Something’s brewing in the kitchen.
Open from June 19 to 21, the Open Kitchen: The Best Kept Recipes of the Stars finds its home at the UP Town Center Amphitheater in Quezon City. One look around the bazaar will tell you that this isn’t just any regular food trip. Manning the food stalls are the very people you see on television, as if they’ve stepped right out of your TV screen to serve you a meal.
It’s a star-studded food affair, and it’s no wonder—that’s what Open Kitchen sets out to be. It’s a surprising but welcome look into the culinary talent of the faces of primetime.
True to the spirit of Open Kitchen, we tried to find out what were the best-kept secrets of the stars—or, at least, what they liked about their food.
JC De Vera remained tight-lipped about his burger joint The Burgery’s secret recipe, but we had luck with other concessionaires! Rocco Nacino joked that it was “love” that made Lovi Poe’s tacos (sold at Eatcetera) special, but Lovi shared that it was actually a special secret sauce that she and her team concocted. As for Lovi’s personal specialty, Rocco says she does a great Hawaiian garlic prawn, a serendipitous dish she learned, trying to replicate the taste of Romy’s prawns in Hawaii.
Aiza Seguerra was more than happy to talk about how he and his team prepared the classic Filipino dish adobo for his stall, Adobo in a Jar. He says they use no soy sauce—a surprise, considering that every adobo dish seems to be made of gallons and gallons of soy sauce—and that their adobo is cooked thrice, which makes for the perfect balance of acidity.
Richard Yap, whose food stall Luna J sells Filipino merienda, says that, of his stall’s delicacies, the palitaw is his favorite. What makes it special is that it has cheese.
Although her stall is still due to open at Open Kitchen on Sunday, Cherry Pie Picache is looking forward to be a part of the community of stars-turned-chefs with her food stall, Alab, which is actually her Filipino restaurant that she’s just opened on Sct. Rallos. For her personal cooking adventures, she emphasizes the importance of family recipes, saying that her specialty kare-kare recipe was passed down from generation to generation.
Vice Ganda’s rice-and-ulam stall Rice Ganda sells all Filipino classics, like the tapsilog. He says his favorite of his stall’s meals is the pares, saying that it’s his comfort food. “Pares is special because that’s the food that makes me happy,” he says.
Though it’s clear that the stars’ best-kept recipes will likely stay safeguarded, one thing is for sure: The Open Kitchen is a place where Kapamilya and Kapuso can come together to celebrate a love for good food.
Open Kitchen: Best-Kept Recipes from the Stars is open from June 19 to June 21, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., at the UP Town Center Amphitheater, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City.
Photos by Andrea G. Beldua