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COOKING DEMO HIGHLIGHTS TORONTO LAUNCH OF 3RD FILIPINO RESTAURANT MONTH IN CANADA (FRMC)
2024-03-28
George Brown College students listening to the video message of Philippine Ambassador to Canada Maria Andrelita Austria for the FRMC and the Filipino Food Month
27 March 2024 – The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto officially launched the 3rd Filipino Restaurant Month in Canada (FRMC) in Toronto through a cooking demonstration at the George Brown College Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts Demonstration Lab on 27 March 2024.
The cooking demonstration was conducted by the Filipino-Canadian chefs of the two FRMC participating restaurants in Toronto – Chef Daniel Cancino of Mineral and Chef Francis Bermejo of Mother Tongue. The two chefs showed a packed audience of 50 students and Toronto-based Filipino media how to make their specialty dishes – Turbot Sinigang and Kalamansi Cheesecake in the case of Chef Cancino, and Fiery Filipino-style Slaw in the case of Chef Bermejo.
As this year marks the 75th anniversary of Philippines-Canada relations, the Consulate highlighted these two fusion restaurants whose Filipino-Canadian chefs are known for their creative ways of combining Filipino and Canadian elements in their menus.
Chef Cancino’s Turbot Sinigang uses Quebec sea buckthorn as a souring agent for his sinigang stock. He emphasized that sinigang has to be sour and noted that his version is as sour as the one prepared by his family. He also introduced his Kalamansi Cheesecake that uses a base inspired by polvoron, a Filipino snack made of powdered milk.
(Left) Mineral’s Chef Daniel Cancino plating Turbot Sinigang (Right) Chef Cancino’s Kalamansi Cheesecake
Chef Bermejo noted that his Fiery Filipino-style Slaw was inspired by a snack he often had as a child growing up in the Philippines: green mangoes and bagoong. He explained that Filipino bagoong is made of salted shrimp paste which brings an umami flavor to the dish.
(Left) Mother Tongue’s Chef Francis Bermejo adding finishing touches to his Fiery Filipino-style Slaw (Right) Consul General Angelica Escalona thanking the two chefs for their participation
The program included the showing of the FRMC video message of Philippine Ambassador to Canada Maria Andrelita Austria, welcome remarks by Consul General Angelica Escalona and closing remarks of George Brown College’s Senior Manager for Food and Beverage and Special Events Eoghan Banks.
There are many Filipino students enrolled in George Brown College. Chef Cancino was a graduate of George Brown’s culinary program in 2009. The Consulate and George Brown College previously collaborated on projects that featured Philippine cuisine, providing an opportunity for George Brown students to learn about the cuisine of one of the communities that make up Canada’s culturally diverse society.
There were plenty of questions for the chefs in the Q&A as well as positive feedback from the students. Two of the students shared that the demos were “eye-opening” as they realized for the first time the possibilities of making use of ingredients found locally in Canada in cooking Filipino food recipes. END
(Left to right) Deputy Consul General Kerwin Orville Tate, Consul General Angelica Escalona, George Brown Senior Manager for Food and Beverage and Special Events Eoghan Banks, Chef Francis Bermejo, Chef Daniel Cancino, Cultural Officer Maricel Samonte and Consul Mary Grace Villamayor