WHILE Americans are only just starting to appreciate organic and heritage cuisine, spurred no doubt by the conscious worldwide effort to go green, there?s a little restaurant in Soho, New York, that has been feeding its clientele in this manner for years.
The hugely popular Cendrillon (French for ?Cinderella?), owned and run by Filipino couple Romy Dorotan and Amy Besa, serves Filipino food as a showcase of this culinary movement.
?You have to believe Pinoy food is one of the best in the world,? declares Besa, who was in Manila recently to receive a Pamana Ng Pilipino Award for 2008 from President Macapagal Arroyo. Besa and Dorotan wrote and published the award-winning cookbook "Memories of Philippine Kitchens" in 2007.
Speaking before students and guests at the Enderun College in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Besa cites ingredients like bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) and suka (vinegar) for our dishes? uniquely savory taste. But she also believes that Pinoy dishes are flavorful because they originate from the humble kitchens of our homes, and not some fancy culinary school. ?Filipino food is delicious,? she explains, ?because it has been cooked with love and served with generosity and hospitality.?
Besa might as well be speaking about the food served at Cendrillon.
Hailed as the best Pan-Asian restaurant by New York Magazine and ?the heart and soul of New York?s Asian food community? by Peter Kaminsky, Cendrillon wasn?t always the hit that it is. Besa admits that it was never easy convincing non-Filipinos to eat adobo and other Pinoy staples because it meant veering away from the familiar. Nevertheless, the couple persisted, and the last 13 years have not only been about feeding people, they?ve also been about friendships and fulfillment. Says Besa: ?Food became a door to history, cultures, and relationships.?
The challenge these days, however, is getting younger Filipinos to appreciate?and preserve?their food heritage. Taste buds are now tweaked to crave fast foods and artificial flavors, and the fact that life has taken on a brisk pace explains why today?s generation prefers the convenience of instant mami over the meticulous preparation of home-cooked fish and vegetables. Indeed, how many youngsters would rather use a pack of powder broth to prepare sinigang na sampaloc or kare kare?
?I?d rather spend my time cooking a good meal for two hours than watching a movie,? shrugs Besa at the majority who picked the powder ingredient option. ?It all boils down to values.?
And hers are firmly in place. Others may balk at the inaccessibility and perishable nature of fresh ingredients, but Besa, who stays true to her advocacy for heritage meals, ?imports? her heirloom rice?grain varieties grown by families in the Mountain Province?from an American, a former Peace Corps volunteer who missed the scent of rice after her service in the Philippines. Going back to school to secure an MBA so she could create a sustainable business with the villagers, Besa also tirelessly campaigns for the federal and state licensing of small-scale producers, as well as the proper labeling and better packaging of local food products to every local government official she encounters. ?You will never be successful,? she tells the culinary students in the room, ?if you do not embrace your culture. Go to your relatives? provinces! Learn the dishes they make!?
And, if one goes by Besa?s and Dorotan?s example, open a restaurant in a faraway land and convince people?foreigners and Filipinos alike?to love it. The couple is living proof that it works: this year, they will close Cendrillon to open Purple Yam, a Filipino restaurant located in the neighborhood of Brooklyn. ?We?re looking at the first quarter of 2009 to open,? says Besa, ?but word has already spread and people can?t wait to try it!?
