A banquet for goodwill ~ D' Durian Daily

It’s always a winning duo- a renowned chef whipping up a fancy banquet sold per plate of which 100% of the proceeds will be donated to charity.

Such was the case of IChef and Chef Sharwin Tee’s collaboration—the two nights of charity dinners were sold out the instance the announcement was posted on social media.

“It was quite overwhelming because five hours after we got the word out, all 168 seats were taken,” shared Nicole Hao Bian, VP for Educational Development of JIB schools and host of the IChef Charity Dinner.

IChef Charity Dinner with Chef Sharwin Tee

Welcome address from Nicole Hao Bian, vice president for Educational Development of JIB schools.

“As much as we would like to accommodate everyone interested, we cannot. But hopefully within the year we can have another one.”

The project came up when Chef Sharwin, host of Lifestyle Channel’s Curiosity Got The Chef, was in Davao last December for IChef’s Global Skills affair and suggested to Nicole they host a charity dinner with the students involved when the scholol’s new building opens.

Turning plans into reality. Chef Sharwin Tee & Nicole Hao Bian, hosts of the charity dinner

Apparently, Chef Sharwin does a lot of charity dinners in Manila for the foundation he personally supports, the Ahon Foundation. The institution’s main objective it to build libraries in public schools and he’s looking forward to construct its first one in Davao.

The second beneficiary is the Divine Mercy Foundation, founded in Davao by Nicole’s grandmother, for its corporal works of mercy.

A couple of months after, the plan materialized— the new International Management School building was inaugurated and the grand lobby was turned into a dining hall, the students eagerly volunteered their services and Chef Sharwin flew to town (his plane fare on him. Yes, he’s very serious with his charity work) and his menu was whipped up and served.

“We wanted to celebrate what makes Davao really unique. When we searched the cuisine of Davao, what’s truly unique is the fruits. So we decided to create a menu that highlights all the fruits that’s enjoyed in Davao,” shared Chef Sharwin.

A menu highlighting Davao’s fruits

The four-course journey into fruits started with the “Davao Crustini” (durian crème, caramelized onions, pomelo juice) and Chicken Liver Crostini (mangosteen jam, chicken liver mousse) for hors d’oeuvres.

Davao Crostini

Chicken Liver Crostini with Mangosteen jam

Dinner started with the “Puto Pao” (house made steamed milk cake, Davao green mangoes, saffi ground beef, basil and chilis). The non-meat eater just had to have a taste of the beef and liked the bit of sourness on the dish—and I devoured the puto, including that of my seatmate’s.

Puto Pao

Although all the dishes are the chef’s favorite, the “Sinigang Soup Spaghetti” (house made pasta, pomelo broth, smoked fish, okra) was something to look forward to.

“We created a very light broth. From scratch we made our own fish stock and combined it with calamansi and pomelo juice. It’s not the heavy sinigang soup we are used to, but still a little sour and refreshing. The pasta is light, hand cut by the students.”

Sinigang Soup Spaghetti. ““It’s based on a Japanese dish because they like their spaghetti really soupy. Not exactly like their soup dish in Japan, but close to it.” said the chef.

Another flavorful dish was the “Kape at Gatas” for the main course. Tuna belly with Davao mountain coffee rub on bed of Davao mountain rice with Malagos chevre cheese.

Kapa at Gatas

The dessert, I fell in love with—“Marang Puffs” (house made Choux pastry, marang pastry cream, caramel). The marang flavor was light, the sweetness perfect.

Marang Puffs

As the food and venue was splendid, the service was as superb. The three complementing components made for a splendid evening—two evenings, in fact. I’m sure everyone who came will agree with me.