East and West converge at Madrid Fusion Manila 2016

Michelin-star chefs, culinary figures and food enthusiasts from the eastern and western hemisphere converged at the world’s most important international gastronomy congress – Madrid Fusion Manila (MFM) 2016 at the SMX Convention Center.

Organized by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), MFM 2016’s theme is “The Manila Galleon: East meets West” and highlights how the Galleon Trade linked Asia to the Western World. MFM 2016 also emphasized the Philippines as a culinary center of excellence in Asia by providing a unique opportunity to chefs, food aficionados, and food-and-beverage company professionals to come together to learn new culinary techniques from the most acclaimed Michelin-star chefs from across the globe.

Focusing on the influences made by the two diverse parts of the world, MFM featured esteemed chefs such as Joan Roca, Danἰ Garcia, Jordi Butrὀn, Ảngel Leὀn and Ricard Camarena of Spain, Nurdin Topham of China, Yoshihiro Narisawa of Japan, Virgilio Martinez of Peru, David Thompson of Thailand, Kevin Cherkas of Indonesia, Jungsik kim of Korea, Enrique Olvera and Jorge Vallejo of Mexico, Leah Cohen, Paul Qui, Jose Andres, Michael Voltaggio and Romy Dorotan and Amy Besa of USA, and Myke Sarthou and Michael Aspiras of the Philippines.  

Making MFM 2016 another success were the DOT Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr., DOT Director Verna Buensuceso, the TPB COO Domingo Ramon C. Enerio III, Spanish Ambassador Luis Calvo, Secretary of State for Trade of Spain Secretary Jaime Garcia-Legaz, Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Berna Romulo-Puyat, Arum Estrategias de Internacionalización Director Iñigo Cañedo, Foro De Debate’s Lourdes Plana and Chef Margarita Fores.

Indeed, Madrid Fusion Manila 2016 is not just about sharing food, culinary talents, stories and techniques, but also a celebration of friendship and camaraderie between the east and west.

Some of the chefs and personalities that graced the events were DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr., TPB COO Domingo Ramon Enerio III, Spanish Ambassador Luis Calvo, Arum Estrategias Internacionalización Director Iñigo Cañedo and Turkish Airlines General Manager for Philippine Operations Erhan Balaban, Secretary of State for International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain Jesus Gracia and Foro de Debate’s Lourdes Plana, Philippine Airlines President Jaime Bautista and DOT Director Verna Buensuceso, Neil Oshima and Department of Agriculture Usec Berna Romulo-Puyat, Dr. Antonio Sanchez De Mora and Arum Estrategias ,Internacionalización’s Mielle Esteban, SM Supermalls SVP for Marketing Jonjon San Agustin and AVP for Operations Perkin So, Chef Nurdin Topham and Chef Enrique Olvera, Chef Joan Roca, Chef Jungsik Yim, Chef Kevin Cherkas, Chef Karime Lopez, and Chef Virgilio Martinez.