Earth, air, water, and fire on your plate
Taupe showed much promise from the get-go. It had a tasteful space that partly told the story behind the name. The chef has long been in the business, serving mostly bar chow, but it is here that he finally got to roll up his sleeves and show he has the chops to come up with refined plates as well.
The brand definitely has potential. And just over a year in, that possibility has finally taken full form.
The current tasting menu—the resto’s third—is called Elements, and it stems from chef Francis Tolentino and his team’s desire to go deeper and bolder into their exploration of nature and translating that into food. Personally, I think it’s their best to date, and the theme couldn’t be any more fitting as they are, well, in their element.
“The concept came first, serving as a creative foundation that shaped the direction of the entire menu. Eacha element became a lens through which ingredients, techniques, and ideas were interpreted,” says Taupe coowner Francis Flores.
“Earth grounded the menu in aged ingredients, root vegetables, and umami-rich flavors. Water inspired the use of poaching, curing, and broths—fluid, subtle, and cleansing. Fire brought intensity through charring, grilling, smoking, and bold seasoning. Air introduced lift and lightness through mousses, foams, cold aging, and delicate finishes.”
Sensory-driven experience
This thematic structure drove the kitchen staff to craft a menu where every course reflected not just a balance of flavors, but the natural forces that shape food, consequently resulting in a thoughtful, sensory-driven experience that’s profound yet grounded, lofty yet heartfelt.
Each of the four natural elements is responsible for shaping a course, be it through flavor, texture, presentation, or the overall experience. They can be seen, tasted, and felt.
Fire is evident in the smoked Iberico pluma that has been skewered by sugar cane and is accompanied by a pear salsa; the grilled duck with smoked truffle sauce and coconut ash sauce; and the smoked Hokkaido scallop with corn and shrimp head fat.
Water flows through numbers such as the wet-aged hamachi with fresh longan, avocado purée, and calamansi snow. The techniques used reveal the particular element’s participation even further, with the fish going through brining and curing processes. Another example is the blue crab ice cream sandwich with chicken skin biscuit, Osetra caviar, and cold-smoked roe.
Earth is apparent in the Wagyu balbacua plate. The visual alone—the deep dark brown pool of sauce—hints at the element, and even more so when one gets to taste its richness. Dry-aged rib-eye on a bed of kadyos purée takes shelter underneath a blanket of squid ink pasta. It’s complemented by a beef tendon demisauce.
Air is also prominent in the whole menu, making itself present starting from the amuse bouche, where a sweet potato tart is made airy with the addition of a guyabano espuma, until the very end, where the bibingka is transformed into a light salted egg semifreddo. It also makes a cameo in a cloud-like Italian meringue burnt with hot charcoal.
Dessert
The 12-course menu is capped with a dessert that manages to showcase all elements in a single plate. The Chocolate and Pistachio Entremet has the four in delicious harmony in both form and flavor: earthy pistachio sponge, rosehip jelly (water), baked richness, (fire), and airy textures.
Even the cocktails are in theme, with in-house mixologist Radge Buensuceso working closely with Tolentino to match the food not just conceptually, but also sensorially. Seasoning the dishes are Juventud, a guava and dalandan-forward cocktail with burnt tarragon and salabat soda; Kaamulan, made with Vigan basi, strawberry banana shrub, and a palapa sesame chili oil; and Chock-Not, a playful blend of peanut butter fat-washed bourbon and cacao bitters.
It’s pretty obvious that Taupe’s current menu was conceptualized and then realized with careful intention, drawing from memory, technique, and the transformative power of natural forces. There’s precision in Tolentino’s technique and play in his process—and the beautiful mix of both is what triggers an emotion, which consequently transcends the dining experience to a whole new level. This, thus far, is Taupe at its best.
Taupe by Chef Francis Tolentino is located along 26th St., The Maridien Tower 2, BGC, Taguig.
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