Assemblages

Assemblages, the two-man show of architect Carlo Calma and photographer Jay Yao, was recently exhibited at Provenance Art Gallery in Shangri-La at the Fort. The show took a year in planning and experimentation.

Carlo’s approach, of course, was very architectural. He created different assemblages from wood; layering them, bending them or creating topography that looked like an aerial view of a potential city. He said, “My work is always about critiquing the analog and the digital, between nature and artifice, between artisans and 3D printing or new technologies — pushing of the idea of the sketch but as a digital sketch. If artists draw on canvas or paper, my way of sketching is a digital one — I use CAD (computer-aided design) or 3D software as a tool for sketching.”

Carlo created architectural totems that were almost surreal objects but were potentially prototypes of a house or a building.

The works of Jay were  also about the environment — cloudscapes in different pastel hues pushing the assemblages into another level. “I was reassembling them as compressed and contained cloud environments,” he shared.

The two artists also had a series of really nice collaborative pieces made from ceramics that were very eye-candy.

Friends and family, as well as fellow artists, came in full support for Carlo and Jay, whose works were clearly admired by all. Their informal conversations both offline and online shaped the direction of their works in a playful camaraderie.

Say cheese!

Javier, Rica and James de Jesus.

My dear friend Rica de Jesus tried Herr’s products  when she was in the US several years ago. She loved Herr’s  so much that she wanted to share her experience with this American brand and bring it to the Philippines. She first brought in the brand’s potato chips, which did pretty well, and now decided to bring in the crunchy Cheestix!

Herr Foods’ story began in 1946 when 21-year-old Jim Herr bought a small potato chip company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for $1,750. As he learned more about the business, Herr developed new and improved cooking processes and a delicious snack food became even better. As demand for Herr’s Potato Chips grew, so did the company. Herr eventually purchased 37 acres of land and built a new 4,500-sq.-ft. plant in Nottingham, Pennsylvania and equipped the new plant with the company’s first automated cooker.

In the late ‘50s, the company introduced a variety of flavored chips, including Barbecue, Sour Cream and Onion, No-Salt, Old Bay, and Salt and Vinegar. The company added a number of other snack items, including cheese curls, popcorn, pretzels, and corn and tortilla chips in the mid-‘70s. In 1983, to reflect the company’s expanding product line, Herr’s Potato Chips changed its name to Herr Foods Inc.

Today, the company’s production and warehousing encompass more than a quarter-million square feet. Its full line of quality snacks currently consists of more than 375 items including potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, cheese curls, popcorn, crackers, nuts, pork rinds, onion rings and meat snacks.

The crunchy Cheestix is made with real cheese and comes also in jalapeño flavor.  Cheestix, cheese balls and jalapeño poppers round up my Top 3 favorite Herr’s snacks (which are also gluten-free). They are quite addicting!

(Check out Herr’s products at Rustan’s Supermarkets and S&R branches.)

All about Spuds

(From left) Yvette and Dennis Hipolito, Margaret Cu, Freddie Santos, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Shen Ratilla and Penk Ching.

Baker and master cake maker Penk Ching invited me to her and her partners’ Eat My Spuds potato chips launch. The product was named after the first letter of the names of the partners (Shen Ratilla, Penk and Dennis Hipolito).

For the launch, I headed to Chef Jessie’s at Rockwell and tried two variants of potato chips: Truffle and Chips, which is perfect for those who adore truffles because this variant is made with Italian white truffle oil and some secret ingredients; and Spicy Pork Floss and Chips for the ones who like their food with a little bit of kick.

Spuds was indeed a light and very flavorful snack! I was informed that there would be more flavor variants to come.

Guests spotted enjoying the snack included chef Jessie Sincioco, foodies Michaela Fenix, Myrna Segismundo, Manny Torejon and Popsie Gamboa.

(For orders, call 0917-7282827 or e-mail [email protected]. Visit Eat MY SPuDs on Facebook and @eatmyspuds on Instagram for updates.)

Strengthening relationships through golf

Isla LPG Corp. CEO Ruben Domingo.

It was a day-long affair of friendly competition, camaraderie and strengthening relationships as executives of some of the biggest companies in the country gathered together to play at the 3rd Solane Golf Tournament held at the Ayala Alabang Country Club.

Organized by Isla LPG Corp. (ILC), the LPG solutions company behind the brand Solane, the exclusive sporting tournament is an annual event showcasing the company’s customer appreciation and commitment to nurture camaraderie and long-term relationships.

Isla LPG Corp. CEO Ruben Domingo said, “The Solane golf tournament is not only a way for us to take a break from our busy schedules but also an avenue for us to strengthen connections with our customers through a friendly sports competition.”

Leading the pack were ILC executive committee chairman Ricky Delgado Jr.; Isla Petroleum and Gas Corp. CEO Shoichi Watanabe; and ILC general manager for sales Tonito Gonzalez.

Ricky Sta. Ana took home the championship title for the customer division while Delgado retained the highest top scorer award for the staff division. Other top scorers were Tomas Rocamora in third place, Leo Obias in second place and Ronaldo Nava in first place. Special awards were also given to Augusto Gabriel for the Longest Drive and Ed Collantes for Most Accurate Drive.

Major raffle prizes included a De’Longhi Espresso Machine, Apple iPad Pro, 11-inch MacBook Air, Apple TV, Transcend dash cameras, Taylormade staff bag, Bose Sound Link speakers, Golf Buddy LRS, Golf Buddy Voice and more.

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)