MANILA, Philippines?He may have won acclaim for introducing arugula and Chilean sea bass to the local dining scene, but Swiss-born chef Markus Gfeller (the ?G? is silent) is self-effacing, pleading with the writer to focus more on Cav, the wine shop, café and fine-dining restaurant on Bonifacio High Street rather than himself.

Gfeller has his hands full. His mornings are spent at Enderun College, the local version of the famous Swiss hotel-and-restaurant-management college, La Roche, where he is a part-time faculty member teaching culinary arts.

He is also consultant for the Aboitiz Group of Companies. He then oversees Cav, which is packed every night with celebrities, politicians and socialites.

Surprise element

The interview is held over lunch as we savor Cav?s modern take on classic cuisine. Thin, crunchy asparagus stalks, enriched with truffle oil, whets the appetite.

The main course, risotto, is made from barley grits instead of rice, colored with peas, carrots and topped with Portobello mushrooms, parmesan shavings.

At the bottom of the dish, the aged balsamico, sweet and mild, is a surprise element. (In the menu, the topping is gindara or black cod.) Gfeller explains that most balsamic vinegar in the supermarkets taste like concentrated grape juice colored by caramel.

Dessert is a healthy yogurt panna cotta, with just a tad of tartness, accompanied by fruits skewered in lemongrass stalks, blowtorched to bring out the natural sweetness. Its subtlety is just right to cleanse the palate.

All these elements have been carefully chosen to blend with the restaurant?s attraction, the wines from the automated dispenser.

It started last year, when Gfeller?s friend talked about the bane of black-tie wine-tasting affairs. Although the partner wanted to educate himself on wines, formal events were too intimidating. He had also read about a wine dispenser in Italy.

Experimentation

Gfeller believed that the time was right. Filipinos are more adventurous about their food and drinks, and are showing more interest in wines.

He also believed food and wine should not be portrayed with snobbery. Hence, Cav opened at The Spa Building on Bonifacio High Street in Taguig, last December.

With a wine dispenser, customers can experiment on combining their fish with Riesling or a chardonnay.

By sticking in a card in the slot, one could press any of the options: a 25-ml glass to taste the wine, half glass and a full glass. This is ideal for people who want to make the right choice before buying a bottle.

Gfeller got Cav?s fixed-price menu down to a competitive cost. A three-course meal fetches P890 while four courses cost P1,100 and two glasses of wine will add to P490. Over the years, his restaurant concepts, dishes and menus get more sophisticated.

The bestseller in the first course is the signature young arugula salad which goes with the oak taste of the chardonnay.

Its fruity undertones match with the salad?s watermelon tomato confit. The tenderness of the heart of organic baby romaine, the inconspicuous saltiness of the jamon crisps and capers, enriched with truffle aioli, add up to another hearty and straightforward salad.

A traditional potato soup?okay, potage parmantier?is jazzed up with Grey goose vodka and lumpfish caviar.

Filipino ingredients

Gfeller pays homage to Filipino ingredients by combining mountain rice whipped with melted foie gras fat to accompany the Cornish hen.

The bangus is packaged as smoked milkfish and salmon tian (a tian is a little layered pile) with horseradish cream and crisp apple and beet salad. All the flavors melt into each other.

The roast pork belly is luscious as it is cooked for five hours. He makes the conventional starch-and-vegetable sidings out of the ordinary?garlic potato purée and brussels sprouts.

For the sweet tooth, ladies love the banana crème brülée which is silky and light, but the bestseller is the citrusy tart?classic lemon curd between layers of crepe, served with champagne soup and a dollop of ice cream.

If you?re there for the wines, there?s a separate menu for the wine flights and hors d?ouvres.

For a white wine flight of P560, you can have three versions of the Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, France and California.

Aside from being a wine shop, with over 400 vintages, Cav is an all-day café. You can come during off-hours and snack on something as exotic as cured Peking-style duck tortilla wrap.

Gfeller injects urbane elements to comfort foods. French onion soup is enhanced by cheese brioche; the signature baked macaroni is melted with tangy artisan cheese and baked ziti becomes exotic with lamb and saffron.

With the free Wifi, you can work on your laptop while getting your brain food for the glazed cinnamon apple galette with vanilla ice cream.

White asparagus fest

During his quiet moments, Gfeller concocts dishes and files them in his PDA.

Cav will introduce tempura salad with bitter endives, duck foie gras in confit pouches and twice-baked lobster and corn soufflé?the lobster is first baked in the mold, and then let flavors soften with the soufflé, capped with tarragon foam.

On May 17, Cav will hold a festival of white asparagus from Germany. To Gfeller, this seasonal vegetable harks back to memories of his childhood in Bern, Switzerland. He remembers picking them in his grandmother?s garden and cooking them. The stalks are bigger and tastier.

Over the years, Gfeller has become an adopted son of the country and punctuates his sentences with Tagalog phrases.

?I could be mistaken for a tisoy,? he says with a grin. He is happily married to Sandra Fabie, a painter, who does the cooking at home. He prefers to send their unico hijo Martin, 6, to a Filipino institution like Ateneo, rather than to an international school.

Gfeller is excited that Enderun will include nine-star chef Alain Ducasse?s program in the curriculum in June. ?Ducasse?s philosophy boils down to simplicity and top quality of the ingredients.?

He adds that the standards are stringent?like the spring onion must have three leaves, anything more or less is thrown out.

That unending pursuit of perfection, especially in the culinary arts, is what separates the proverbial chaff from the grain. That?s what brings the customers back on the table.