Photo courtesy of everythinginbudget.blogspot.com
Last June 11, a new dining experience in modern cuisine opened its doors along the Fort Strip to eager foodies. Tourné is the brainchild of Filipina chef Sandra Hataway, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Texas, who derived the restaurant’s name from a French method of cutting vegetables into seven-sided oblongs resembling a football. The restaurant utilizes only locally grown products, fresh from field to fork, and simplistic old world French techniques in cooking a wide array of international cuisines, including Spanish, Italian, French, and Asian.
A dedicated member of Slow Food USA – a movement that forwards the preservation of traditional cuisine and farming local plants, livestock and seeds – and a self-professed “victim of fast food”, Chef Sandra aims to educate fellow Filipinos on slow food – the exact opposite of fast food – and its advantages through Tourné, and the fact that one can still enjoy simple yet sumptuous meals without taking away its underlying tradition or altering its composition.
“I want people to be aware of what they are eating. Back in the States, I used to eat fast food a lot and it really supersized me. I also want to promote our local farmers and their products, because we have so many great produce here, and nasasayang. A lot of restaurants import vegetables and rice, and we have a lot of that here in the Philippines,” she enthused.
Indeed, Tourné doesn’t stop at serving great food. Its advocacy also involves helping Filipino farmers and maximizing the Philippine market by using all sustainable Philippine products. All of the restaurant’s ingredients are delivered directly from local farms (no, not from grocery stalls and store freezers) on a daily basis. The goat’s cheese in its White Pizza, for instance, comes from Malagos Farm in Davao. Pili nuts used in salads are from Bicol, while Palawan honey is incorporated into their Grilled Chicos. Their meat products are transported straight from Batangas. Also notable is their menu offerings on ulang – a big, sweet-tasting shrimp – which are caught fresh from the rivers of Bulacan. “I keep just a small bahay ref. No big freezers. Everything here is fresh and replenished on a daily basis. We want to keep it that way as much as possible,” she adds.
Photo courtesy of everythinginbudget.blogspot.com
Even the restaurant’s condiments such as catsup and mayonnaise are made by Chef Sandra herself, using only fresh local ingredients, with no artificial additives. She is not miser in sharing her recipes, either. “There’s no secret recipe here. Whatever I know, I share it. I give away my catsup recipe to friends, customers, even my chefs. I want people to be able to spread the word on slow food and share these recipes to their children and grandchildren.”
As part of its slow food advocacy, Tourné introduces a bi-weekly menu, meaning all food choices in the menu – from salads to entreé – change every two weeks (which translates to more variety and more reasons for people to come back!). But of course, the staff welcomes requests from customers who favour a previously available course or any other meal outside the menu, as long as the ingredients are available.
Tourné ‘s team is composed of young and dynamic chefs – 5 line cooks, 1 Chef de Cuisine and 1 Sous Chef – who share Chef Sandra’s passion and vision in creating healthy, delicious meals and an unforgettable dining experience through Alice Waters’ slow food philosophies. The restaurant employs an open kitchen concept, its kitchen sitting at a focal point amidst the gleaming white laid-back country interiors, inviting customers to fully view all kitchen action, and to openly ask the staff about anything they have in mind.
With the intricacy and dedication that the team puts into its meals, one would expect costly menu selections. While this may be true for similar establishments, Chef Sandra wants to reach out to the mass market – the populace who’s more likely to give in to the fast food temptation – and thus, has made fine dining affordable. Tourné salads and sandwiches start at a little over P200, while starters like grilled pizza are at P180, and soups are at P108. Pasta and main course dishes range from P300-P500. Desserts are available at P88.
Tourné is just the beginning of bigger things for Chef Sandra. To promote slow food on a larger scale, she plans on integrating with various school clubs to put up “edible gardens” on site, as well as cooperative groups to promote planting and cooking using fresh local produce.
For an extraordinary gastronomic experience, visit Tourné located at the Fort Strip, Taguig. The restaurant operates from 10 AM to 10 PM daily with extended hours on weekends. They’re also open to reservations for private events, boasting a 90-100 person-seating capacity.
Photo courtesy of http://ph.openrice.com/manila/restaurant/article/detail.htm?article_id=115
This is a nice restaurant and I like ambiance. I'll ask my cousins to visit this place later.
Hi Henry. Thank you for dropping by. I'm sure you and your cousins will like it at Tourne'. The place is very homey and the people are distinctly warm. And their soya chips and salsa dip appetizer's simply exquisite! Do tell us about your visit soon!