Poetry on the plate & palate

Boracay is not only a magnet for sand and sun worshippers. It is also a go-to place for foodies who want to experience gustatory delights.

- BUM D. TENORIO, JR.

For example, the sumptuous two-night, four-hands, six-course dinner at Crimson Resort and Spa in Boracay.

"Boracay is not only about white sand beach. It is also a great food destination," said Didier Belmonte, the French GM of the resort, adding that Crimson Boracay recently bagged the "Best Breakfast" award given by Conde Nast.

Didier, who has only been with Crimson Boracay for a few months after his stint as GM of Crimson Cebu for eight years, rose to the challenge of treating guests and other residents of the island to a culinary spectacle last weekend. The resort invited two culinary experts—chefs Sau del Rosario and Jeramie Go—to collaborate with Crimson Boracay's very own executive chef Nickolai Stoyanov and chef de cuisine Rakesh Singh Panwar, respectively.

The four chefs went out of their comfort zones and the result of the two-night gustatory event was nothing short of mouthwatering. The experience is still vivid on the palate of the resort's diners.

Sunset dinner Friday night saw the collaboration between chefs Jeramie and Rakesh. As the glorious Boracay sun set, the two chefs began their artistry in an elevated makeshift kitchen outside the resort's famed restaurant Azure. The diners, seated on long tables by the beach, had sand between their toes and the cool after-sundown breeze whetting their appetite.

First to land on the table was Rakesh's Smoked Ham Urundai—fantastic! Corn, mozzarella, and mango were securely hidden with bits and pieces of ham inside a pastry ball. Each bite was magical.

Magical, too, was his Pork and Chicken Terrine. Sliced meatloaf amply drizzled with apple coriander dressing lounged prettily on a garden of greens. Refreshing.