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.
Hi Lori,
I’ve been a reader of your blog for years but last Sunday was the first time I’ve attended one of your events. (First time also to leave a comment here.) I just want to say thank you to you and Ms. Cory for that fascinating demo. Not to mention the free cake. I’m also not a fan of marshmallow icing but that Rainbow Cake was every bit as tasteful as it was colorful. I can’t wait to see the recipe published here. When you handed me that piece of cake, I wanted to speak with you for a bit or at the very least get my picture taken with you but was too shy and starstruck to say anything other than thank you.
Cheers to your successful food bazaar and hoping for more baking demos in the future!
That’s my back in one of the photos! Haha. It was so nice meeting you that day, Lori! My husband kept teasing me about being a giddy fangirl after I got my photo op with you (and he was all smug about how he made it happen for me). Congratulations on the success of your first food bazaar, I hope there will be more to come. 🙂
Dear Lori,
I could not thank you enough for inviting us to participate at Food & Flair. Last weekend was truly a milestone for us. But beyond that, we had such a blast sharing our products with people who genuinely appreciated them. Coupled with those lovely moments you spent with each of your purveyors – that just made it all the more special.
Looking forward to the next time we’ll meet!
Cheers,
Meryl
Fun-ness overload! I love seeing you in your element, sweets. Your smile always puts me in a good mood. Sending you a huge cyber hug and heaps of positive vibes.
wooooow! Great pictures and omg the food looks amazing! I am so glad to came across your blog. I love food and I am pretty much sure everyone does but omg this food looks so amazing. I love it! 😀 Thanks for sharing those amazing pictures with us. It all looks really delicious and super duper yummy! :))