Our pal Al

(Al Gore receives a plaque of appreciation from Hans Sy, president of SM Prime Holdings. SM Prime Holdings brought the former US Vice President to the country for the third leg of the Leadership Conference Series, with the theme "The Leader as Environment Steward." Photo courtesy Campaigns & Grey)

FOR those who’ve been asking, no, I don’t have a photo with former US Vice President Al Gore. The Nobel laureate was in town on Tuesday giving an updated Asian version of his global-warming lecture.

Unfortunately, unlike last year when former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair came over and I managed to have two photos taken, there was no press conference that followed our pal Al’s lecture. I understand a provision in his contract prohibited press interviews. (Suplado naman.)

So sorry, friends, you won’t be seeing any photos of me and Al showing up on my Facebook profile anytime soon. True, I could’ve attended the postdinner lecture and photo-op with him, but duty called and I had to write the news story about his lecture. Rats. (Click Something Like Life for the rest. My column is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror.)

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WHILE work commitments prevented me from attending the festivities after the lecture, I managed to get hold of the much talked about "sustainable menu" of dishes served during the cocktails which was prepared by the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

"Sustainability-Makati Shangri-a's social responsibility extends to the way we value history, tradition, culture and environmental impact.

"This evening's glocal cocktail menu prepared by our creative chefs celebrates Filipino ingenuity at its best - social entrepreneurs that bring only the best of locally-grown Filipino ingredients whilst catering to an exquisite global palate."

Menu

Seared yellow fin tuna with wasabi mayonnaise of japanese cucumber
-Sourced from the fishermen of Mindoro, traditional hand-line fishing method was used to catch the tuna as opposed to open cast net - the first sustainable fish source from the Coral Triangle.

Kesong Puti with Cherry Tomato Salsa
-The kesong puti is sourced from organically-fed water buffalos in the province of Laguna

Blue cheese flan with caramelized onion and candied walnuts
-the low-emission blue cheese is sourced from a local cheese maker in Bulacan

Shredded Pork Adobo Puff
-Meat is sourced from a local piggery farm in Rizal.

Strawberry tartlets, calamansi sacher lollipop, tres leches and banana crumble stew
-The organically grown calamansi and banana are sourced locally from the province of La Union and Pangasinan while the sweetness of the strawberries are grown naturally from the highlands of Bukidnon

Sustainable cuisine is the current rage among environmental folk and these are dishes basically made from ingredients that have the least impact on the environment, i.e. beef from cows not injected w/ hormones, organic vegetables, fish raised from fishponds, etc. Not only will these help protect the environment, the dishes are supposed to be healthier as well as the ingredients don't have any of those preservatives and pesticides normally found in meats and greens.

So congratulations to the Makati Shang's chefs for coming up with these interesting pica-pica. I hope I have the chance to try the same in some future event. But first, can someone please explain to me just what "low emission" blue cheese" is about? ;p