The country’s biggest food conference is back. And it comes in a new format.

Founded by Angelo Comsti in 2018, the Asian Culinary Exchange (ACE) started as a two-day event with live panel discussions on the first, and a series of chef collaborations on the second. It was built not only to foster good relations and exchange ideas with other chefs in the Asian region, but also to introduce them to our culture. Peppered in between the milestone events are market visits, chef get-togethers and several meals that aim to introduce visiting chefs to the local delicacies, hoping that they get inspired with our food and our culinary talents.

The first two years of ACE had big-named chefs such as Tonn Tassanakajohn (Thailand), Vicky Cheng and Peggy Chan (HK), and Kirk Westaway, Sun Kim, and Rishi Naleendra (Singapore) gracing the affair. Last year, because of the pandemic, it took on a TV format with Michelin-starred chefs such as Julien Royer of Odette and Tristin Farmer of Zen (both from Singapore) joining the conversation.

This 2021, with strict travel restrictions still in effect, ACE goes digital and takes a different direction. Entitled Homecoming, it will focus more on the different aspects of Filipino cuisine, as opposed to the previous years where the talk revolved on the F&B industry of Asia.

“Whereas before we discussed what’s going on in the food scene our neighboring countries as well as that of ours, this year we target solely on our own, from the lens of the past, the present and the future,” says food writer and bestselling cookbook author Angelo Comsti.

We will be paying a long overdue tribute to the unsung heroes of Filipino cuisine, namely Doreen Fernandez, Maria Orosa and Nora Daza, all three of whom built stable foundations to Filipino cuisine.

We will also engage with our fellow Filipinos abroad, specifically from the US, Europe and Australia, and ask them about the challenges of promoting our food abroad. Then we gathered young emerging talents and talk to them about the importance of modernizing our dishes. Lastly, we turn to our beloved celebrity chefs to find out what their dreams for Filipino cuisine are.

To be aired via the Youtube and Facebook channels of the Asia Society Philippines, Asian Culinary exchange 2021: Homecoming is brought to you by co-presentors Nespresso Philippines and McCormick Culinary, with media partners Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inquirer Mobile, FoodPh, Inquirer Lifestyle, Lifestyle.inq, inquirer.net, F&B Report, Tatler Dining Philippines, and the Asia Society Philippines.

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