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Filipino food on spotlight in James Beard's 'Platform'

A new dining destination in New York by the James Beard Foundation features food creations made by Fil-Am chefs.

Article (news)

Don Tagala

TFC News

<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kH-2smlCHHM?&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>Love for Philippine cuisine brought together six Filipino-American chefs to &quot;Platform,&quot; a new dining destination in New York City by the James Beard Foundation.The sold-out, one-day-only Filipino brunch was a culinary experience like no other. It featured the finest Filipino chefs, such as &quot;Top Chef&quot; alums Dale Talde and Leah Cohen.The “Merienda” special also featured the &quot;kusina&quot; skills of New York chefs Woldy Reyes, LJ Almendra, and Diana Manalang of &quot;Little Chef.&quot;Leading the talented bunch was Filipino food movement pioneer and James Beard nominee Nicole Ponseca.  &quot;Sometimes these meals come and go, but it&#x27;s the memories, it&#x27;s the laughter,&quot; she said. &quot;That&#x27;s really what I want people to know about being Filipino, that our food is that it&#x27;s very joyful, it&#x27;s very communal.&quot;Ponseca added: &quot;I think it’s the food but it&#x27;s also the people behind the food that make an event and make Filipino food, fun.&quot;James Beard Foundation’s Victoria Jordan Rodriguez said &quot;Platform&quot; is not just about celebrating culture from around the world, but also about featuring delicious food to their loyal followers.      &quot;They&#x27;re really savvy consumers,&quot; she said. &quot;These are the kind of folks that are tastemakers. They&#x27;re going to be bringing people, they&#x27;re going out to these restaurants, they&#x27;re traveling for food and for restaurants.&quot;The &quot;Merienda&quot; tasting started with Almendras&#x27; pandesal, a staple bread in the Philippines, with &quot;kesong puti&quot; or Filipino white cheese, for appetizers.&quot;This is a celebration of our culture and our food,&quot; the chef said. &quot;To be able to showcase our food in a &#x27;Platform,&#x27; literally, by James Beard was such a big step and it&#x27;s worth celebrating.&quot;Meanwhile – Reyes&#x27; vegan mango-glazed bibingka and sinangang frittata popped with flavors and colors is his &quot;Kamayan&quot; feast.This was recently featured in Vogue magazine and was deemed by the New York Times as an invigorating culinary experience&quot;We&#x27;re now at this place where our cuisine is being recognized and it&#x27;s made with love, it&#x27;s made with history and culture,&quot; said Reyes. &quot;That&#x27;s where we are right now as Filipinos showcasing and sharing our food.&quot;Diners came to &quot;Platform&quot; to celebrate their birthdays and anniversaries with a Filipino touch.The chefs closed out Filipino Food Month with a message: this food movement can only get stronger when Filipino chefs come together with a mission to share their love for food from the Philippines to the world.

A new dining destination in New York by the James Beard Foundation features food creations made by Fil-Am chefs.