Of All Foods Glorious Cooked With PASSION-Passion Cooks Catering

Wake me up now!!!

I think I am in a food coma!

And it's all because of Passion Cooks Catering. Yep, I blame Maja and Mommy Chef! I blame them for inducing me in this sweet food coma after having some food orgasm-inducing oooohhhhhhssss, aaaahhhhhhsss and bbbbrrrruuuupppsss in between!:) I am guessing this coma is because my foodie soul left itself at the kitchen of the Martinez family, waiting to be fed more of those glorious food they cook.

I am not exaggerating when I say that their food IS THAT GOOD!:) I know I am not because I brought three people with me who are either a staunch foodie (my bestfriend), a critic (my little brother) and a picky eater (my little bro's best friend). These three people can attest to how good Passion Cooks' food is and we have the pictures here to show.

Now before I take you into a culinary adventure, let me just tell you how I came across Passion Cooks catering service. At the start of our wedding preparations, Jp and I decided that our priorities will be the photo/video coverage, venue and FOOD. Food is very important to us because we love to eat. We had our bonding moments in our food trips and we simply love to try and experience new dishes every time we go on a date. Needless to say, we need to get the best caterer our money can afford. One that will cater to our taste and that of our guests. We believe that providing a good caterer would leave our guests enjoying our reception and of course it will be the only thing that would have a lasting impression on them.

I have mentioned before that I am a member of W@W here. It is at this e-group that I had found a certain Passion Cooks Catering and the stream of positive reviews piqued my curiosity to go ahead and look for their website. The selling factor was that Passion Cooks employ a one-event-per-day policy, meaning our wedding will be the only wedding they will handle. I have also read all the praises for Maja's accommodating personality and personalize touch in each wedding she handles. This was more than enough to get myself to send them an inquiry but when I saw their multiply account I was floored. Their styling was amazing. I immediately sent Maja an email and we first met last November.

The mistake I committed when we met with Maja last November was not asking if we can have a food tasting with them. She was insisting that time that we schedule for the following week the food tasting, so as to her words "we can have a peace of mind" in considering them as our caterer. She answered all my questions and even helped me think through as to what I want for our reception to be. It helps that she was a former Bridal Events Manager at the now New World Hotel (Renaissance Hotel) and that she was good at her craft. She even had as have some snacks and that was the first time I fell in love with their chocolate lazy cake but more on that later. At that time, I was already 50% sold. Only the food is left to be tasted because I told myself, if the food is not good, I would not get them. And boy was I glad that the food did not fail me.

So after the holidays I immediately sent her an email to inquire for a schedule for our food tasting. Jp was suppose to come with us but since his work limits his availability, only the three people I mentioned above came with me. We talked about the menu and I gave her our budget for costing. And today was the day I tasted the utterly glorious food of Passion Cooks I can ever taste from a caterer.

We came to their office 20 minutes before our scheduled food tasting. Everyone was starving already and we were all raring to eat. Maja had the table at their office set-up for us and a waiter was there to assist us. My little brother was telling me that his bestfriend was asking if they would eat lunch at our house before meeting me up at Sucat because he thought food tasting meant only small portions. But Maja did not fail to make our tummies happy and bursting.:)

First on the menu is the ORIENTAL SALAD w/ CRISPY CATFISH and MANGO TOMATO SALSA:

Masarap pla ang crispy hito!

Now this was the dish I was skeptical the most. I hate that fishy taste and as what my little brother told Maja, we got traumatized with our Lola's adobong hito that we never, ever touch this fish eeevvvveeeerrrr!!! At the back of my mind, I was thinking I would not like it but Jp will, so I would just ask them to give me a plain salad instead. I had my battle plan ready but alas I was defeated.

When the dish came out I tasted first the catfish to see how I would like it and oh boy , I don't. The catfish alone made we want to push the dish aside. But I instantly remembered that some W@Wie sisters said in order to appreciate the salad we must mix everything and take a bite of it all together. That was what I did. And it was the beginning of a series of food orgasms I would experience all through out the food tasting. It was an amazing salad and take my word for it because I DON'T EAT CATFISH!:) It was that good, the tanginess of the dressing for the salsa, the saltiness of the fried catfish and the freshness of the lettuce leaves made me release a loud sigh of appreciation at my first bite. I would still not eat catfish even if my life depends on it but I will eat THIS SALAD!:) My lil bro and my bestfriend who are like me also has their seal of approval on this dish. You can never go wrong with it.:)

Next was the CREAM of PUMPKIN SOUP.

SSSLLLLLUUUURRRRPPPPP!!!

All my little brother can say is "IT'S GOOD" one slurp after another. It's creamy but light and not sweet unlike most pumpkin soup. Who would have thought kalabasa would taste as good as this. It will be a perfect soup for when the weather in Tagaytay gets chilly during our reception. It warms you up without filling you.:) I find this batch a little bit salty for my taste but that is just me.

Served next was the CHICKEN and HAM CREPE:

It's so fluffy (and tasty)!

