Regional lunches: Showcasing the diversity of Filipino cuisine

FOR a couple of hours, congress attendees and guests take a break to eat a carefully curated themed ad festive lunch showcasing the diversity of Filipino cuisine and the sustainability of the native ingredients.
This is where seasoned Filipino chefs such as Margarita Fores, JP Anglo and Claude Tayag prepare their dishes based on a specific theme. For Day 1, it was Rice, Day 2 was Nose to Tail and Day 3 was Corn.
Day 1, curated by Angelo Comsti, was all about rice. Some chefs focused on heirloom rice, grown and harvested in various provinces in the Philippines, from balatinaw of Mountain Province to the innawi of Banaue. Day 2 highlighted the nose-to-tail concept and was curated by Nina Daza-Puyat, Sasha Lim-Uy Mariposa, and Idge Mendiola. The term did not just apply to the pigs and cows, it also applied to other ingredients such as the coconut and cacao. The third day, curated by  Alicia Sy,  focused on the flexibility of the corn.
Among the unforgettable dishes we had to partake were the following –
Mike Tatung Sarthou and his Tausug Junay with Utakutak, which is sticky rice cooked with pamapa (Mindanao spice) and spiced fish nuggets.
Kiddo Cosio of El Union who served Dirty White Horchata made with Tinawon white rice and Bukidnon espresso.
JP Anglo’s Next Generation Adobo, a nose-to-tail adobo made with chicken heart, intestine, gizzard, tail and skin.
Pam Cinco (Risa Chocolate) and her A Toast to Chocolate, a nose-to-tail dish using different parts of cacao, from the white chocolate disc topped with cacao nibs to the cacao dessert wine and the white chocolate truffle with dark chocolate ganache and carabao’s milk butter.
Tina Legarda (Bamba Bistro) who served Tindahan ni Maria Salad of pechay, chorizo-charred corn, kesong puti, tuyo-pineapple vinaigrette and pork skin crumbs.
Dedet de la Fuente (Pepita’s Kitchen) and her Nilasing na Lechon with corn  and guinataan mais mousse.
Margarita Fores and her purple corn ukoy, seared bagaybay with chorizo cream.