Last Sunday, before going on an out-of-town trip, I dropped by at BGC Ampitheater to check out McCormick Flavor Nation Festival. Summer is not yet over hence the food fair festival season is still very much alive which makes this event very timely. Since this festival highlights one of my favorite food brands which is McCormick, I figured despite being pressed for time, I must enjoy the festival.
And I am happy to report that I certainly did.
McCormick Flavor Nation Festival aims to showcase variety of food made by respected chefs using McCormick spices and seasonings as part of the ingredients. This event was for free and early registrants were lucky enough as they got to taste sample food from the events featured chefs.
These chefs include Chef Mikel Zaguirre of Locavore, Chef AJ Reyes of Privatus Dining, Chef Francis Lim of Tipple and Slaw, and Chef Patrick Go of Black Sheep.
Guests were able to enjoy food samples created by the amazing chefs namely Chef AJ Reyes' Cajun Shrimp and Corn, Chef Francis Lim's Yellow Curry Rice with Fried Chicken in Coconut Gravy Sauce, Chef Mikel Zaguirre's Chicken Kare-Kare Kushiyaki with Green Mango and Bagoong Pico de Gallo, and Chef Patrick Go's Sloppy Joe Bao.
I love everything but my ultimate favorite was Chef Francis Lim's Yellow Curry Rice with Fried Chicken in Coconut Gravy Sauce.
I attended the festival around 11 in the morning up until around 1pm and I witnessed the crazy number of people enjoying the festival. It was a hot day but it didn't stop people from enjoying the day over good food.
One of my favorite spot during the festival was the Shopping Avenue where in McCormick products were made available at a discounted price. I hoarded some seasoning blends because those are the ones I easily run out at home.
Since it is a food festival, food concessionaires were also present such as Primo's Wagyu which sells Japanese steak cubes and some meals. I would have grab a meal or two from this booth however I still have some Wagyu cubes at home so I decided to try other food I fancy that day instead. There was also Ozawa which sells noritako and rice bowls.
There was also Kalye Taco which sells amazing loaded Tacos and more. Stephen Brick Oven Pizza were there too and served affordable but delicious pizza while the Saffron Plates's samosas were among one of the popular booths that day.
The Belly Good Roast Beef was of course well received with people clamoring for their Smoked Ribs and Roast Angus Beef. This booth was one of my personal favorites because I just sincerely love the flavor of their Roast Angus Beef.
Thirsty Turtle offered variety of drinks that day. I enjoyed their shakes (Php130.00) and lemonade (Php85.00) immensely I have unknowingly forgotten that I wanted to try the Ginger Ale from the other booth!
I have enjoyed the food samples created by the chefs that they gave out for free but I find the grubs that the concessionaires sell equally amazing. Like this Loaded Nachos (Php150.00) by Kalye Taco. I love the generosity of the pulled pork but it would have been perfect had they added more cheese sauce.
I also got Blue Bacon Pizza (Php200.00) from Stephen Brick Oven Pizza and I find it surprisingly good despite how simple looking it appears to be. The only problem I had with it was the serving time took quite a while. Then I also got the Angus Roast Beef (Php200.00) from The Belly Good. It comes with side dish and I chose the baby potato and kimchi rice.
Honestly, I would have finished the entire event if only I didn't have to leave early. The food prepared by the chefs were nothing short of amazing. It made me all the more excite to experiment in my kitchen and come up with recipes using McCormick products.
The food offered by the concessionaires were also interesting. Those which I have tried were good and I could only imagine how good the others which I have not. I will surely hunt them next time.
All things considered, I enjoyed the McCormick Flavor Nation Festival this year. Congratulations McCormick! Thank you to our friends at Icons Celebrity Marketing Advertising & Talent Management for having me. It was an amazing event, congratulations!
McCormick Flavor Nation Festival was co-presented by F&B Report. For more information about McCormick, you may check out their website (mcormick.com.ph), Facebook (@friendsandflavor), and Instagram (@mccormickphils)
