Chili beef stew with bitter chocolate sauce and vol au vent.
IT WAS an afternoon of chocolate bliss with Chocolate Queen Raquel Choa, the tablea-maker, who has been putting Cebu in the global map with her endless pursuit of chocolate distinction.
Her native tablea, roasted, ground and molded nibs of fermented pure (100 percent) cocoa beans without added ingredients is then shaped into plumps, its form resting on the creative mind and artistic hands that mold them. Her brand “Ralfe Gourmet” is a reflection of her chocolate gastronomic concoctions.
The scent of pure chocolate–full, warm and spicy, greeted our senses as we entered the Sampaguita Ballroom of the Marriott Cebu City Hotel in what unfolded to be a unique experience of chocolate pampering with Ralfe Gourmet signature products of Chocolate Queen and Tablea Maker, Raquel Choa.
Labuyo chicken wings with cherry chocolate powder
The hand-rolled Trufles and Chocolate Alfajores were a few of these. Cocoa paintings of cocoa forest by Anthony Choa, one of eight children of Raquel welcomed guests while food attendants in cocoa-stained camisa de china moved around serving cold glasses of Chocolate Hibiscus drink.
After a warm welcome from General Manager Patrick Carroll, we were in for an unusual journey into the cacao world of Raquel who transported all of us into her fairy tale world, reading her life from a book that she has written. And she showed us how the tablea is made by traditionally pounding nibs with the use of her native mortar made of huge stone and pestle made of wood.
And to further demonstrate the versatility of her tablea, Marriott’s Executive Chef Chachpol Suaisom created exquisite dishes subtly incorporating the exotic flavors of native chocolate.
Mango Sticky rice with chocolate mousse
A native of Thailand, Chef Chachpol has been pleasing palates with his Thai as well as international cuisines in Marriott’s Garden Café since 2012.
After studying at the Moriya Cooking Company in Japan, Chef Chachpol started his culinary career as Commis, working his way up and successfully gaining experience globally.
That afternoon, our cocktail creations started with Chili Beef Stew with Bitter Chocolate Sauce in Vol Au Vent, a small hollow case of puff pastry. Vol Au Vent means “windblown” in French to describe its lightness.
The spicy, exotic taste rendered by chili and bitter chocolate flavors were appealingly delicious. I must have eaten three puffs filled with beef stew. The Labuyo Chicken Wings with Cherry Chocolate Powder was another pleaser.
Chilled chocolate hibiscus
The Tagalog siling labuyo or siling kolikot in Bisaya is a small chili pepper cultivar found in the Philippines. We also call it “tingala” since the chilis are all looking up to the sky. It is recorded as the spiciest in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Roast Pork with Chocolate Beer Chipotle BBQ Sauce and Grilled Prawns with Spicy Tomato and Chocolate Powder Hibiscus were uniquely delectable.
Chipotle is smoke-dried jalapeno popular in Mexican-inspired dishes while Hibiscus is our popular gumamela flower.
The sweet offerings of Chef Chachpol: the French Crème Brûlèe with tablea shavings and the Thai Mango Sticky Rice Roll filled with Chocolate Mousse were so scrumptious!
