Spain’s Culinary Elite Grace Madrid Edition of Chef Myrna Segismundo’s Lasap Pinoy

Fig. 1. Ambassador Lhuillier delivers his opening remarks to the small group of selected guests.

Fig. 2. David Basilio, head of the prestigious Academia Nacional Bocuse d’Or Spain, with Chef Myrna Segismundo and Rosa Maria Gonzalez Vivas of the Ferran Adrià Institute.

Some of Madrid’s foremost authorities and influencers on cuisine graced the Madrid stop of Lasap Pinoy in an invitation-only event held at the Hotel Intercontinental Madrid on 15 June 2018.

Guests at Filipino chef Myrna Segismundo’s presentation of Philippine gastronomy included Mr. David Basilio, Director-General of the Spanish edition of Bocuse d’Or, arguably the most prestigious gastronomic competition in the world; Ms. Rosa Maria Gonzalez Vivas, who heads the Ferran Adriá Institute of the University Camilo Jose Cela; and executives of El Corte Ingles Supermarket, Gourmet, and Travel.

Also in attendance were Mr. Carlos Pascual, culture writer of Spain’s leading newspaper El Pais; Ms. Elena Sanchez, a finalist of Masterchef Spain; and Irene Villena of food and travel blog Tragaviajes.

For most of the guests, it was their first time to encounter traditional Filipino cuisine. Ms. Gonzalez, who works on highlighting nutrition in gastronomy at the Ferran Adria Institute, remarked on the balanced and delicious meal presented by Chef Segismundo.

The event, which treated the guests to familiar but excellently-prepared Filipino fare, aimed to introduce movers and shakers in the Spanish culinary world to Filipino cuisine, which itself has been slowly gaining recognition elsewhere in the world, particularly in the United States.

“We hope you see the potential for our cuisine, our ingredients, our flavors, to be integrated into Spanish dishes, and to be embraced by Spaniards,” said Philippine Ambassador to Spain Philippe Lhuillier in his opening speech.

In describing her dishes, Chef Segismundo highlighted the interplay between Spanish cooking techniques and native Philippine ingredients, such as crab fat or taba ng talangka and calamansi, and the how these came together to create the uniqueness of Filipino cooking traditions.

The six-course meal was complemented by calamansi-based cocktails and Philippine-made liqueurs to the delight of the guests.

Lasap Pinoy is a travelling promotion project of DFA in coordination with DTI. The group headed by Chef Segismundo also presented in Paris, France and will soon visit Lisbon, Portugal.

Fig.3. Guests went home with gift bags from the DTI with Datu Puti soy sauce and vinegar, taba ng talangka, and calamansi concentrate. Bottles of sherry from Harvey’s-Fundador and Don Papa rum were also given to guests.


Fig. 4. Chef Myrna Segismundo describes the six-course meal.


Fig. 5. Ambassador and Madame Lhuillier, Chef Myrna Segismundo and team, with Ms. Gonzalez and Mr. Basilio.