The Western United States Agricultural Trade Association together with the Buy California Marketing Agreement with the support of the USDA Agribusiness Trade Mission to the Philippines recently highlighted California’s agricultural products in a tasting menu prepared by Grand Hyatt Manila’s Executive Chef Mark Hagan. The event focused on perennial favorites such as raisins, wines, cheeses, stone fruits, olives, and the latest addition to the Philippine market, Medjool dates.
“Filipinos are known to be innovative and adventurous when it comes to all things food, which creates great demand for top-notch ingredients such as those from the Golden State.
California is home to a remarkable range of fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains, dairy products, wines, and more. We want to support this growing demand by providing Filipino businesses and consumers access to top-notch California produce that would further elevate their dining experience,” Christine Birdsong, undersecretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture said.
The lunch started with a California Stone Fruit salad which featured grilled wedges of plums to accentuate their sweetness which was offset by bitter endive and an acidic vinaigrette.
This was followed by Pan-Seared Sea Bass resting on a cauliflower puree and accompanied by a black olive tapenade created from California black olives.
The meat course was Roast Pork Loin with a California raisin, onion, lemon, and coriander stuffing. The jus accompanying the dish also used California raisins to add sweetness.
This was followed by a wedge of California Seascape cheese, a semi-hard cheese using cow and goat’s milk. The tangy and slightly sweet cheese was paired with a stone fruit chutney and enjoyed with Lavosh Crackers. The meal ended with a Sticky Toffee California Medjool Date Pudding, with the chopped dates adding a fruity dimension to the sweet dessert.
All the courses were paired with varioius California wines, from Fume Blanc, to Chardonnay, to a Pinot Noir, to a blend of Napa Valley reds and a pink Moscato.
California might be best known for being the home of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, both centers of the international movie industry and technology respectively. However, the sunny state is also an agricultural powerhouse with a variety of products exported to many countries. The recent lunch showed that California’s products are some of the best worldwide, and Filipinos can easily enjoy them thanks to the growing availability in markets locally.
