me that she’s only heard the term “mise en place” from me. While she and her classmates were well on their way into cooking and baking, the industry’s most basic culinary phrase (which means to put in place in French) was never mentioned in class/at school. Instructed by their teacher to go to the market to buy ingredients to make fish stock, my niece asked her teacher what kind of fish to get. “Kahit ano! (Anything!),” came the reply. (Best bets : white fleshed, lean/not too oily fish e.g. maya-maya, besugo, etc)

Back to the TFCE culinary event, on top of the usual cooking, live market basket, and table setting competition, the participants’ knife skills were also put to the test, together with knowledge of common ingredients (spices and condiments) and meat cuts. In the end, we had to show the students as well as the professional participants how basic cuts like brunoise, julienne and wedge should look like. The chef judges explained how butterfly shrimp and tilapia fillet were properly done. (I loved how the organizers made sure that the trainors/coaches were paying attention! ) While local benchmarks have yet to be established, we encouraged the participants to have the initiative to learn from different sources (e.g. books, internet, etc.) and become more familiar with industry standards.

For the cooking part, the participants had to work with “secret” ingredients, what GenSan is known for: tuna and its popular and exotic parts: belly, tail and bihod (roe) for the appetizer and main course; pineapple (which grows in abundance in the region) for the student dessert, and the ubiquitous durian for the professionals. The durian proved to be a great challenge for the contenders because of the fruit’s overpowering flavor, and for me to judge because it’s one of those things that I’d really prefer not to eat –- what durian devotees refer to as heavenly aroma is nauseous “odor” to me

Here are a few more photos/event highlights:

To maximize learning, time, energy and resources, head judge Chef Jill Sandique briefs the participants prior to the competition.

The contenders were allowed to use and take inspiration from the local produce.

Tasting and service portion: Comparing notes with agricultural scientist Gay Carillo and corporate chef Datu Shariff Pendatun. (Datu had to rely on my taste description because he was observing Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting).

I was a little skeptical about the tuna belly cooked with sigarilyas (winged beans). But the down-to-earth student recipe, which came with a very light, salty-tangy sauce, was cooked so perfectly it’s the only dish I remembered from the entire competition. Unlike the others, this tuna flesh was not rubbery, but succulent and tender, tasted flavorful not fishy, seared just right to impart a subtle sweetness.

Reviewing the recipes as part of the overall scores.

Bahay Kubo theme by Brokenshire College won the table setting competition student category.

(Left to right): With organizers Rofil Mae “Chiclet” Rillo, Kring Macion and co-judges Jill Sandique and Datu Shariff Pendatun, both successful Manila-based chefs who share the same passion for education and sharing knowedge to give back to Mindanao, their homeland.

After everything was cooked, served and graded, participants were gathered once more for a debriefing. The atrium of Gaisano Mall, where the event was held, was packed. We hoped that the audience also learned from what was being shared.

Congratulations to East Asia Royale Hotel for winning the live cooking competition, Grab A Crab for table setting, and Brokenshire College who triumphed in both the live cooking and table setting for students.

 

The Tuna Festival Culinary Expo 2009 was spearheaded by the General Santos City Tourism Association under the passionate leadership of industry professionals Kring Macion of Marasa Grill (left) and Cathy Bolodo of Chimes Concepts Event Management (right). The General Santos City Tourism Association aims to promote local tourism by providing operations training and business opportunities to its member establishments.

Unlabeled photos by Milper Bolodo.

Catch the GenSan Food Festival at the Café Jeepney, Hotel InterContinental Manila until the end of October. Kring Macion of Marasa Grill and her group from East Asia Royale Hotel will be cooking buffet lunch and dinner.

Next: South Cotabato/GenSan Flavors