Pinoy chefs compete in World Pastry Cup in France

Pastry chefs from the Philippines have qualified for the first time in the 25-year history of the finals of the most prestigious global pastry competition, Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie (World Pastry Cup) to be held in January 2015 in Lyon, France.

Presenting themselves as the Pastry Team PH, young pastry chefs Vicente Cahatol, Rizalino Maňas Jr., and Bryan Dimayuga will face off with 21 other teams from around the globe in what is touted as the most challenging of all pastry contests.

The Filipino pastry team composed of an ice cream maker, a chocolate specialist, and a pastry chef, will work with sugar, ice and chocolate to complete creations in 6 hours. Another technical requirement has been added in next year’s finals as teams are required to sculpt a whole block of chocolate and include it in the chocolate creation. They will also be given 2 blocks of ice to sculpt and will need to work with drawn and blown sugar. The pastry chefs will compete in an 8,000 m² area with 11 contest kitchens in front of 2,500 spectators.

Pastry Team PH has been practicing in between their pastry chef jobs at the Makati Shangrila, spending their own money in preparation for this great honour to represent the Philippines. They are being mentored by the Pastry Alliance of the Philippines (PAP). The PAP is on a mission to gather as much support as they can muster to enable the 10-member Pastry Team PH to present their best in Lyon.

To qualify for the competition the 22 competing national teams needed to hurdle 50 national team selections and 4 continental team selections. Eighteen teams qualified through this process. The International Organising Committee then picked 4 national teams as wild card competitors which included the Philippines, Switzerland, Algeria and Guatemala.

The World Pastry Cup is held every two years and is recognized as the benchmark for the world’s pastry contests. Its international success is attributed to the highest quality work from competing chefs, the acclaimed international jury, the level of competition and the festive atmosphere.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/pinoy-chefs-compete-world-pastry-cup-france/#sthash.jWAAmK2n.dpuf

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Phl tourism to get big boost with Asean integration

Source:yahoo.com

CLARK FREEPORT ZONE – The Philippine tourism industry will get a further boost with the upcoming regional integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as it will trigger an influx of tourists from the region’s member-economies, tourism officials said.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) expects that ASEAN integration will hasten inter-regional travel and consequently open the doors for more tourists in the country by next year.

DOT Assistant Secretary for market development Benito Bengzon Jr. said the integration would be a boon for the country in terms of capturing visitors from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“In our case, we will relax our restrictions to make it easier for people to move around in the Philippines,” Bengzon said at the sidelines of the three-day North Philippines Tourism and Travel Expo 2014 which opened late Friday at the events center of SM City Clark.

Bengzon, who was guest speaker during the NorthPhil Expo, said the Philippines as an archipelago is dependent on airplanes for the movement of tourists, unlike the other countries. “By this, it means what we are getting are legitimate tourists who travel by plane just to get to our place.”

He added that the country’s foreign visitor arrivals, which posted a 10 percent increase last year, is expected to grow further with ASEAN integration.

DOT Region 3 director Ronaldo Tiotuico, meanwhile, noted that free trade paves the way for the establishment of a single market and production base among the member-countries. This means that there will be a free flow of goods, including rice, services, investment, capital and skilled labor to these countries. The goal is to create a highly competitive single market that would boast of equitable economic development.

“In the same way, tourists can go from one place to another without restrictions,” he added. “So if you are a tour guide in the Philippines, you can also be a tour guide in other places.”

Tiotuico also said that with ASEAN integration, the 10 member-countries would have a standard tourism program for the region. This is particularly beneficial to Central Luzon which posted 2.7 million domestic and foreign tour arrivals in 2013, the bulk of whom came by way of Clark and Subic, all connected by arterial roads such as the North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

NorthPhil Expo is a project of the DOT offices in Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley, Ilocos Region and the Cordillera Administrative Region, and event-managed by the Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corp.

Now on its ninth year, NorthPhil Expo is marked by exhibits showcasing various travel destinations, products and services, provincial pavilions, corporate booths with affordable tour packages and traders’ booths offering souvenirs, arts and crafts and delicacies.

The event also provides common ground for domestic and international tourism stakeholders to explore markets and promote their destinations, products and services.

“Trade visitors and industry buyers have been joining this event regularly, which been working effectively in tourism business networking and trade development,” Bengzon said.

He also stressed that tourism and community development go hand-in-hand in helping build a better quality of life for the people.

He noted that one of the core elements of tourism development is to encourage local communities’ participation which is central to the sustainability of the tourism industry.

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Masskara is one of the top 25 festivals in the world

Source: Philippine Star

The Masskara Festival of Bacolod City has been listed among the 29 most colorful festivals and celebrations around the world by the website www.placestoseeinyourlifetime.com.

