Chef Anton brings Pinoy culinary tradition in Canada

As 2017 slowly winds down and the last few days of December gets chalked up to the history books, Filipinos from all walks of life and from every corner of the globe prepare to celebrate their most cherished birthday of all — that of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

That Filipinos’ unique affinity for Christmas is just as well known as our love of karaoke in the wee hours of the morning, and equally difficult to explain. Especially when you have your foreigner friends asking about those Christmas songs blasting on the radio in September, or why Santa and his reindeers are sharing space on the mantle with your halloween jack’o lanterns.

These are things best answered with a shrug, and the catch-all, “onli in da pilipins.”

Another thing that we Filipinos love about Christmas is of course, the Noche Buena feast on Christmas Eve. Be it ever so grand or humble, this is the one meal of the year where we pull out all the stops to celebrate the birth of Jesus and to rekindle familial ties that may have been just a little bit frayed by the year just past.

Whether it is the traditional Queso de Bola, puto bumbong and bibingka, or the younger generation’s more modern fusion menus — Filipinos have always made it a point to bring the best of what they have to the table. 

And it is precisely this Filipino culinary tradition that was put on full display by 2016 Asian Food Channel and Food Network Food Hero winner Chef Anton Amoncio during his recent trip to Canada. 

Chef Anton, who is one of the Philippines’ top young culinary personalities, was invited by the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence to take part in Let it Snow, a celebration of Canada’s 150th founding anniversary. 

Chef Anton easily impressed with his innovative use of tender Canada beef in preparing an old time Filipino yuletide favorite, Morcon. But unlike your lolo and lola’s version, Anton decided to jazz it up by turning it into a beef slider. “The quality of the beef inspired me to be more creative in my recipes. I wanted to do it justice, not only in the preparation, but also in the final presentation of the dish,” says Chef Anton.

“We normally do not get this level of consistency in the quality of our beef products in the Philippines. And it was such a joy working with Canada Beef on this project.”

Aside from the Christmas Morcon, Chef Anton also presented a delicious deconstructed sinigang, using slow-cooked Canada beef on green mango sauce that simply took everyone by surprise with its delicate balance of flavors and textures. “I knew that the rich, meaty taste of Canada beef would go well with the tangy unripe Philippine mangoes. It was like having yin and yang on your plate.”

Aside from Chef Anton’s dishes, guests were also treated to the culinary masterpieces prepared by executive chef Jean-Francoise Fortin of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, which co-hosted the event. 

According to our kababayan Francis Andres, president of the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence, having Chef Anton over is part of their effort to make people more aware of the quality of Canada beef. “We have had similar chef exchanges with Mexico and China this year and we hope that we will be able to continue the program in the coming years.”