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Jewels in the Palace kitchen
Power and food. These are not usually spoken in the same sentence, but hey, they go hand in hand. Last September, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos posted on her official Facebook page a photo showing her at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new catering area in Malacañang. No other details of the project were released. The post got mixed reactions from netizens. However, despite the praise and criticisms of said post, it somehow got us into thinking — who are the people behind the important functions of each and every chief executive living in the Palace? Hands down, Glenda Rosales Barretto comes to mind. The one and only doyenne of Philippine cuisine. She of the Via Mare fame. From Ferdinand Marcos Sr. down to Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Barretto presided over numerous state dinners in Malacañang. The most recent was the inaugural ball of the 17th president of the Philippines, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Barretto is caterer extraordinaire well-known for reinventing and refining Filipino dishes fit to be served at the highest tables in the land. During PBBM’s inauguration, she served savory chicken soup with ginger, lemongrass and green papaya (more like a deboned chicken tinola), prawn in roasted coconut cream, seared prime beef tenderloin with kaldereta sauce and guava-basil sorbet. Barretto is also popular for her humba (a Visayan braised pork similar to the classic adobo), crispy adobo flakes (ultra crunchy and extra flaky dish using chicken, beef or pork), pancit luglog, puto bumbong and bibingka. Via Mare, founded in 1975, has a well-established and long-standing reputation of being the choice concessionaire to do banquets for heads of state and international guests in the Palace serving traditional flavors. It can be recalled that Barretto rose to prominence when she catered the silver wedding anniversary of President Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, and soon after became the official caterer of the Palace. [caption id="attachment_161357" align="aligncenter" width="1137"] MARGARITA Fores | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESYOF www.theworlds50best.com/[/caption] Margarita “Gaita” Fores Gaita Fores has also been trusted in handling the country’s most delicious affairs, hosted by the Palace for visiting chiefs of state. “I started catering only during Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino’s time,” said Fores in a text message to Daily Tribune. Fores recently catered the state dinner for Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala, the first European prime minister to visit the country under the new administration to discuss trade relations and mutual cooperation. The Asia’s Best Female Chef also served a delectable Filipino spread before the men and women of the diplomatic corps during the last vin d’honneur in Malacañang to celebrate the 12 June Independence Day. In 2016’s vin d’honneur, the last major function of the Aquino administration, Fores’ Cibo presented a Filipino buffet of three kinds of longganisa, toasted adobo flakes and corned beef flakes. Fores, who’s been in the food business for more than 30 years, has also prepared presidential dinners for King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, US Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama and Prince Albert of Monaco in Malacañang state dining room. Fores is the first cousin of former senator and interior secretary Mar Roxas, who is the second cousin of First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos. Chef Jessie Sincioco Jessie Sincioco, dubbed the “Papal Chef,” is still the most in demand chef for fine dining and fine catering today. She has served the dining pleasure of Presidents Corazon Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Noynoy Aquino and Rodrigo Duterte. She catered the inauguration lunch of PBBM for the diplomatic corps at the National Museum, serving smoked milkfish on toast with bihod, mini croissant sandwiches of smoked salmon or chicken salad, mini pandesal stuffed with chicken adobo or grilled kesong puti, lemongrass chicken, brochette of beef lamb ball with potato and ensaimada balls with ube halaya, to name some. A frequent caterer to Malacañang, Sincioco shares with us some of the favorite food of each president that she has served through the years. “Tita Cory loved spinach mushroom soufflé,” said Sincioco in a text message to this writer. “FVR, pan-fried Chilean seabass. Estrada, roast beef. GMA, chocolate durian souffle. PNoy, US black angus bistek. Digong, pan-fried Chilean seabass. BBM, brochette of lamb and beef ball with potato (pica-pica).” [caption id="attachment_161361" align="aligncenter" width="730"] millie and Karla Reyes. |PHOTOGRAPH COURTESYOF www.flavorsoflife.com[/caption] The Plaza The Plaza Catering, another reputable food and catering service run by the mother-and-daughter team of Millie and Karla Reyes, also has the privilege of serving the head of state and official banquets. “We have catered all presidents from Marcos Sr. to Duterte,” said Karla. “Not yet with PBBM.” The Plaza has been in the business since 1965 and is well-known for its piece de resistance — The Plaza premium baked ham and corned beef which Millie and Karla include in the menu whenever they cater to the Palace banquets. The Plaza has played host to foreign heads of state, such as Pope Paul VI, US Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and George H.W. Bush, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Premier Li Hsien Yen of the People’s Republic of China. They also shared their version of the presidents’ favorites. “Marcos Sr., fish and Ilocano food. He had his own cook preparing his meals,” said Karla. “Imelda, steaks and she’s a very good cook. Erap, lechon and our boiled Angus corned beef and baked ham. GMA and husband Mike, The Plaza ham. PNoy, barbecue and angus tapa.” She added: “For Duterte, we didn’t get to serve him up close and personal. We catered an event at Malacañang but he came like five hours late to his own event so he didn’t eat anymore.” [caption id="attachment_161358" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Bulak Bustaliño at the Arlegui Guest House in 1996. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF kusina ni maria[/caption] Kusina ni Maria During the time of Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos, Kusina ni Maria would also cater to Malacañang events, including special occasions at the Arlegui Guest House, where Cory and FVR lived during their time while holding government affairs in the Executive Building. Among their favorites were lengua con setas, chicken relleno, callos a la Madrileña, zarzuela de mariscos, grilled blue marlin, sarsiadong bias, paksiw na bihud, asadong curacha, tostadong alimango, kare-kare oxtail with bagoong, lao-ya, minaisang kabute and pancit buko. “Same dishes as what we have now,” said Ding Bustaliño, who now runs Kusina ni Maria founded by her late mom Bulak Bustaliño in 1984. “I used to join my mom in Arlegui when she would check the table setting, flowers and those were the food she would serve.” The real jewels in the Palace — made up of the virtual who’s who in Philippine cuisine — are in the kitchen. The post Jewels in the Palace kitchen appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Raison d’être
Legal eagles are betting that the International Criminal Court will rule today to continue its investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings being pinned on the Duterte administration at the height of its campaign against illegal drugs from 2016 to 2019. That’s to be expected because scuttling the probe would run against the raison d’être, or reason for being, of the ICC. The ICC, of course, has to justify the hundreds of millions of dollars it wastes each year on the bloated paychecks of its judges and prosecutorial staff, who are known to travel like royalty, pretending to be doing something. While the ICC claims to be a bastion of justice, the reality is that its insistence on investigating and bagging former President Rodrigo Duterte, including for his actions as Davao City mayor from 2011 to 2016, feeds its arrogant posturing while blatantly encroaching on Philippine sovereignty. This concern strikes at the heart of the ICC’s legitimacy and calls into question its adherence to the principle of national self-determination. The Philippines, like any other sovereign nation, has the right to manage its internal affairs and address alleged crimes within its own legal framework. Furthermore, the ICC has demonstrated abject bias not only against African countries but also against developing nations like the Philippines. The ICC is nothing more than a schoolyard bully, running roughshod over those it thinks are weak. In fact, many of the cases investigated by the ICC have been in Africa. This perceived bias undermines the credibility of the ICC and calls into question its ability to dispense justice fairly. It is only in recent years that the ICC has ventured to add the Philippines among its targets, precisely to counter criticism of its African bias. The ICC itself needs scrutiny, particularly its judges and the Office of the Prosecutor. What little reputation the ICC had has been thrown out the window by the controversies surrounding its own judges’ lawsuit against the ICC over pay, bringing their complaint before the International Labor Organization. These internal conflicts raise doubts about the independence and impartiality of the institution, further eroding public trust and inviting scrutiny regarding the character of its very judges. The same holds true for its current prosecutor, Karim Khan, specifically for his past role as a defense lawyer for William Ruto, the Deputy President of Kenya, who faced charges of crimes against humanity. Khan’s successful defense of Ruto and his 180-degree turn from defender to prosecutor speaks volumes about the lengths he would go to in order to add shine to his legal star. No doubt, we must consider the implications of his previous role when evaluating his current position as ICC Prosecutor. So, are the ICC judges and its prosecutorial staff worthy of trust, worthy enough to be given the mantle of authority to pass judgment on anyone? The Philippines’ arguments against the ICC investigation into the alleged drug war killings cannot be dismissed lightly. The country has maintained that it did not ratify the Rome Statute that created the ICC, thus it never fell under the purview of the tribunal, like the United States, China and Russia. If Duterte pulled the country out of the ICC in 2018, it was only because the country was a signatory to the statute, which did not amount to anything without the required ratification. The complementarity issue is another significant concern raised by the Philippines. The country has asserted that the ICC should not investigate the alleged crimes because the Philippine government is already conducting its own investigations. The ICC, on the other hand, questions the genuineness of the Philippine government’s investigations, claiming that they are merely a cover-up to protect the perpetrators from accountability. Ultimately, the ICC’s decision on whether or not to proceed with the investigation into the alleged drug war killings in the Philippines will have far-reaching implications, more so for the ICC as it tries to stave off irrelevancy. The post Raison d’être appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
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