Lou's very very personal taste/sandwich contest review

As a foreigner in the Philippines, I experienced how much taste for food is based on culture. Reviewing food here means reviewing my palate as well. French food is told sophiscated. I would rather welcome you in my narrow minded culinary world !

When Chef Edward Bugia came to Ateneo on the17^th of January to judge students' innovative sandwiches, he was quite surprised nobody used mayo. My team mates straight looked at me. That's right I vetoed it. « I know it will look French and pretentious. But please guys let's not use mayo it will be sweet or at least I'll cook a homemade one ».

Many of my fellow country mate living here became « food pretentious » as well. We are frightened in front of any jelly, disgusted by the most common peanut butter and we are moved to pity for poor sweet bread. We did not grew up eating this kind of food. Our obsessive worry in front of a menu turned out to be sweetness present in so many salty eats.

My sweet/salty car accident 

Mantra of Sir Olivares sandwich contest was to be original. So on, originality efforts focused on sweet/salty compositions. When I tasted the Red Light District, burgers ingredients inside a Krispy Kreme doughnut, I couldn't help saying, « It's not good when it's too sweet, » to my sandwich's creator classmate. It was rude. It was also rude for my taste buds. Homemade beef patties were made from thick and tender meat. I crunched inside with pleasure. But this meat and sweet cake pastry combination was equivalent to a violent car accident for my palate. Collision of two tastes not expected to ever meet.

Lighter sweet and salty mixings

The Fili(pino) Cheesesteak and the Breakfast Club offered a lighter sweet/salty mixing. Longganisa, pan de sal with cheese for the first one and bacon, avocado and cheese for the other, those mixing are defenitely not included in French taste. Eating them, I felt the attachment I got to this food since I'm in this country. Still in France, I would have said, « Bread is sweet ! Meet is sweet ! It can't work ! » And now I do know I'll certainly miss pan de sal back in my country. I enjoyed as well the avocado creating a new spread with cheese.

Big sporty guys need meat

Peanut butter, ketchup, mustard and different meats between two sandwich loaf slices for the Buff Dude creation brought back my strict policy about sweet and salty segregation. Taste of each food was quite lost. But I do understand that's kind of sandwich big guys getting out of their sport training would crave for.

Rereading my review, I'm feeling French cuisine appears more conservative than sophisticated. What's salty must remains in the main meal while sweetness stays on the dessert list. Sweet/salty mixings are rare in France but when there are it's a matter of proportions. Sweetness is displayed by tiny touches to emphasize salty flavours. We like a honey drop on our goat chesse or few figs on foie gras.

The Nacocoloco sandwich reminded me those mixings. Contrary to Chef Edward's opinion, I definitely think coco jam blends with German roast beef. I enjoyed this soft taste meat which got emphasized by light mixing with this extremly sweet spread.

Jam is ready to be displayed. Just a bit. 

Keep it simple but keep it straight as well

As the session was ending, Chef Edward treated Journalist's students with his last original culinary creation. Between two large bread slices, he arranged lettuce leaves,  shredded kani sticks seasoned with Japanese mayonnaise, wasabi and pepper, strips of green mangoes, Japanese caviar topped with crispy dili . It was an interesting tasteful mix of salty/sweet flavours highlighted by the good quality bread.

He explained to the students sandwich making rule is K.I.S.S. Not kissing the bread but Keep it Simple, Stupid. And he definitely knows what's talking about. Adviser for cooking TV shows, creator of many restaurants in Quezon city, Chef Edward is a fusion food master. Pino, his restaurant near Manginhawa street arranges together oriental spices, Pinoy meals and European inspirations.

It gives a clue about his best sandwich choice. During Steaklibrary's brainstorming session, I insisted to avoid sweet sauce or meat. While we were preparing the Fancylog sandwich in front of the audience, Jiggy spoke with a weird well imitated French accent to present our multi cultural creation. We displayed on the bread a pesto tapenade made from sun dried tomatoes, olives and peanuts. The spread was covered by some Tocino and Beef Tapa meat cubes.

Contrary to our expectations, meat was sweet. And it did create this soft sweet and salty mixed that is certainly our sandwich key success. This last minute recipe change taught me I should avoid to be gastro fascist.

I often say everything labelled as « grown up stuffs » is disgusting at first taste. Coffee, cigarettes and alcohol. But people do enjoy it afterwards.

According to my personal proverb, everything is a matter of habit. I started enjoying the soft sweet taste of some Filipino eats. But with my 20 years French food education, it means I should eat tons of peanut butter before to like it. YUCK …. or yum according to different people tastes.

And those culturally subjective biases are certainly one of the most important limit for food criticism.