Tapa chips, liquored brownies, and many balls debut at food fair
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Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
YESTERDAY IT was cronuts and chicken pizza, today, the spotlight is on matcha(green tea) cookies, Cerveza Negra brownies, and other novel and surprising food combinations.
Championing brave souls with monstrous cooking skills, the “Best Food Forward” food exhibit/bazaar is among the launching pads for newbie food creators. For its fifth year, the expo highlights 80 booths of sweet and savory treats from Oct. 10 to 11 at the Rockwell Tent at Makati’s Powerplant Mall.
The folks who present their wares at the fair aren’t your regular foodies, they must have something that sets them apart from the rest -- after all, they had to pass muster first, their goods scrutinized and savored by local chefs like Sau Del Rosario, Sandy Daza, Bruce Lim, and Nancy Reyes, among others.
Here are three of the presenters who will participate in this year’s “Best Food Forward”:
• It Got Balls. She would wake up every midnight, craving for a snack, which led to Mina Co’s Frozen Weekend concoctions -- homemade meatballs that “you can toss and cook whenever you’re hungry,” she told BusinessWorld. Her balls range from cheesy chicken curry and creamy crab and corn to steamed Italian meatballs and savory organic oatmeal balls, which she fondly calls “ris-oat-o.” They’re easy to cook, perfect for a midnight snack, house parties, or a Sunday night movie marathon.
• Booze and Brownies. Joby Provido is a self-proclaimed chocoholic. His friend, Jomel Salas, likes booze and baking. One rather ordinary day, they thought of marrying their first loves. The result is the one-year-old Brownie Bar business, which highlights, what else, liquor and brownies. It currently offers three brownie flavors: beer, whiskey, and rum. A bite or a block of brownies won’t get you tipsy, but if you want stronger liquor flavors, the Brownie Bar has droppers of Cerveza Negra, scotch whiskey, or Don Papa rum flavors, which one can add to the brownies depending on the intensity level one likes. The brownies come in a classic box packaging, which is a perfect gift idea for men, ehem, since Christmas is almost around the corner. “It’s also for women who love their men -- and their liquored brownies,” the two said while laughing.
• Crackling Chips. Grilled hotdogs and pancit (noodles) are the usual food items a family brings for a short vacation. At one beach outing, Hannah Ayuyao brought homemade crunchy bacon and tapa (dried meat) chips for her family. Her three kids loved them so much that it led to the one-year-old startup food business aptly called the Three Hungry Tummies. Starting with bacon and tapa chips, she went on to add crunchy bangus(milkfish) skin, corned beef strips (like beef jerky), and chorizo chips to the menu. Rafael Ayuyao, one of the “three hungry tummies,” said he likes the crunchy treats paired with rice, Nutella chocolate, with vinegar, or eaten as is.
Since 2010, the food bazaar has provided opportunities for new players in the food biz. Among its renowned babies is Manang’s Chicken, dubbed as the “bagong chicken ng Pinoy” (the new chicken for Filipinos). It joined the bazaar two years ago, and since then has exploded into a restaurant with 13 branches, reaching as far as Cavite and Davao.
Not only a stepping stone for business, “Best Food Forward” pays it forward. To end the two-day food celebration, the food fair holds an annual feeding program for its chosen beneficiaries including the Bahay ni Maria orphanage, My Father’s House, which shelters street children, and Unang Hakbang Foundation, which is also caters to street kids and urban poor communities.
The folks who present their wares at the fair aren’t your regular foodies, they must have something that sets them apart from the rest -- after all, they had to pass muster first, their goods scrutinized and savored by local chefs like Sau Del Rosario, Sandy Daza, Bruce Lim, and Nancy Reyes, among others.
Here are three of the presenters who will participate in this year’s “Best Food Forward”:
• It Got Balls. She would wake up every midnight, craving for a snack, which led to Mina Co’s Frozen Weekend concoctions -- homemade meatballs that “you can toss and cook whenever you’re hungry,” she told BusinessWorld. Her balls range from cheesy chicken curry and creamy crab and corn to steamed Italian meatballs and savory organic oatmeal balls, which she fondly calls “ris-oat-o.” They’re easy to cook, perfect for a midnight snack, house parties, or a Sunday night movie marathon.
• Booze and Brownies. Joby Provido is a self-proclaimed chocoholic. His friend, Jomel Salas, likes booze and baking. One rather ordinary day, they thought of marrying their first loves. The result is the one-year-old Brownie Bar business, which highlights, what else, liquor and brownies. It currently offers three brownie flavors: beer, whiskey, and rum. A bite or a block of brownies won’t get you tipsy, but if you want stronger liquor flavors, the Brownie Bar has droppers of Cerveza Negra, scotch whiskey, or Don Papa rum flavors, which one can add to the brownies depending on the intensity level one likes. The brownies come in a classic box packaging, which is a perfect gift idea for men, ehem, since Christmas is almost around the corner. “It’s also for women who love their men -- and their liquored brownies,” the two said while laughing.
• Crackling Chips. Grilled hotdogs and pancit (noodles) are the usual food items a family brings for a short vacation. At one beach outing, Hannah Ayuyao brought homemade crunchy bacon and tapa (dried meat) chips for her family. Her three kids loved them so much that it led to the one-year-old startup food business aptly called the Three Hungry Tummies. Starting with bacon and tapa chips, she went on to add crunchy bangus(milkfish) skin, corned beef strips (like beef jerky), and chorizo chips to the menu. Rafael Ayuyao, one of the “three hungry tummies,” said he likes the crunchy treats paired with rice, Nutella chocolate, with vinegar, or eaten as is.
Since 2010, the food bazaar has provided opportunities for new players in the food biz. Among its renowned babies is Manang’s Chicken, dubbed as the “bagong chicken ng Pinoy” (the new chicken for Filipinos). It joined the bazaar two years ago, and since then has exploded into a restaurant with 13 branches, reaching as far as Cavite and Davao.
Not only a stepping stone for business, “Best Food Forward” pays it forward. To end the two-day food celebration, the food fair holds an annual feeding program for its chosen beneficiaries including the Bahay ni Maria orphanage, My Father’s House, which shelters street children, and Unang Hakbang Foundation, which is also caters to street kids and urban poor communities.
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