Cebu Food & Wine Festival had its launch at the Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan over the weekend. Jeeves de Veyra

Cebu Food & Wine Festival had its launch at the Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan over the weekend. Jeeves de Veyra

(From left) Cebu Food & Wine Festival chair Kate Anzani, DOT regional director Shalimar Tamano, Congresswoman-elect Cindi Chan, and Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan general manager Didier Belmonte lead the ribbon-cutting. Jeeves de Veyra

Marken Aboitiz of Bauhinia Brewery. Jeeves de Veyra

Gypsy Baguio's Waya Araos Wijangco. Jeeves de Veyra

Paella from Enye. Jeeves de Veyra

CEBU -- The Cebu Food & Wine Festival is now in full swing after kicking off with a grand tasting session on the beachside of the Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan over the weekend.

The first Cebu Food & Wine Festival was launched last year during the lockdowns amid more dire circumstances. The festival was more of a way to link farmers who needed to sell their crops and harvest to restaurants and hotels who were scrambling to find produce in the middle of the pandemic lockdowns. As a result, a farmer’s market was put up and several restaurants and hotels now go straight to the farms and have accredited farmers as suppliers.

For this iteration of the festival, the launch event tripled in attendance from last year and the air was more celebratory in nature with Cebu and the rest of the country transitioning to Alert Level 1.

Chefs like Gypsy Baguio’s Waya-Araos Wijangco and Manduca’s Amado Garcia among others, flew from all over the Philippines, are set to participate in events held throughout Cebu, Mandaue, and Mactan for the festival.

Cebu Food and Wine Festival chairwoman Kate Dycangco-Anzani called this food diplomacy.

“With the first one, it was also a recovery project because our chefs were trying to go on cruise ships to earn money. Now that they’re back, we want to have them partner with our local establishments for our local talent to sharpen their skills,“ Anzani said.

As Cebu is an international destination with direct flights from 26 cities around the world, the festival was a great way to launch the food tourism thrust of the Department of Tourism.

Department of Tourism regional director for Central Visayas Shalimar Tamano was among the officials who opened this year's festival.

”Cebu has all its diving, mountains, culture, pilgrimage, and everything, I think we need to market Cebu’s gastronomic pleasures like our bars or clubs or restaurants. The locals know this very well but people who are not from Cebu need to know.” said Tamano, who hopes to have similar food tourism projects in Bohol and Siquijor, which are also under his district

The launch featured stalls with food from Crimson, Cebu caterers and restaurants paired with free-flowing wines and cocktails from local suppliers.

Cebuano food businesses also took the spotlight like Bauhinia Brewery, which is brewed and available only in Cebu, and Sugbo Winery with Cebu-distilled Artisan Vodka.

During the 15-day festival, hotels and restaurants will have their own special events featuring collaborations with visiting chefs, one-off menus, and special pairings.

June 21

6 p.m. – La Vie Parisienne / La Vie in the Sky – Wine + Cheese Board + Pizza
6 p.m. – Trademark Cebu - Taco Tasting with Monkey Eagle Brewery

June 22

6 p.m. – Ilaputi Axis – Off-Menu Special + Wine
6 p.m. – Weekend - Snake River Wagyu Meal + Wine Pairing
7 p.m. – Anzani – Extra Sensory Wine Dinner

June 23

5 p.m. - The Social - Smoked Brisket and Wine
6 p.m. – Draft Punk Craft Café – Barrio Chino Mexican Night with Distillery Barik Supremo Lambanog Cocktails
7 p.m. – Feria, Radisson Blu Cebu – Grand Philippine Region Buffet

June 24

7 p.m. - Marble + Grain, bai Hotel - Seven Course Vertical Food and Wine Tasting

June 25

4 p.m. – Mimosas: Brunch x Bevvies - Mimosas: Brunch x Bevvies
7 p.m. – Tea of Spring , Shangri-La Mactan - Tea of Spring Wine Pairing

June 26

3 p.m. – Fili Lobby, NUSTAR Resort – Filivino: A Wine Tasting Event
6 p.m. – Verified Lounge - Special Sunset Cocktails with Destileria Limtuaco
6 p.m. – Il Primo Italian Steakhouse, NUSTAR Resort – Vine E Cibo

June 27

6 p.m. - X Marks the Spot – Destileria Limtuaco Cocktails + Asian Fusion Foods

June 28

5 p.m. - The Social - Smoked Brisket and Wine
5 p.m. - Asmara Urban Resort & Lifestyle Village, The Gravity Bar
6 p.m. – Pukot Kitchen – Pukot X Cev Siargao x Monkey Eagle Brewery
6 p.m. – Trademark Cebu - Taco Tasting w/ Monkey Eagle Brewery
7 p.m. – Boca Cebu

June 29

12 nn – Tales and Feelings – 5 Course Menu + Wine
6 p.m. – Ilaputi
6 p.m. – Asmara Urban Resort & Lifestyle Village - Asmara: La Piccola Roma
7 p.m. – Anzani – 4 Hands Dinner (Chef Nino Laus x Kalel Demetrio)
6 p.m. – Weekend - Snake River Wagyu Meal + Wine Pairing

June 30

5 p.m. - Garden of Envy – Garden of Envy
6 p.m. – Draft Punk Craft Café – Barrio Chino Mexican Night
7 p.m. - Gorilz Tapas & Vinos – 5 course menu + Wine

July 1

5 p.m. - Enye By Chele , Crimson Resort and Spa – Wine Dinner
7 p.m. – Llulla

The festival culminates with the grand finale at JPark Island Resort’s The Pirate Bar on July 2 with a dinner featuring sushi, sashimi, and seafood specialties from Nonki Japanese restaurant with music by DJ Neil and more surprises.

The organizers of the Cebu Food and Wine Festival have more ambitious plans for the coming years. Anzani hints at possibly extending the festival for a month and having international chefs fly in for upcoming iterations.