Fabulousness at Food & Flair

What a weekend it was! Dessert Comes First has always been about championing home bakers, and now also, putting the spotlight on food purveyors and artisan craftsmakers. Food & Flair was my first food bazaar and I can’t thank The Podium enough for giving me this opportunity to introduce my new favorites.

Some highlights:

Putting the finishing touches on her booth: Mariel San Agustin, proprietor of My Domesticity, one of my favorite sources for distinctive Philippine products for the home.

It was a thrill to finally meet face to face with the newer purveyors. Here, getting along fabulously with Barbie and Noelle, the great girls behind healthy bakery, The Little Spatula.

Des Castro of Teaspoon Desserts. She makes personalized shortbread cookies and an Apple Crumble Cheesecake that I like very much.

Elevating Philippine desserts: Anghelica’s Desserts by Chef Anne Atanacio (not in picture).

Talking about the intricacies and delights of prop styling with Kitty and Mia, part of the Craftsmith team.

And here’s the Craftsmith booth manned by Kay and Chuty. “Advocating slow living” is their motto. I heartily agree.

I LOVE Fully Booked. Enough said.

People just could not get enough of Il Ponticello’s Spicy Porchetta. They sold out on Saturday and more roasts had to be rushed over.

Bliss in a bun.

Cicou’s kouign amanns are usually sweet but their savory counterparts are equally good.

A good vantage point to scope out what to buy, and more importantly, what to eat!

“Make My Magnum” was the order of the day for many people.

The center cake station at the fair. Here’s trivia for you: almost everything on this table was fake – i.e, inedible.

Happy people at the fair perusing and partaking.

Couldn’t be happier that the SM Marketing team came out in full force to support me.

Meggy de Guzman (at right) of Live Like It’s Friday, is one of the coolest people I’ve met. She makes what she calls “unboring” bone china inspired by our native merienda. I love her stuff and her friend-with-colorful-hair, Jean.

I did my best to experience that entire “bazaarista” experience. Here I am exerting my selling skills complete with goofy face at the Craftsmith booth.

Adrian Okit of Pizza Brava introduced his Italian-inspired pizzas at the fair. His truffle-mushroom variant was a hit!

Maker of Manila’s BEST macarons, Meryl Go of Alchemy. This girl is a success story. Some years ago, she sent me a box of her macarons. Not entirely happy with them, I gave her some feedback and she flew with it. Fast forward to today, Meryl makes macarons better than anyone in Manila.

Of course, people are what make an event. Here I am with Jackie Prudente and her husband. Jackie came over to Food & Flair expressly because she wanted me to try her “… cookies that I guarantee stay chewy for days.” She’s right, they do!

Anthony Monteiro came all the way from Laguna to meet me and to have his copy of my book signed. “You are my dessert goddess, Lori,” he says. I floated on air for the rest of the day after that.

On all three days, I was more than happy to:

Sign books.

Gamely pose with guests at the fair for a photo op…

… and get effusively hugged.

On Sunday, my friend and professional baker, Cory Untalan of CRU Kitchen, conducted a baking demo. The audience was fascinated by the processes of making a rainbow cake and decorating it with marshmallow icing. Cory even showed us how to do an ombre buttercream frosting.

Thank to everyone who came over this past weekend to Food & Flair! And many thanks most especially to The Podium Mall for giving me an opportunity to introduce my new favorite purveyors.

~lori