METRO, one of the largest supermarket chains in Germany and Europe held its Metro Cup Young Chefs Competition in cooperation with the Brillat Savarin Culinary School on 23 August 2019 at the Metro Cooking Academy in Berlin.

 

This year’s competition focused on a five-course challenge featuring international street food and snacks. The six (6) young German chefs were tasked to prepare Lebanese, Argentine, Japanese, New Zealand, and Philippine street food or snacks.

 

The street food chosen by event organizer, Chef Niklas Siebecke, for the Philippinec course was Binaki und Latik (Binaki and Latik), a popular corn-based snack in the Visayas and Mindanao, in particular in the provinces of Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, and Iligan.

 

The adjudicators are all active chefs in Germany, including for the Philippine course, Filipino-German Chefs Bulawan Callanta of AYAN Street Food restaurant and Maite Hontiveros-Dittke, a Dusseldorf-based Chef and food advocate.

 

Philippine Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega lent her presence to the occasion and awarded young German Chef Caroline Glusa with the award for the best Binaki und Latik and a native Philippine bag with Philippine cookbooks and food items.

 

Asked what was the most challenging part of preparing the sweetish Southern Philippines snack, Chef Glusa mentioned that getting the sweetish corn meal consistency right was most trying because they had never attempted to prepare or tasted Binaki before.

 

The Embassy of the Philippines continues to have a full slate of culinary-related activities for the remainder of the year as part of its Culinary Diplomacy thrusts.  END

The Philippine Embassy in Berlin hosted “Hallo, Halu-halo!” with more than 100 members of the Filipino community and their German and foreign friends, to commemorate Buwan ng Wika and to bid summer farewell.

 

The highlight of the event was the Halu-Halo sa Jardin, where guests enjoyed the classic Filipino dessert al fresco at the Embassy’s amphitheater while sharing food tales and culinary memories. More substantial fare was on offer at the Pansit at Puto sa Patio, alongside which guests could try their hand in a game of Hugot and Darna created by start-up game companies in the Philippines or browse recipes at the Pinoy Cook Book Corner.

Meanwhile, younger guests had their own kiddie session at the Consular Area, where they were treated to a story-telling of “Haluhalo Espesyal”, a Filipino children’s book by Yvette Ferreol, with illustrations by Jill Arwen Posadas, and other children’s books about Filipino food. Aside from the usual ingredients like kaong, nata de coco, macapuno, langka, ube ice cream, and leche flan, the kiddie halu-halo station let the kids top up their desserts with special ingredients like gummy bears and wafer rolls.

To encourage sustainability, biodegradable cups and cutlery were used and guests who brought their own reusable containers were treated to their own halu-halo station. Another station featured healthier options such as mais con hielo and mango slushie, with toppings like chia seed, cacao nibs, and pomegranate, and oat and soy milk and instead of cow’s milk.

The event was also part of the Embassy’s food diplomacy initiative as well as its Kapihan/Kainan at Kuwentuhan para sa Kababaihan series under its Gender and Development (GAD) program. (END)