Cecile Valdes Reynoso hosted an advance birthday party at Cova as thanksgiving for the success of Steak Escape, which, since opening its first outlet at Robinsons Ermita, has become a byword in the restaurant industry, dahlings.
Cecile studied in Switzerland and lived in Paris. Together with her nephew, Emilio Reynoso, she put up Steak Escape.
Cecile said she also hosted the party as a belated birthday bash for her pal, ace photographer Alex Van Hagen; and as a bienvenida for her sister, Lorrie Reynoso, who’s a chef and instructor at the New York Restaurant School and who has come back to town for a breather, natch!
“I decided to have a dinner party with my closest friends at a restaurant that I love, Cova, since I just can’t get enough of the excellent choices in their menu,” Cecile told us.
For cocktails, Cova served Millionaire Sagria, made with pink champagne, and finger food such as ravioli with oxtail; mar y tierra (steak with shrimp) and taquitos de pollo.
The main course was the jaw-dropping Huevos Cambriados (egg with minced meat and potato sticks), which Vicky Zubiri and moi, would you believe, had three servings off. Yummy!
Also served were Calamares, Gambas with garlic, Paella Negra and the superb Feudua (paella with twist; it used rice and noodles).
Finally, for the sweet tooth, there was the delicious Crema de Catalan—crème brûlée with a Catalan twist.
Having a blast from the past were Cecile’s Assumption classmates and gang: Paz Sotto, Vicky Lopez Tuason, Ito Legarda Kahn, Chiqui Martinez Prieto, Loly Perez Rubio, Lucel Villanueva, Victoria Preysler and Marietta Santos.
The dancing sounds and the endless flow of wine so boosted our adrenaline that we practically had to be swept off Cova; but not before Cecile blew out the candles on her chocolate cake for another great, successful and totally happy year. Happy birthday, Cecile Valdes Reynoso!
Great fashion launch
Ask those who saw Philippine Fashion Week and they will surely say that on top of their list would be Bench’s Rajo Laurel Revolution. The show launched the fragrances Rajo Uno and Rajo Dos and the limited-edition Bench/OJ + Rajo denim collection.
The explosive show featured celebrities and models from the Bench famille, such as Sam Concepcion, Enchong Dee, Steven Silva, Rocco Nacino, Joseph Marco, Enzo Pineda, Sarah Lahbati and Regine Angeles.
For his fashion collection, Rajo said he was inspired by the two biggest influences that shaped him as a designer—Japanese aesthetic and his own Spanish heritage.
When he took his well-deserved bow, he encouraged everyone to dance with him, dahlings.
Allison Harvard and Dominique Reighard of the TV show “America’s Next Top Model,” breezed down the runway to join the dance with Bench CEO Ben Chan. Then a cake was brought out as everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to greet Rajo, palanggas.
“It took me four months to finish Rajo Revolution,” the designer said. “For the Bench costumers, hard work truly paid off. You will immediately feel the quality and attention to detail when you try the jeans on. It’s the culmination of our design journey and collaboration.”
Rajo Uno and Rajo Dos are available at all Bench, Herbench, Superbench and Bench Body outlets nationwide. For more updates, go to Bench’s Facebook page or follow @benchtm via Twitter.
Amanda Griffin-Jacob returns
After five years of chilling out and having a baby, Amanda Griffin-Jacob is back with the lifestyle TV show “Amanda, Loving Life,” premiering July 8, 7:30 p.m., on the Lifestyle Network no less, dahlings. Amanda launched her new show at Aria Cucina Italiana, Bonifacio High Street.
Joey Mead-King gave a fab introduction to Amanda. Also welcoming her back to broadcast were her former “F” co-hosts—Angel Aquino, Daphne Oseña-Paez, and sister-in-law Christine Jacob.
Amanda’s adoring hubby David Jacob said she had embraced her newest role in life as mom to baby Kieran, adding she “was born to be a mother.”
Amanda then went on stage for a candid Q&A with the media.
“Motherhood is my passion and I want to do what I love,” she said. “I’ve always been that way. This enthusiasm has flowed into a sister project, Glam-O-Mamas (www.glamomamas.com), an online magazine dedicated to motherhood and all the joys that come with it.”
Amanda’s show kicks off with her personal story of how she became a mother, and her tips on losing the post-pregnancy weight.
Other topics in the first season: technology in the household; managing your kids’ time; and techie jargon. Even the man of the house has something to learn as Rajo Laurel will give fashion pointers for daddies.
“Amanda, Loving Life” airs every Sunday.
More info? Contact Gerick Ortiz of ARC Public Relations at 0917-8421572 or [email protected].
