Sabor Bisaya

July 27 was an eventful day with the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Negros Occidental’s (HRANO) biggest culinary event of the year staged at the Bacolod Pavilion Hotel --- Sabor Bisaya. Organized by Jovial Media Events headed by Ms. Maricar Dabao, with former city councilor Atty. Jocelle Batapa-Sigue as one of the program hosts, students from the Hotel and Restaurant Management schools around Negros and both local and foreign food enthusiasts gathered in this once a year affair. Sabor Bisaya, conceptualized by Negrense Chef Jomi Gaston in 2011, is now becoming a food and beverage local event favorite.

Various competitions were held that day we went: Table Setting for Two with Menu Card, Cake Decorating Contest, Organic Menu Food Challenge, and the Original Visayan Cuisine --- competitions open to both students and professionals. The following day, there was another set of food and beverage contests which kept the HRM students of the province very busy.

Fresh Start Organics had a booth where different products like the Artisan Piaya and Green Smoothie (Malunggay or Moringa) were sold. Puro Organic, Fresh Start’s sister company, also joined Fresh Start’s booth where they sold our organic coffee i.e. Mt. Kanlaon, Negrense and Hacienda coffee blends, muscovado and coco sugar and Artisan cheeses and some bottles of fresh cow’s and goat’s milk. Work colleagues Gladys Abayon of Fresh Start and Joan Cachuela of Puro Organic, were there.

I shared the fun of the day with Camille who happened to report for work at the nearby Negros Museum that day. We had lunch together and looked around the different kiosks, hoping to attend a cooking demonstration of Nestlé Philippines’ corporate chef, Chef Ajie. But then we had to be contented with a quick look at the cake decorating outputs of the students, some table setting arrangements and some organic food displays because Camille still had to prepare for class and I had to go back to the office as well.

Some culinary icons present in this year’s Sabor Bisaya were Chefs Gina Navarro and Myrna Segismundo of FOOD Magazine and Chef Sandy Daza who were among the judges of the various competitions. Chef Jomi Gaston of Trattoria Uma headed the Organic Food Challenge event. HRANO President Mr. Bob Magalona of Café Bob’s, HRANO VP, Mr. Aboy Evaristo of Aboy’s Restaurant spearheaded the opening ceremonies. Sir RU and family were there, of course, and my Fresh Start bosses Mr. and Mrs. Chin-Chin and Francine Uy with their son Matti.

Columnist-friend, ‘Tita’ Betsy Gazo, was very busy going around as she is a member of the organizing committee. Maricar Dabao, one of our friends in Kasanag, was equally busy overseeing things. Tourism friends Jennylind Cordero, Darlene Casiano, “E” Azuelo, Bambi Borromeo and Artie Lacson, were also around, and ‘Tita’ Gard de Erit, Executive Director of the Association of Negros Producers (ANP), was there, together with Sales and Marketing Manager, Ms. Teena Rodriguez. Joliper of the Organic Market and Restaurant, and Ms. Tonette Miraflor of Nestlé Philippines, happy to see her again and glad to know that she has adjusted very well here in Bacolod following a work reassignment from Cebu City.

I am very grateful to Sir RU for bringing me to this event to witness the dynamism of Visayan Cuisine and to see how Negrenses are working together to share and raise the standards of traditional cooking and its corresponding technologies in this part of Western Visayas.

More power to HRANO and to Sabor Bisaya for this successful event! Looking forward to next year’s taste of authentic, creative and flavorful Visayan cuisine.

This is definitely one local event truly worth your while.