I wanted to try the quiche and was disappointed that it was not included together with the three-mushroom pasta. My heart sank as I was told it was not included. I think Maja sensed my disappointment and explained that the chef suggested this menu because my choices are all creamy and there would be no balance to our buffet. Maja however told me that if I really want to, we can still have it. But I decided to just go with the menu we have right now since I can trust her that she knows what she is doing. That is the good thing with them, they are always concerned with what your guests would like.

After tasting the crepe the quiche was thrown out the window hahaha!:) Imagine a  cordon blue but inside a light crepe fried to crispiness and drizzled with gravy. Imagine biting into a crispy but fluffy crepe filled with moist chicken shreds, ham and cheese accentuated by the smoky flavor of the gravy all happily partying in your mouth. That is what this dish is. This will also be a sure hit.

After the appetizer, Maja told us it is time to move on to our main dishes. Oh, I have not told you yet that Maja explains what the dish is before we eat. She is attentive like that.

For our main dishes, we were served the GRILLED PORK w/ HERBED CREAM CHEESE and MUSCOVADO APPLES and GRILLED BEEF KEBABS w/ CILANTRO SAUCE and TERRIYAKI SAUCE:

Porky!

Kabab :P

The pork dish was something new for everyone. I know that apples are really great with pork but together with cream cheese, I wondered how it will taste like as I was piercing my pork. Oh man, cheese, apples and pork!!! OOOOOOHHHHHH, AAAAHHHHHH food orgasm!!!:) It was soooo gggooooodddd!!!:) It is something new that I think our guests would appreciate. The muscavado apples are that awesome that my lil bro's bestfriend ate them firsts and ask for ours hahaha!

As for the beef, well I cannot give you a feedback because I do not eat beef. Yes, it might be a shocker to you but I simply don't because I just do not like the taste. I am weird like that. But my carnivore of a bestfriend loved it so much that she let a loud food orgasm at the first bite. They all said the beef was so tender and flavorful and the sauce complimented it. It is a "safe" dish that would balance the newer pork dish in our menu.

Everyone was starting to get filled when another gem of a dish was served. Next up was the BAKED PRAWNS THERMIDOR:

Ang istar!:)

Everyone of my companions let out sighs of approval for this dish. To say that this will be a hit is an understatement. If there was one dish everyone raved about it is this dish. Prawns with ham, mushroom and lots of cheese baked to perfection. Words are not enough to describe this dish. Everyone was simply at awe!:)

And Maja thought it might not be enough, there was still some pasta left for us to taste before dessert. Our tummies are filled up already!:) She reminded us to leave some room for the dessert and my lil bro just had to ask if he can just taste and not finish it. The pasta was the BASILICO E POMODORO:

The change in the pasta dish from my request is also a heart-breaking moment. I love all things white with mushroom for my pasta and I SIMPLY MUST HAVE THE THREE-MUSHROOM PASTA. But as what was explained by Maja, we have to balance the creaminess in our buffet lest we tend to get our guests "umay" already. And like the quiche, the pasta was thrown out the window as well. Not that I would not mind getting it for our menu but simply because this pasta dish cleanses the palate in preparation for the more savory flavored main dishes. It serves it's purpose of balancing out the taste of our buffet. Who would have thought about that? Only Maja of course.:)

Then came the most awaited part, DESSERT!:) As I mentioned earlier, Maja already served us some lazy cake during our first meeting last November. I already had a feeling their food was good because that lazy cake surprised me and my not-a-dessert-type-of-girl bestfriend. It was that good that my bestfriend raved so much about it on our way to Maja's home to my little brother that he was raring to eat it. Out came this dessert plate:

Mango Cream Pie, Panacotta and Lazy Cake

It was a hit!:) Everyone loved it. I fell in love with the panacotta, it was the real panacotta!:) The lazy cake still holds its place as the best dessert among all but the panacotta is the runner up. The mango cream pie is nice too. I am thinking if we should add up another dessert but with our experience of being so full already, my bestfriend said it will not make a difference and I believe her.:)

So how was the overall experience? AWESOME!!!

You get to eat a lot of good food, be assisted by the most charming owner of all and to see my little brother glee in approval of ALL the dishes Maja and her team prepared, simply priceless. Apart from the food, I enjoyed seeing my bestfriend get food orgasmic at every bite, my little bro speaking his opinion how good the food was and my little bro's bestfriend eating everything served. Those are the things that made PASSION COOKS the only caterer for me. I am sure if Jp attended, the catfish salad would have already won him over.

And oh, one last thing. Since my little brother LOVED the lazy cake so much, he asked Maja if he could buy some and Maja had a box prepared. We were going to pay for it when Mommy Chef told Maja we could have it for FREE!!! We insisted on paying but they refused. It was truly an icing on the cake. They are so generous since they sensed that we loved the food so much and might have wanted to give back something to us in return. To my opinion, their gesture showed how thankful they are for our appreciation of their passion to their craft. It is very hard to find people like them anymore in an industry that speaks of money rather than service from the heart.

Now I truly believe that if you put your heart into something not only for monetary reasons but also for putting happiness into the lives of others, leaving a lasting impression, you will truly be successful.

And Passion Cooks Catering showered me with that lifelong lesson. They have left me wanting more and I am sure they would not fail me.

Ms. Maja, me and my bestfriend.:)

I have yet found THE ONE!:)