Degustation destressing

Pork fillet, broccoli purée and sauce poivrade. PHOTO by Gwen Jacinto-Cariño

The Voice Teens’” first weekend of Live Shows has just been completed, and we now have our Top 8 artists. Preparations for next weekend continue, what with brand-new songs for the teens to learn and time spent in rehearsal and coaching sessions. Everyone involved with the show is, understandably, stressed out.

So, when the invitation from the Sofitel Philippine Plaza to join them in the Davao Kitchen Showroom for an evening of delicious French cuisine and good company, we didn’t hesitate to say “yes.”

Titled “Tout á la Française,” it was an evening with chef Patrick Terrien, preparing dishes right in front of us. The chef’s table is a great opportunity to watch a master at work in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

My husband Rob and daughter Nic accompanied me, and given how our little one can be quite picky with food, we had no idea how she would fare. (No worries, she did just fine.)

We started the night with beautiful bread accompanied by two kinds of butter, followed by refreshing white wine (Chateau La Gravière 2016), which accompanied our first two dishes: pan-seared scallops with ginger-orange sauce and sea bream ceviche with fennel panna cotta and beetroot foam.

My daughter especially loved the scallops, “I found tart and sweet notes at the start, and tasted the saltiness at the finish.” It took me a few seconds to recover from that.

PHOTO by Gwen Jacinto-Cariño

She avoided the ceviche, but Rob and I most certainly did not! It was lovely, the fish in citrus juice and coconut milk, refreshing and light, the panna cotta serving as the perfect accompaniment.

For our main course, pork fillet, broccoli purée and sauce poivrade, chef Patrick showed us how to cook the pork properly. The temperature can’t be too hot, or else the outside will be burned while the inside won’t be cooked enough.

We asked him, how do we know what temperature to use? His reply: experience. It depends on the size of the pan. We then watched as he seemed to know when it was time to take the perfectly caramelized pieces of pork out of the pan and onto the plate.

My favorite part of that course wasn’t the pork, but the broccoli purée that came with it. When the chef asked if anyone wanted another helping of veggies, I raised my hand like a fifth grader. Accompanying this course was a Bordeaux: Chateau Cap de Fer, 2014.

Our dessert was nothing too extreme or heavy: a nice raspberry shortbread with lemon mascarpone cream on top.

Of course, a dining experience like this can only be fun when surrounded by good company. At my left was Gwen Jacinto-Cariño, an old friend-cum-publicist for a few of my previous projects, David and Liezl Celdran and their friend Meg who, we found out, is a passionate tennis fan, most especially of Roger Federer, who had just won his eighth Wimbledon men’s singles title. Meg’s stories of watching many of the great players in action, live and in person, were interesting, funny and animated.

Our thanks once again to Sofitel for allowing us to sit up close and personal to the action in the kitchen. We hope the rest of the French month is a resounding success.