Masskara ranked 25th, out of the 29 festival in the world.

Mayor Monico Puentevella said the recog ition came following the successful staging of the festival this year, as he thanked the sponsors, participants, organizers, local government unit, guests and the people of Bacolod for their cooperation and support.

This only shows how big Masskara Festival is, Puentevella claimed.

World’s best

The top world festivals include the following: HOLI of India, which topped the list; followed by the Yi Peng Lantern Festival of Thailand; Halloween of the US; La Tomatina of Buñol, Spain; Loi Krathong of Wat Arun, Thailand; the Carnival of Venice, Italy; Levis Bonfire of Lewes in the UK; Chinese New Year; the Carnival of Rio de Janiero in Brazil; Burning Man Festival of Blackrock Desert, Nevada; Concurs de Castells of Tarragona, Spain; Calcio Storico Fiorentino of Florence, Italy; AfricaBurn, Tankwa Karoo National Park of South Africa; Vivid Festival of Sydney, Australia; Cherry Blossom Festival of Japan; Saint Patrick’s Day of Chicago; Hwangmaesan Royal Azalea Festival of Mt. Hwangmaesan, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea; Krampusnacht, Neustift of Austria; Bristol Ballon Fiesta of Bristol, UK; Remal Sand Festival of Kuwait;

Tulip Festival of Skagit Valley, Washington; Busan fireworks festival of South Korea; Mosaiculture International of Montreal, Canada; Jinhase Gunhangie Cherry blossom Festival of Changwon city, South Korea; Makha Bucha,
Chiang Mai of Thailand; Yadnya Kasada Mount Bromo of East Java, Indonesia; Fuji Shibazakura of Fuji five lakes, Japan; and Reykjavik, Iceland.

 The Masskara Festival, the only festival in the Philippines included in the list, was also named by the international news channel CNN as “one of the 12 best things in the Philippines.”

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Pinoy jeepney recast for Yolanda victims in Tacloban

Pinoy Jeepneys, the colourful World War II-style icons known in the country as the King of Philippine roads, have resurfaced in the Visayan wasteland as electric jeepneys (eJeepneys) a year after Tacloban City was hit hard by Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

When the typhoon passed through the Visayan Islands southeast of Manila, the diesel-fed jeepneys were flooded by the storm surges with a mixture of salt water, debris and grime that turned 95% of Tacloban City’s public transport unserviceable.

 A year into the rebuilding of the city, a fleet of electric Jeepneys (eJeepneys) had risen from the wasteland amid public clamour for dependable public transport. Four eJeepneys redeployed from Metro Manila and a converted storm-damaged multi-cab now service the local commuters. The fleet will be joined soon by two more storm-damaged jeepneys scheduled for rehabilitation to run on solar-powered electricity. Each one was close to ending up as scrap.

The initiative to replace and retrofit storm-damaged jeepneys into solar-powered vehicles is led by the RE-Charge Tacloban project of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (iCSC), a local non-profit group working on sustainable energy solutions internationally recognized with the top transport solutions prize in a global contest by Ecopolis Program of Discovery Channel in 2009.

iSCN Executive Director Renato Redentor Constantino shared their story with Good News Pilipinas, “We look at the vehicles as symbols of Tacloban – from rubble it can rise again, more benign, better.

It was an opportunity to contribute to the notion that we can build back better – and brighter, by integrating solar with sustainable transport.”

The RE-Charge Tacloban eJeepneys run on batteries charged by a solar facility also set up by the group. The facility uses a hybrid off-grid solar photovoltaic system with battery backup and grid-tie capability that is connected to the geothermal-powered Leyte grid.

Constantino asserts that the initiative is about providing sustainable jobs and encouraging government and the private sector to answer climate change challenges and not only technical fixes as “sustainable strategies that ultimately make us more resilient.”

RE-charge Tacloban not only recasts storm-damaged vehicles into eJeepneys, as it combines the vehicles with training programs for local drivers, dispatchers, operators, administrators and technicians in the servicing and maintenance of both the eJeepney fleet and the solar facilities.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/pinoy-jeepney-recast-yolanda-victims-tacloban/#sthash.luga8VWq.dpuf

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Palawan voted Top island in Conde Nast Global Poll

Palawan was voted as “Top Island in the World” in the 27th annual Readers’ Choice Awards of Conde Nast Traveler magazine.

The island with its world-renowned underground river emerged as the top island destination beating 147 other islands throughout the world.

The magazine announced the results after over 76,600 readers cast their votes.

Palawan was given a rating of 88.750 by the readers owing mostly because of the declaration of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River as one of the new seven natural wonders of the world.

