In my constant search for kitchen gadgets, cookware and gizmos, I recently found myself lost once again in the middle of the Philippine Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Corp.’s (Pfescorp) showroom.

It’s a cook’s wonderland of silicone molds, cold coffee and tea siphons, pasta machines with all their attachments, chocolate molds, gelato machines, popsicle molds, sausage stuffers, de Buyer mineral pots, pans and roasting pans, even Hello Kitty pots and pans!

Parked by the entrance was one item that caught my attention, the Char-Griller Duo. It looked like a mini toy train, almost as massive as a buggy, a true-blue toy for a big boy. Any loving wife might want to give her husband (if he has penchant for grilling) this for Christmas.

The griller works on both gas and charcoal with a side firebox for smoking (to put wood chips in for that delicious, earthy-smoked taste in your barbecues) and a side burner that allows you to cook your sauce and sides while you’re grilling.

Looking at it makes me want to cook and throw a fabulous barbecue party. It is big enough for a whole turkey, a leg of ham and a slab of ribs, all cooking at the same time.

Since I couldn’t afford a car, I am seriously thinking of getting myself this one instead.

I begged Harry Chua, Pfescorp’s owner, to sell the griller at a good price. He quipped, “Okay, from today to Saturday (Nov. 24-26), I will give 25-percent off, pamasko na ng Pfescorp ’yan!”

The duo sells at P28,000. Now at 25-percent off, it’s only P21,000. There are smaller units, too, but they only work on gas—model #4001 at P22,500, now on sale at P16,875; and #3001 at P18,680, now at P14,010. Prices are on cash basis only.

Should you want to charge your purchase, you only get less 20 percent—a reasonable enough discount for what it is, which is half, if not a third, of the price of my dream griller.

The griller package also comes with two free squeegees (glass and window cleaners, which are also sold for P100, buy one take one).

According to Chua, the product is the brainchild of five seasoned sales managers of the top five griller brands in the US. They brainstormed and came up with the Char-griller.

(Call Pfescorp at 0917-5366288, 5311990.)

Drying services

Another thing that caught my attention while at Pfescorp was the drying service it offers.

“It is perfect for those who do not want to invest over a hundred thousand pesos on a drying machine,” said Chua. “We can dry anything—fruits (mangoes, pineapples, etc.), seafood, herbs, spices and vegetables. Depending on the product, we give you back a ton of produce, dried, in five days.”

The charge is P2,000 per day per chamber (each chamber can hold 30 k of mushrooms and chilies, a bit less for items that weigh more such as mangoes, pineapples, sea cucumber).

“What they bring in gets weighed before and after drying, to make it easy for our clients to do their costing. We dry according to the preference and can even do the packaging for them,” added Chua.

Ice cubes

Out of curiosity, I passed by a store in Boni Serrano after reading its signage: steaks, gift baskets and ice cubes for sale.

I have always been particular about the water that I drink, but have never really paid attention to the ice cubes that make my beverages so much more inviting. I was under the impression that the ice cubes sold by our neighborhood grocers were safe and clean—until last week, when I saw brown gelatin-like particles fused and melting with the ice cubes on my soda glass.

Yuck!

I changed my glass, but in my mind it was too late—I had drunk from it. The exact same thing happened to me in the afternoon when I asked for an ice-cold glass of water.

But God really sends us what we need, not a day early or late. My visit to the store allowed me to meet Butch Peña. I was interested in everything he had to offer—Japanese steaks, made-to-orders baskets (that he makes hundreds of)—everything inside his store except his ice cubes.

Peña, on the other hand, just kept talking about his Great Bear Ice, like a proud father: enumerating his long list of reputable clients, how his ice cubes were tested by one of the biggest supermarket chains and came out the cleanest, how the store has been in the business for the past 60 years, etc. He also guaranteed the safety of the water they used. I also learned that the store delivers ice cubes to your doorstep—five bags for P100 (delivery minimum).

The most important discovery I made on that day was a clean and reliable ice tube supplier. When buying ice, look for the logo—Great Bear Ice. For deliveries, call 4387862.

For information on my new Holiday cooking class schedules, call 0917-5543700/ 0908-2372346/ 4008496/ 9289296.

If you are still in need of Christmas Lights, assorted kinds LED/ISO, P300 to P500 cheaper than those I’ve seen being sold at the stores, call Christopher Uy at 0917-8424140.

E-mail [email protected]