Being a person who works within the food industry is not an easy feat. With the fast-moving atmosphere demanding a sharp wit that also the finest attention to detail, a culinary chef holds no room for failure.
As the culinary world often needs a passionate heart to help in powering through the pressures of the kitchen, it would come as a surprise that the executive chef of Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown Coke Semblante had a
different dream for himself when he was younger.
“At first, I didn’t like this kind of career. I was a frustrated basketball player,” said Semblante in
an exclusive interview with Manila Standard Life
during the media luncheon for Savoy Hotel Manila’s Cebu Food Festival.
The executive chef further shared that he shifted his career focus to the hotel and restaurant industry as it was the program offered to him in college. While studying, he began to work at a fast food kitchen until he eventually graduated.
After receiving his diploma, Semblante began working at a hotel as a line cook. In 2003, he decided to apply for a job abroad and got accepted as a chef in the US and later, the UK, before coming back to the Philippines in 2010 as a sous chef in a resort in Palawan.
In the years that he spent in the kitchen, Semblante eventually realized that cooking had now been his passion. With some of his specialty dishes hailing from the Cebuano cuisine, Semblante shared that he had a fondness for such food as it was what he had grown up tasting even at a young age.
“Cebuano cuisine is diverse because we are surrounded by bodies of water and have mountains,
so we have food from both sea and land,” said Semblante, adding that the diverse sweet and savory flavor profiles of Cebuano cuisine are influenced by Chinese, Spanish, Mexican, Mindanaoan, Malaysian, and South American tastes.
With Savoy Hotel Manila conducting a sequel to its heritage culinary event last March which revolved around the Ilonggo cuisine, Semblante’s specialty dishes from the Cebuano cuisine take centerstage at their Cebu Food Festival which initially began from July 22 to 28 before later being extended to Aug. 11 due to popular demand.
Guests will be able to have a taste of dishes such as
the Humba, Balbacua, Manok sa Kawayan, Linarang, Monggo with Chicharon, and many more as Semblante collaborates with Savoy Hotel Manila’s executive chef Kit Carpio. They can also try out the Pungko-Pungko basket which serves as an homage to the street food
experience in Cebu.
The Cebu Food Festival serves as a collaboration between the general managers of Savoy Hotel Manila, Den Navarro, and Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown Josef Chiongbian.
For inquiries and table reservations, guests can call +63253172817 or send an email to dine@savoymanila.com.
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