"Sustainability for us means giving contributions to the society"

Danish chef Kamilla Seidler and Venezuelan restaurateur Michaelangelo Cestari of Gustu shares their journey from Denmark to Bolivia and how the young locals of La Paz were able to find a second chance in life through culinary education and practice.

Margarita Forés, one of MFM’s organisers and hailed as Asia’s Best Female Chef, commended the unmatched efforts and achievements of Gustu in reviving not only the spirits of Bolivians but also the country’s rich cuisine.

Sustainability is a way of life

“Sustainability, back where I grew up in France, was clearly our way of life,” Royer said. “We are following the seasons and use what is available. We keep the characteristics of the dish—its identity.”

Hence for Royer, sustainable dining means preparing the food with limited additives and using all parts of it. “We try to find the balance. When we you find the balance, you find the perfect flavour. And this brings an amazing dining experience.”

Green cuisine

Michelin starred chef Rodrigo de la Calle of El Invernadero in Spain tackled the “green cuisine” and their efforts in educating diners about the various edible plants and flowers of the world through fine dining.

“Although nature has provided all the vegetables in the world, us human beings think that we are gods that we can choose among these,” de la Calle strongly expressed. “Our responsibility is to preserve and nurture these treasures.”

De la Calle encourages everyone to use the dishes he demonstrated as inspiration for elevating green cuisine here in the Philippines.

Simplicity Isn't Simple

All the way from Belgium, Chef Gert de Mangeleer wowed the audience with the stunning feat of demonstrating a total of nine dishes just below an hour. With the philosophy of creating dishes that paid attention to architecture and quality of taste, its no wonder this renowned chef gained 3 Michelin stars for Hertog Jan in just five years since he took the helm.

One of the more memorable dishes was called "A Walk to the Gardens of Manila". This was inspired by their original dish "Around the Garden" which involved travelling around their farm in the morning, picking everything that is ready to eat, and creating something out of that batch.

Their Filipino spin on this involved a salad of papaya, mangoes, fennel, baby carrots, peanuts, cashews, small cucumbers, and quite a bit more. Truly, an artistic approach to creating a dish that explored Filipino culture and locality. When asked what would be the starting point of a dish, de Mangeleer had this to say:

"It can be anything form memory, image, or ingredient, but what is important is the architecture of the plate - a dish should really have to taste well and look well, [for another example] you are nothing with a beautiful woman who has nothing to say."

What Came First: the duck or the egg?

Filipina Chef, Sally Camacho asks the quintessential question of what came first - duck or egg? Beginning her talk with a vibrant sense of humour, she began to discuss the difference between chicken and duck eggs, noting that duck eggs do have more fat, but she argues that this only brings more flavour to the dish.

She created two exquisite desserts: E'clairs made with duck eggs, served with a meringue filled with yema and an Uni Ice Cream plate. Both were met with quite the fanfare due to its attention to detail and artistry. Camacho shares how sugar can sometimes be overdone  with dessert, she advises for a focus on balance and flavour.

"Create memory with less sugar. There's not much flavour in sugar, but there is in other ingredients like fruits, flowers, or in this case, Uni"

The Great Food Conspiracy

Seen here are the actual indigenous plants the chefs bought from our local markets that they used in their presentation

Chef Simon Rogan with Chef Dan Cooks from the UK graced the stage to talk about their food philosophy. Ending the day on a serious note, the chefs from L'Enclume talked about how "the mentality of uniformity and cheapness has created a dire state of food produced now".

"Use produce that are grown in a natural system and away from chemicals" Rogan iterates as he presented the three dishes they will be demonstrating to the audience. Different from most chefs that presented that day, their dishes revolved around one particular ingredient per dish, which were: Hemp, Moringa (Malunggay), and Muntingia (Aratilis).

They found it quite difficult to import their ingredients to the Philippines so this led to the decision to shop around Metro Manila for indigenous items they would use in their presentation. Needless to say, the end-product was nothing short of spectacular.

The second day of Madrid Fusion Manila 2017 proved to be a slurry of great culinary tips, tricks, and philosophies. Yet again proving how important cuisine can be, and how much it can reflect one's culture and identity.

Madrid Fusion Manila is held at the SMX Convention Centre, from April 6 to 8, 2017. To know more about Madrid Fusion Manila 2017, visit madridfusionmanila.com.  Feel free to follow Philippine Tatler Dining on Instagram: @tatlerdiningph for more live updates | To stay updated with the latest foodie news, watch this space.