I would rather spend time at the dining table than spend it at the kitchen. One reason why my blog is called “The Food Scout” is because I scout for places to eat and food to try, not for me to cook. After a busy day at work, my senses tell me to go out and enjoy the meal prepared in a restaurant. Never thought of cooking at all. But don’t get me wrong ok? I know how to cook. Not a naive, not an expert, I just “know”. 

In Casa San Pablo, knowing how to cook is not enough. Hands-on cooking was part of our culinary tour. What made me thinking after finding out that we were required to cook is this, “God, are you preparing me to be a housewife?”. Hahaha! I am serious! :)) I really told God that if I will cook, it would be for someone extra special and not for anyone else. I don’t want to be a chef cooking for people I don’t even know. I guess God heard my question and humbled me down to cook for everyone there. Thus, I had no choice but to be engaged in this cooking challenge with fellow foodies. 

So here we go!!! 

Before the cook off, (yes, the cook off *shaking*) Mrs. An Alcantara of Casa San Pablo oriented us on how to properly cook the 3 dishes we were assigned to make. I guess she knew we were ‘noobs’, especially me, in cooking the native way. Haha! 

 A short demo on making ensalada or kulawo properly. Emphasize on the “properly”. 

Mrs. An cooked effortlessly! I wish I could do that.

Ok, enough demo photos. I know you are excited to see the results of what we did.

(photo from Breakfast Magazine) The foodies were divided into 3 groups, 4 members per group. All 3 groups were tasked to make the same dishes with same ingredients. The challenge is, who presents and who cooks it best. 

The 3 dishes for the cook off are Adobong Manok sa Gata, Kulawo, and Pinaltok. 

Let the cook off begin….

(Photo from Breakfast Magazine) Our group was in good hands. I admit that it’s not because of me, but because of my group-mates, Patty, Paola and Sumi. Patty and Paola seemed like experts in cooking. Without looking at recipe cards, they knew what they were doing. Being part of their group, I absorbed techniques and styles on preparing food from start to end. Just like a student, I opened my notebook and jotted down notes on my head, trying to take note of every single thing we did to cook all 3 dishes. 

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t have the heart for cooking if it won’t be for someone extra special. I literally prayed before this cook off challenge because I was scared I might flunk and fail on this, knowing that I would simply cook, not for anyone special. With the help of my group, the energy and passion for cooking came out through me. Weird but I was so delighted in what I was doing. I didn’t think that it was even a challenge. I simply enjoyed and found joy in cooking. The inner “cook” in me flowed and made waves in our Casa San Pablo cook off. Big thanks to Casa San Pablo and Breakfast Magazine for giving me the chance to step out of my comfort zone and cook for everyone. 🙂

Ladies and gents, presenting to you our 3 native dishes…

For appetizer, Kulawo. 

For our main dish, Adobong Manok sa Gata. 

For dessert, Pinaltok. 

Ta-da! Cooking and food styling c/o our all-girls group.

A notable cook off, thanks to my team! 🙂 

All dishes were brought in this dining room. While eating, a slideshow of photos from the whole culinary tour was flashing on screen to entertain us. How speedy of them to upload the photos right away! 

Taste verdict? Hmm… According to everyone in the room, it didn’t only look good but the taste is almost exact as the original one from the demo of Mrs. An. I’d say it’s “almost” since we tweak the recipe a bit. Our group cooked all 3 dishes using our taste-buds. We didn’t completely depend on recipe cards given to us. 

Raised my thumb up for a successful cook off at Casa San Pablo! I’m so proud of myself! Haha! Now I am more confident to cook for anyone. Haha kidding! You’ll never know, I might surprisingly cook for….. you? 🙂 

Get to know more about native cooking by contacting Casa San Pablo. Visit their website for more details. This is another kind of foodie experience you should consider. 

Cheers,

Location: Barrio San Roque, San Pablo, Laguna, Philippines

Contact: [email protected]

Website: http://www.casasanpablo.com/

Budget: Varies (visit Casa San Pablo website for their rates)