“Palawan’s natural wonder is one of the longest underground rivers in the world, traveling five miles through a subterranean cave system. Guided boat tours take visitors down a portion of the waterway, where karsts, natural rock formations created by dissolving limestone, loom in every direction,” the magazine said.

Boracay Island in Aklan province was also included in the ranking at number 12 and given a rating of 82.683.

“This itty-bitty island (10 square miles) in the Philippines is as close to the tropical idyll ideal as you’ll find in the Philippines, with gentle coastlines and transporting sunsets. Add in a thriving nightlife scene, and you have one of the top tourist spots in the region,” the magazine said.

“The aptly named White Beach is Boracay’s main draw, with powdery white sand and shallow azure water ideal for swimming and snorkeling,” it said.

Palawan was able to beat other world-famous islands such as Bora Bora in French Polynesia (25th), Maldives (19th), Bali in Indonesia (17th), Bermuda (14th), Santorini and Cyclades in Greece (7th), and Maui in Hawaii (3rd).

The Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Survey started in 1988. The 2014 survey got 76,659 responses

“Individual candidates are judged on a set of criteria relevant to their category, based on a standard five-point scale: excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor,” Conde Nast explained in how they are ranked.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/palawan-voted-top-island-conde-nast-global-poll/#sthash.rF4SNUNQ.dpuf

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CNN Travel picks Bohol footbridge one of World’s Best

Two footbridges in the Philippines made of woven bamboo slats and displaying Filipino resourcefulness have made it to the World’s Most Spectacular Footbridges list by CNN Travel.

Hanging 25 meters (82 feet) above the emerald waters of upper Loboc River, Tigbao Hanging Bridge was originally one footbridge constructed with rope and bamboo and used by the locals to cross the river. Today the ropes have been replaced by steel cables but the deck is still made of woven bamboo. Tourists have flocked to the footbridge in increasing numbers to take on the challenge of the sway, shake and bounce on a flimsy-looking 100-meter long pedestrian bridge system. Local authorities have responded to the increasing visits by adding another footbridge to allow for one way traffic on each bridge.

Tigbao Hanging Bridge in Loboc, Bohol joins Peak Walk by Tissot on Glacier 300 in Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, the world’s first peak to peak pedestrian bridge, among other amazing man-made pedestrian bridges such as the Skybridge in Sochi, Russia, Aiguille du Midi Bridge in France, Taman Negara National Park Bridge in Malaysia, Capilano Suspension Bridge in Canada, Hanging Bridge of Ghasa in Nepal, Trift Bridge in Switzerland, El Caminito Del Rey in Spain, The Marienbrucke in Germany, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge in Northern Ireland, Kokone “Yume” Grand Suspension Bridge in Japan, and Highline179 in Austria.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/cnn-travel-picks-bohol-footbridge-one-worlds-best/#sthash.dSPh8Gtd.dpuf

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Filipino becomes 1st lay President of US Catholic University

A Filipino immigrant is now the first Filipino president of the 144-year old St. John’s University in Queens, New York.

The Catholic university, traditionally led by Vincentian priests of the Congregation of the Mission, commissioned its leadership on Dr. Conrado Gempesaw, Ph.D., an accomplished scholar and teacher with nearly three decades of academic and administrative experience.

“Embracing the Vincen

tian mission is easy and natural to me because like so many St. John’s students today and in the past, I am an immigrant. I came to the United States 34 years ago from the Philippines with a very strong encouragement from my mother. Like many immigrants, I came to this country full of hope and determination,” the 60-year-old Gempesaw recounted in his investiture address.

Dr. Gempesaw is now looking into instituting Philippine Studies at St. John’s. Before he came to St. John’s, Dr. Gempesaw was Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Prior to this he was Dean of the University of Delaware Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics. Dr. Gempesaw received his degree in BA Economics from the Ateneo de Davao University in the Philippines. He received his M.A. in Economics from Miami University. He finished his M.S. in Agricultural Economics from West Virginia University and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Pennsylvania State University. He is a certified public accountant.

Dr. Gempesaw is married to Clavel Albay Gempesaw and they have two sons, Daniel and David who both graduated with top honours at the University of Delaware.

Dr. Gempesaw leads the university which was founded in 1870 to serve a diverse immigrant population. St. John’s is regarded as one of the best private universities in the United States, and the second ranked in terms of ethnic diversity. Students who come from 47 states and 116 countries numbering about 16,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students are taught by 1,500 faculty members. Ninety-seven percent of St. John’s undergraduates receive financial assistance through scholarships, loans, grants, and work-study programs.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/filipino-becomes-1st-lay-president-us-catholic-university/#sthash.MpUAe6Ae.dpuf

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