HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPE-VINE: OUR NEW ABNORMAL
Don’t look now, but we’re well into the third quarter of 2023; and it feels like if we blink, it’ll be December. When this seeming fast pace of life gets to me, I’ve often turned to food and laughter, as two surefire ways to replenish our soul, and feed “comfort” back into our lives. So for my column today, I’d like to relax the pace, and suggest two ongoing August events to indulge in. Trust me, you’ll be happy you took the time to prioritize these “palabas.”
Chef Tibong Jardeleza
Chef Rafael ‘Tibong’ Jardeleza is our 2023 UPLIFT awardee for culture, the arts, and education. He received his award back in March, during the UPLIFT festivities held at the Maynila, Manila Hotel. So it’s only fitting that when Manila Hotel’s Ilang-Ilang wanted to highlight the dishes from Western Visayas this August, our Iloilo native Chef Tibong, would be tapped to lead this month-long celebration.
Chef Tibong has tirelessly promoted Western Visayas cuisine and the Iloilo heritage/family recipes that he has mastered and improvised on, throughout his culinary career. He’s not averse to Spanish, French, or what have you influences; but it’ll always be Filipino first, and sourcing local ingredients to make these dishes both accessible and sustainable.
WE ARE FAMILY, Chef Tibong Jardeleza, with the siblings Grace F. Magno and Vic Fornier, at Manila Hotel’s Ilang-Ilang.
For example, he has a duck with mangoes, his play on the French Duck à L’Orange, but using Guimaras mangoes to take the place of the oranges. His Lamb cutlets were accompanied by a tamarind sauce. His black paella had chipirones (baby squid) liberally topping the rice cooked in squid ink. It was wonderful to observe the playfulness of his improvisation, and how injecting very Filipino elements, were all part of the over-arching mindset.
During the formal launch of the engagement, Manila Hotel President Joey Lina welcomed the guests and media; and introduced our man of the hour. In his short speech, Chef Tibong made mention of the fact that he had prepared 120 Western Visayas dishes for the whole month, so that eight sets of 15 dishes for the daily buffet, could be rotated. The idea behind this is that if one returned to Ilang-Ilang for Chef Tibong’s buffet, you would very likely find a new set of dishes to enjoy.
And he then gave full credit to the Ilang-Ilang kitchen staff for being enthusiastic about learning the 120 dishes — he joked that as far as he was concerned, they were all now honorary Illongos. And that brought a smile to their faces.
Grace F. Magno and her brother, Victorino X. Fornier, were among Chef Tibong’s special guests that evening, as Grace and Vic are related to Chef Tibong – all hailing from Iloilo. Manila Bulletin President Emil Yap led a contingent of the Yap family, and I saw Berna Romulo-Puyat, Stanley Ng, Sandy Daza, Kalel Chan, Myke Tatung – all showing their unblemished support for Chef Tibong.
The Reconciliation Dinner
The reconciliation dinner is your guaranteed ticket to mirthful laughter and smart, intelligent humor… if you know how to laugh at yourself! And that last clause is super-important, as Filipinos are by tradition, thin-skinned and “pikon.” You have to leave those attributes by the stage door, if you hope to enjoy this example of beautifully executed, navel-gazing theater.
Briefly, the play is about two families who’ve been friends for decades, yet always find themselves diametrically opposed when it’s national election time. To “bury the hatchet,” and live up to their mutual belief that friendship should transcend politics, they hold this “reconciliation dinner,” whenever it’s deemed appropriate, or necessary.
THE RECONCILIATION Dinner at the PETA Theater Center; one more weekend.
It’s razor-sharp humor that takes no prisoners. Floy Quintos has seen to that, as the potshots and direct hits are taken from anywhere across the political spectrum, and no one is left unscathed. Dexter Martinez Santos has masterfully directed the play, the ensemble cast generous with each other, and all the cast members gifted with their turn to shine, and leave lasting impressions with the audience.
I found it a play that resonates in a big way, and holds up to the light what makes us Filipinos so unique, silly at times, frustrating so often, and yet resilient, and ultimately, so hopeful, and worth fighting for.
There’s today, plus one more weekend, at the PETA Theater Center. Shows are at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., on Aug. 13, and on Aug. 19 and 20.