Beyond the breeze: Tagaytay food fest heats up weekend escape
Tagaytay, a weekend getaway haven for Manila residents seeking cool breezes, has long been known for its beautiful scenery, but people don’t exactly want to drive two hours south of Manila just to eat. This all may change, thanks to the efforts of some passionate chefs and supporters.
While dining in Davao, chef couple Jayjay and Rhea SyCip, along with fellow food enthusiasts Anton and Rache Diaz of the Our Awesome Planet blog, dreamt of a Tagaytay food festival that could be at par with Cebu’s and Davao’s established events—Cebu’s had grown so big, and Davao’s first such event last year was a success.
The Diazes had also successfully launched the Manila Food and Wine Festival last year—the 2024 edition is happening July 19 to July 27—and the time seemed ripe for Tagaytay.
Rhea SyCip, also the baker behind The Flour Pot, envisioned Tagaytay’s food scene flourishing alongside its breathtaking views. She expressed this as she welcomed guests last Saturday at The Fatted Calf, the year-old restaurant on the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway that she shares with her husband.
It was the second night of the inaugural Tagaytay Food and Wine Festival, and the SyCips were cooking alongside chef Jeramie Go and his sous chef son Noah of Pilgrim Davao, for the night themed “Harvest Dinner”—a showcase of local produce. The elder Go shares the SyCips’ cooking ethos—to source local ingredients and to produce zero waste.
(A kick-off grand tasting event was held the previous night at Anya Resort, about 30 minutes away. The festival will culminate in a six-hands dinner at 180 by Chef Sau del Rosario on July 20, and The Heritage Buffet lunch at Taal Vista Lodge July 21. A Creative Bulalo challenge is scheduled for September.)
Providence
“Little did I know that this would fall into our laps,” Rhea said. “It was a crazy feat for me and my husband juggling restaurant and operations, but it’s high time Tagaytay had its own.”
Call it luck or providence—something not unfamiliar to the SyCips—but they found support by way of their virtual fairy godmother, Sen. Loren Legarda. It’s known in the foodie circle how Legarda came to the rescue when the SyCips were about to close shop after their lease at their original restaurant in Silang, Cavite, was not renewed during the pandemic.
Moved by the SyCip’s “soulful story,” the senator offered them the ancestral land of her maternal grandmother, and in fact also built them their farmhouse restaurant, on the condition that they embrace her Slow Food values and sustainable practices. No biggie there—the SyCips shared those passions.
It has been a year since The Fatted Calf reopened at its new location, and last Saturday, Legarda brought a small group of select friends, including Germany Ambassador Andreas Michael Pfaffernoschke and his wife Marina, to the sold-out festival dinner. It was also attended by officials of festival co-presenters Tagaytay City Government, Tagaytay Tourism Council, the Department of Tourism, and the Slow Food Community of Cavite.
Delicious complement
Legarda, a standout figure in government for her causes that champion Philippine culture, heritage and the arts, said that she wanted to support the endeavor as an “advocate of Slow Food, organic farming, permaculture, caring for nature, someone who supports local farmers, and as a weekend farmer myself, and as a supporter of small and medium enterprises.”
Legarda, whose own farm is about five minutes away, called The Fatted Calf her “second home,” the SyCips “good human beings…I’m touched by their kindness.
“Chefs bring food to the table, and chefs bring the farmers’ produce…they give livelihood,” she noted. Even the flowers used at the dinner and the coffee beans sold that evening were in support of local farmers and growers, she said.
“I commit to support the Tagaytay Food and Wine Festival every year… Basta kaya ko, tutulungan ko kayo (I’ll help you for as long as I can),” she added.
Legarda also pledged to help stage the Cordillera Food and Wine Festival, either later this year or in January 2025—a commitment that brought cheers to the guests, including Baguio chef Waya Araos-Wijangco.
With the backing of passionate chefs and a dedicated advocate like Legarda, Tagaytay’s food scene seems poised to take flight, offering a delicious complement to its existing natural beauty.
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