A flavor journey back in time

Talk about Philippine history, particularly Philippine culinary history, and the first person who comes to mind is chef Christopher Aguado Carangian, a culinary heritage advocate.

As founder and president of Razorchef Philippines and Punong Heneral of the Culinary Generals of the Philippines, Chef Christopher has been researching on Filipino heritage cuisine for years. So, when Diamond Hotel Philippines decided to stage yet another Filipino food festival for the anniversary of the declaration of Philippine independence for the month of June, management chose to collaborate with Chef Christopher once again.

Ongoing until 7 July is Galleon Trade: A Culinary Journey Filipino Food Festival and the Malolos Congress Wine Dinner. The food promotion is actually composed of two separate yet related events — Galleon Trade: A Culinary Journey, a Filipino food festival at the Corniche restaurant for the duration of 26 June to 7 July, and Malolos Congress Wine Dinner at the Diamond Ballroom in the evening of 9 July.

Galleon Trade: A Culinary Journey is a lunch and dinner buffet at the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant Corniche, featuring a selection of fascinating dishes from the Galleon Trade era of the Philippines and are thus steeped in culinary culture from that particular time in history. The food, as prepared by featured Chef Christopher, traces as far back as 1529 with potaje de adobado de gallina, a chicken dish inspired by the pipian which originated in Mexico. Chef Christopher also gives Corniche diners a taste of 1613’s Adobo de los Naturales, which is made from a combination of pork and chicken and is now known as dry adobo. Then there is the quilauin (kilawin) from 1794, which is the first Filipino food seen by Antonio Pigafetta and referred to as the “first adobo.” Pigafetta, as you may already know, was the Venetian scholar and explorer who joined the Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and served as the chronicler of the voyage, which happened to be the world’s first circumnavigation and led Magellan to discover the Philippines.

For the duration of the food festival, Chef Christopher is guiding diners on how to appreciate the origins of Filipino cuisine through the dishes he will showcase at the Corniche lunch and dinner buffet priced at P3,880 net per person. His passion for exploring and reintroducing local, traditional dishes and using these to promote the country’s historical identity has been truly amazing.

For the Malolos Congress Wine Dinner on 9 July, Chef Christopher will be recreating the Malolos Congress Dinner of 1898. This particular event in Philippine history, attended by quite a number of distinguished personalities at that time, saw the ratification of the proclamation of Philippine Independence, among others. The Malolos Congress Dinner was held in Malolos, Bulacan, on 15 September 1898, and featured a set menu of classical French food using mostly local ingredients done in classical French cooking methods.

For the dinner, Chef Christopher shall be recreating the original dishes served during the 1898 Malolos Congress for both lunch and dinner. Courses shall include chateaubriand (beef tenderloin), croquilles de crabes (stuffed crabs with mushroom), pigeon aux champignons (pigeon with mushroom), and Saucisse de Poulet a la Republique (chicken sausage). These dishes, a recreation of the actual menu served 126 years ago, shall be paired with fine wines at the Diamond Ballroom for P6,800 net per person.

A gastronomic journey back in time indeed.