Something really exciting is happening in Berlin until January 26. It’s Grünewoche Berlin or International Green Week Berlin 2014! I was so fortunate to be able to attend the fabulous opening ceremony last night and today I checked out the beautiful eye-catching Philippine Booth. Don’t you think the Department of Agriculture did a great job?

Margarita Fores’ Twist on Filipino Food

If you are in Berlin, please drop by the booth and try some Filipino food by my absolutely favourite Filipino Chef – the lovely and über-talented Margarita Fores and her team. You don’t understand how excited I was when I found out she was in Berlin. She is literally my dream caterer and my favourite restaurants in Manila are hers (i.e. Lusso, Cibo, Pepato)!

Gaita (as she is fondly called) prepares Filipino Food with a fresh twist that appeals to the taste buds of Filipinos and foreigners alike. And her combination of European ingredients with Filipino ingredients, is a fantastic way to introduce our exotic Filipnio flavours to the world.

The adobo rice is to-die-for! Her version topped with sour-sweet santol preserve was a version that the Europeans could really enjoy. #OMG #foodgasm

She also wanted to show the Filipino fruits and products taste good with local German products. Check out this local bread topped with local cream cheese + Mangos and Pomelo (grapefruit) from the Philippines. A combination that I would never have thought about but was amazing anyway. The salty cream cheese and the sweet fruits were perfect together on the brown bread.

Another genius idea was to serve Philippine-made mango marmalade variations green mango and mango calamansi (small Philippine limes) with European cheeses. Another crowd pleaser. The best thing is that these jams are available for sale in the booth too! (see below for details)

Another great combination with cheese is this light guava jelly!

Not pictured here was the combination of Nata de Coco (a firm coconut jelly) with cheese. Eat together in one bite and discover a new way to serve Nata de Coco. I am so stealing this idea! Though many people were shy to try at first, once the exotic food was explained to them, the trays started emptying fast.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Greenweek is until 26 January 2014, however the Filipino Kitchen led by Margarita Fores only ran for 3 days from 17 – 19 January. I am sorry that there is no more adobo to be had. However if you are interested in seeing the amazing Filipino products, the suppliers from the Philippines are still there giving free samples and would love to tell you more! If you are a distributor on the look-out for interesting new products from the Philippines, I recommend it!

Manille Liquer de Calamansi

One product you can sample is this Calamansi (small Philippine limes) liqueur. This products was just launched a few weeks ago in the Philippines and I’ve never tasted anything like it. Strong, yet so delicious! You wouldn’t believe how much one bottle is! (Importers, be sure to ask about this!)

This is from the same company who did my favourite Mango Rum. The packaging is so luxe, the product amazing and the price is unbelievable.

Beside the kitchen and sampling area, is the booth for the different food companies, where people can sample and check out sustainable food products available in the Philippines. So if you are an importer and you are interested in checking out Filipino products to bring to your country this is an interesting stop.

There are also some native bags and baskets for sale.

Yummy Mango Marmalade

If you loved the mango marmalade that you tried at the cooking station, then head on over to Chris of Mango by Island Gems and grab a jar for a discounted price of only € 3 before Chris runs out! I already got myself the Mango Calamansi variant. All their jams are 100% natural, halal, gluten free and USFDA certified.

Mango – this is a bit sweet and perfect for dolloping on top of oatmeal or yogurt, or even ice cream!
Green Mango – sweet tangy and perfect with cream cheese or other cheeses
Mango and Calamansi – this is also sweet and tangy and the calamansi aftertaste is so unique! Definitely my favourite! I’m definitely adding this to my cheese plate and crackers!

I’m going back tomorrow to try out what Margarita Fores and her team will whip up this time! And I need to get the other mango marmalade variants. I think they would make great hostess gifts too! Don’t you think? For gifts to people in foreign lands, I love sharing my love for Filipino products.

I hope I’ve wet your appetites and curiosity. If you are at IGW do drop by the booth to say hi to the lovely people of the Philippine delegation!!

I think I will probably be going to ICC several times, because there are SO many booths from different countries (and so much food to try and buy!) and also so many other interesting things to see. You can see how innovative the German food producers and farmers are, German technology, and they even have farm animals. Hopefully I can share more pictures tomorrow.

For those with kids, I saw a day care center. And there are also many restaurants and food stalls to rest in between browsing and tasting, Don’t forget to bring your reusable bags just in case anything catches your fancy. This is a great chance to shop/try food products from all over the world in one place.

This International Green Week held in Berlin is the world’s largest fair on food and sustainability. This year it will run from January 17th to 26th, 2014. The Philippine booth is in hall 6.2a.

Click here for more info on time, transport, ticket cost, etc.

If you want to see more pictures, please click: