The 6th Annual Food and Wine Festival

Sommelier Selection, a French wines distributor in the Philippines, celebrated its 6th Annual Food and Wine Festival at three of the country's premium hotels—the Mandarin Oriental (at Tivoli), the Intercontinental (at Prince Albert Rotisserie) and the Peninsula Manila (at Old Manila). The dinners were held last October 6, 14 and 20, respectively. The event's theme was wild food, displaying the use of ingredients under the air, earth and water elements.  

At the October 14 banquet, French host Jérôme Philippon welcomed guests with white wines Roally 2004 and L'effraie Sec. The venue's setup had a round table at the center of the dining area, adorned with bottles of liquor and boxes of wild mushrooms. In front of this was a projector displaying slides of pictures related to winemaking. Across the room, a pianist filled the air with tasteful music.  

The starter was a plate of pan-fried duck breast, portobello croquettes, spinach and chanterelle (photo 2). It went marvelously with Cadet de Gombaude 2009, which was light in body and deep ruby in color. To cleanse the palate before the main course, a scoop of blackcurrant sherbet (photo 3) was then offered.  

Peppered ostrich with a chocolate-based sauce, beetroot confit, and wood ear mushrooms atop a thin biscuit (photo 4) was served alongside Chante Coucou 2008. A purplish red wine hailing from the Southwest of France, Chante Coucou was very strong, dry and fresh.

A lovely selection of cheeses, and slices of mushroom brioche with cepe butter were also served (photo 5).

Lastly, there was a tray of white chocolate balls and milk chocolate cornflake crisps to sweetly end the night.

For more information on French wines in the Philippines, visit Sommelier Selection's Facebook page. Text and photos by Gianna Villavicencio.