READY-fining Food Culture LIVE WORKSHOP
In its first face-to-face event in two years, Taste Setters went all out with putting together an event worth leaving the house for. Held last June 29, 2022, at the Novotel Manila Araneta Hotel, “Ready-fining Food Culture,” as the event was dubbed, featured live workshops and activities aimed at providing valuable knowledge to the attendees and adding to their repertoire of skills. The attendees, who mostly come from the F&B industry, also got to sample new innovative recipes using products from SYSU brands.
Hosted by Mark Suntay, the event opened with welcome remarks from SYSU International’s Product and Business Development Head, Ms. Sandra Cu. A presentation and video demo from Clara Ole by Chef PJ Santos followed, as well as a 2022 Flavor Forecast Presentation from McCormick Philippines presented by Chefs Johan Movido and Tenten Casasola. Both presentations included food sampling of the dishes and recipes discussed, which the attendees thoroughly enjoyed.
The first of two live workshops were by Mr. Edgar Allan Caper of Caper Group, who discussed food service marketing innovations and brand collaborations based on his experiences with working with such respected brands as KFC, Pizza Hut, and Cibo.
Following a short break, the second workshop of the day, this time on innovative thinking skills techniques were facilitated by Ms. Gem Zabala of ACG Human Capital Solutions and by Ms. Sandy Cu. An activity was done to allow attendees to exercise what they have just learned and to demonstrate to everyone their skills in coming up with innovative (albeit fictional for now) products that may turn out to be one that addresses a need that has been left unserved. This activity also allowed attendees to further network with the other people at their table and possibly form new business relationships and leads. This concluded the second of two workshops, and the workshop event itself.
As the event concluded and workshop attendees started streaming out of the ballroom, preparations were being made by hotel staff for Innovators Night, a dinner event that showcased a menu bursting with innovations from SYSU chefs and products as well as special announcements and launches throughout the night.
It was during the dinner that Ms. Johanna Juban, SYSU Marketing Manager, introduced Tabasco’s recent rebranding and announced the launch of the Taste Setters Awards 2023. This has proven to be very exciting news to dinner guests, who are all involved in restaurants, food brands, and recipe ideation. At the end of all the announcements and talks, SYSU FS Development Assistant Marketing Manager Mr. Mark Leo Antonio delivered the closing remarks. As the guests leisurely enjoyed their dinner, they were serenaded by live music.
All workshop attendees and dinner guests were able to take home freebies and goodie bags courtesy of our participating brands. This first face-to-face event by Taste Setters can be considered a rousing success and serves as a great motivation for future face-to-face events that Taste Setters and our events may hold in the future.
