For the country’s top chefs, the art of creating a true signature dish starts with the promise of fresh ingredients and inspiration. Like any masterpiece, signature dishes offer stories that can excite the pulse and palate of a guest. Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) shares how gastronomy’s giants in the Philippines create these stories and build its flavors from inspiration found everyday through its special cookbook, Signature Dishes 2011.
A must-have on every food-lover’s shelf, the cookbook offers an intimate take on the trailblazing cuisines of 11 mostly Manila-based culinary artists including Chefs Josef Miklavc, Franco Brodini, and Mark Mulder. With page after page of delectable dishes, the book offers appetizing inspiration that will let Filipino gourmands, food operators and restaurateurs discover the passion it takes to develop their own trademark flair. After all, it’s a restaurant’s signature dish that creates its distinct identity, ensures enduring success, and unravels that irresistible all-time favorite that diners will always cherish and look for.
Flavorful secrets served
With their toques filled with experience and time-tested techniques, the featured chefs create the perfect combination of aroma and flavor in each of their renditions, from fricassees, confits to gratins.
Chef Josef Miklavc, the executive chef of Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila, has mastered almost any type of cuisine through his travels across the globe. His close-guarded recipes and masterful dishes have enticed guests including Prime Minister Tony Blair, Queen Elizabeth II and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei. His signature dish demonstrates how rich cooking traditions and a back to basics approach can inspire boundless possibilities.
From one world-class hotel chain to another, Makati Shangri-La’s executive Chef Franco Brodini takes part in the all-star ensemble of Signature Dishes 2011. Ensuring that the hotel’s stellar food experience will remain consistent to worldwide standards, Chef Franco’s administrative tasks are just as crucial as his expert cooking in the kitchen. As technique is said to be the first thing that a chef should learn, Chef Franco mastered diverse techniques to deliver brilliant dishes. This is his inspiration for his signature dish that upholds the fine-dining experience of Makati Shangri-La.
Also featured in Signature Dishes 2011 is Chef Mark Mulder, formerly of Traders Hotel Manila, who finds most of his inspiration through travel. Having perfected his culinary skills in the kitchens of leading cruise lines around the world, he has earned stellar list of accolades including a third prize in the prestigious Young Chef’s Dutch National Championship. His signature dish is a testament to his caliber and his insatiable appetite for exciting flavor combinations.
With the wealth of tips, culinary insights and inspiration in every page of the cookbook, food service operators and food enthusiasts can draw inspiration everyday from these chefs, and start sharing their own flavorful stories with every dish. Signature Dishes 2011 will be available starting July in leading bookstores nationwide.
