The Taste of interactive Cooking Demo

Chef Niño personally serves wine to lucky participants

Cooking demos offer quick and easy techniques in various cooking methods. Usually held outdoors or inside a mall, the audience listens as a chef prepares dishes on a set-up kitchen. With the audience sitting a few feet away from the chef, the demo looks more like a strict, classroom setting. But that is not really what happens at home where everyone converges in the kitchen, swapping cooking tips and chit-chats over peeling potatoes and a glass of wine. A fresh take on cooking demo finally came to reality when celebrity chefs Tristan Encarnacion and Niño Logarta treated the public to a free cooking demo at two SM malls- SM Fairview and Megamall recently.

The show, sponsored by top cookware brands Sunnex and Kinox, had the right blend of ingredients- from Encarnacion and Logarta who competently answered cooking questions; easy-to-make recipes; soothing entertainment provided by Acoustic Band Twirl; raffled prizes (and best of all, free food tasting for participants that registered (for free) for the afternoon event..

In keeping with this cozy ambience, four lucky registrants were chosen to sit in front of the mock-up kitchen, to see up close how the cooking process was done. It also served that Chefs Tristan and Niño, with their engaging wit and candor, won them over easily, encouraging them for questions and feedbacks. At one point, the amiable chefs not only toasted wine but sang a couple of lines, to the delight of the four participants and the rest of the audience.

The two young chefs generously shared their delicious recipes for everyone to try at home: Pan Grilled Sirloin Steak with Peppered Gravy Sauce and Sour Cream Mashed Tomatoes, Spicy Oiled Garlic and Twisted Pasta, Classic Caesar Dressing and Grilled Herbed Chicken for Chef Tristan and Quick Chicken Parmesan, Bacon and Prawn Bruschetta, Roman fried Potatoes - Patate Fritte Alla Romanesca, Wonton and Bok Choy Soup, Tilapia Fish Cakes, and Spicy Green Papaya and Cucumber Relish from Chef Niño.

At the end of the interactive demo, everybody was craving for more, much like how it happens in real life, when everybody has had a good time cooking and updating each other with the latest news and gossip. The perfect way to spend an afternoon, indeed.