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Banusing: The Incomparable Ilongga Chef As
interviewed by Bernard Arellano III
By Adelle Pacificar
She could have been Iloilo's next councilor, considering the
best plans for the city to become the "next big thing".
She could have been a published psychologist, whose books
on Ilonggo psychology are read in universities. She could
have been an optometrist, probably examining the eyes of this
writer.
If fate, on the other hand, gave in to Pauline Banusing's
childhood dreams, then Iloilo City could be nothing without
her "children": Al Dente, Villa Regatta, Maki and
Freska. Thanks to a tiny Italian restaurant in Tivoli, Italy;
Banusing's sleeping passion for culinary arts was awakened.
"From then on, I realized I wanted to cook and there
was no turning back," said Banusing, the daughter of
the late Pavia Mayor Felix H. Gorriceta Jr. and Dr. Sandra
Sarabia of Sarabia Manor Hotel and S.S. Gorriceta Jewelry.
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Although
she was trained for Italian Cooking and International Cuisine
at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Banusing decided
in 2005 that to be a good cook, she has to rediscover the beauty
of Ilonggo cooking.
"I have to go back to my roots and be real. Learning to
cook Ilonggo food was a humbling experience," she said.
According to Banusing, Ilonggo food has an influence of the
Spanish and Chinese cultures, both of which are strong in Iloilo
City. But she believes that it is the city's vast source of
quality seafood that makes Ilonggo cuisine stand out from the
rest.
After embracing the art of Ilonggo cooking, the Mandarin Oriental
Makati invited Banusing to guest in the Ilonggo Festival in
2006, sponsored by the Filipino Heritage Group.
"In 2007, they invited me again," she added. In that
same year, her brother, Atty. Mark Gorriceta, encouraged her
to conceptualize great Ilonggo dishes for Freska- the best of
Ilonggo Seafood.
"It is through Freska that we make Ilonggo cuisine hip
and globally appealing. It is the traditional Ilonggo cooking
mixed with a twist in the presentation that gives Freska a unique
selling factor," she related, discussing more on her most
recent "child." With her husband Gus, her first venture
was Al Dente in 1999.
Putting tradition and innovation in Ilonggo dishes is Banusing's
incomparable asset. "I don't want Ilonggo cooking to be
a dying art. So I always try to add a twist to everything and
make it more appealing to this generation," she said.
Just imagine if fate gave in to Banusing's childhood dreams.
Again, thanks to that tiny Italian restaurant in Tivoli, Italy.
/PN |
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