Amb. Dizon-de Vega with Chefs Bulawan Callanta, Maite Hontiveros-Dittke,Niklas Siebecke, and of the Brillat-Savarin Schule; Chef Siebecke acknowledges everyone’s efforts
The Brillat-Savarin Schule, one of the leading German culinary institutes in Berlin, held a special course on Filipino cuisine on 19 February 2020.
Around twenty of the school’s nearly 5,000 students, received a lesson on traditional Philippine dishes, the Filipino flavor palate, and special ingredients. The course was taught by Guest Instructor Filipino-German Chef Bulawan Callanta, himself a graduate of Brillat-Savarin. Chef Callanta is the Chef-Owner of popular AYAN Filipino Streetfood in Berlin. He was assisted in the course by Filipina Chef Maite Hontiveros-Dittke of the MamaSita Test Kitchen.
The students learned how to prepare classic Filipino recipes including adobo, liempo, sinigang na bangus, fishballs, fresh lumpia, tortang talong, palitaw, and bilo-bilo.
Among those taking the course was Filipina Jerralyn Elcano, a popular personality in the Filipino-German community who impressed the judges of Germany’s well-known Supertalent Show in 2018 for her unique pizza-throwing dance routine.
Philippine Ambassador to Germany Theresa Dizon-De Vega and staffmembers from the Philippine Embassy in Berlin were on hand to observe and to offer encouragement to the students.
Brillat-Savarin faculty member and Student Director Chef Niklaus Siebecke, speaking on behalf of the institute thanked Chef Callanta, Chef Dittke, and the Philippine Embassy for helping Brillat-Savarin introduce diverse flavors and culinary traditions to their school. He noted that these efforts would help in producing well-rounded culinary professionals.
The evening ended with great reviews for the work done by the instructors and students throughout the day. Ambassador Dizon-De Vega commented in her word of thanks that this is very positive initial step in introducing the next generation of German chefs to the unique flavors of Philippine cuisine.
The Brillat-Savarin School named after 18th century epicure and gastronome Jean Anthèlme Brillat-Savarin is Germany’s largest training institution with a focus on the hotel and hospitality industry. END
Clockwise from top left : some of the dishes by the students; Chef Callanta supervises lumpia assembly; Philippine snacks and sweets prepared by the students; Chef Siebecke, Chef Callanta, Chef Dittke, Philippine Embassy staff, and Ms. Jerralyn Elcano
Chef Callanta walks the students through the recipes and ingredients for the course (all photos by Berlin PE)
