Dine Philippines in Ozamiz coverage

Whenever we travel to other parts of the country or the world, the sights are not the only sense that matters in a tourist experience. There is also taste. Part of being a tourist is to experience food that is not common in one location because it also represents a heritage.

Whenever we go to different regions, we usually associate the food with the province. For example, it is common knowledge that dishes in the Bicol Region are mostly spicy. I went to Ozamiz City to attend Dine Philippines. It’s a food and beverage fair and most of the attendees are students who are taking up Hotel and Restaurant Management in college.

Since I am blogging about food, I also find it as a refresher course since I also want to hear the insights in the food industry.  The venue, The Promenade, also provides catering by Johann's Cuisine for the event.

Most of the time, what you studied in college may not be enough because the subjects we took does not show us the current situation in the work place. That is why learning is an ongoing process. Experience is the best source of learning and these students are fortunate that they are able to be given a glimpse of the working class.

One of the insights of I got are from resource speaker Mr. Adolf Aran, Jr. about situation of restaurant business in the Philippines. There are comparisons of lifestyle from the past to present. Because of the BPO industry boost in the country, the customer service representatives are in a time-shift event though they are still here in the Philippines because most of their inquiries are from another time zone. Their meal times are now different and when their shift ends which is usually in the morning, it is the only time they can enjoy drinking. One question was raised. Do we have food establishments that can cater to this need?

Chef Jam Melchor with volunteers.

Ozamiz City will soon have a BPO company but there are no convenience stores yet because the city is still living a provincial life. I was told the cinemas here close early compared to Manila. I love the transitions of the topics in the plenary sessions. One of the resource persons is a consultant Jai Ferrer. He specializes in farming and encourages going organic.

I got to talk to one of the attendees present during the first day. Misamis University student Roian Puckering enjoyed the topics and looks forward to learn from Liquido Maestro Kalel Demetrio because he wants to follow the example of his father who does different coffee drinks.

Liquido Maestro Kalel gives instructions for the AweZamiz mix

Speaking of the Liquido Maestro, Mr. Kalel Demetrio got the audience impressed when he created drinks using local ingredients in Ozamiz as if he was performing magic with his cocktail mixes and gave the liberty to the students to name the original drink. Chef Kalel encourages everyone to maximize the ingredients of what the province or city has to offer and experiment. This will also help promote local products that our own farmers produced. Chef Kalel himself is an advocate of locally produced ingredients and uses it in his endorsements in Distileria like the Barik lambanog he used.

But the best part of the event besides the insights from the resource persons is the food of course. Why would there not be Dine Philippines without the food.  I got to try out the food catered and provided by Johann’s Event Place which is the first events place in Ozamiz City.

Dragonfruit ice cream

On the first day, I got to try their Dragon fruit ice cream which is homemade originally at Johann’s. At the trade area outside the plenary, there are different food stalls that got me craving. I got to try out the suman from Klarin. What makes these Suman unique it has different flavors. There is also one booth the offers ube turon. It is smaller than the regular banana turon but quite heavy even though it is bite size.

The chefs have substance in their topics and they have rock-star status because they are entertaining and good with their craft. I cannot blame the attendees if they ask them for selfies. The plenary topics is also participatory. Chef Jam Melchor and the Liquid Chef Kalel Demetrio even ask some volunteers to help them. At the end of Dine Philippines, I asked another student from Misamis University, Donna Kris Eltagon what she taught about event. She told me she learned a lot from this event and she looks forward to attend Dine Philippines again for new insights.

AweZaMiz: an original drink created by the Liquido Maestro during Dine Philippines.

Ozamiz City has many unique food trips but there are more gastronomic adventures in Misamis Occidental which I will continue in my next posts.  Follow this blog and like W.H.A.T. Food Blogs on Facebook for more indulging food trips.

With Donna Eltagon whom I interviewed and the rest of the students of Misamis University who attended Dine Philippines.