{"id":6277,"date":"2018-12-09T02:09:28","date_gmt":"2018-12-09T02:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/?p=6277"},"modified":"2020-02-04T08:02:49","modified_gmt":"2020-02-04T08:02:49","slug":"a-whimsical-dinner-extravaganza-like-no-other-a-one-of-a-kind-gala-of-phantasmagoria-hosted-by-hermes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/2018\/12\/09\/a-whimsical-dinner-extravaganza-like-no-other-a-one-of-a-kind-gala-of-phantasmagoria-hosted-by-hermes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Whimsical Dinner Extravaganza Like No Other A one-of-a-kind gala of phantasmagoria hosted by Herm\u00e8s"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Whimsical Dinner Extravaganza Like No Other<\/p>\n

A one-of-a-kind gala of phantasmagoria hosted by Herm\u00e8s<\/p>\n

Anticipation mounted on the Herm\u00e8s-themed dinner, \u2018\u201dLet\u2019s play.\u201d The gala was a much sought-after event, an evening of the unexpected\u2014glorious and grandiose, fun and exciting. Set\u00adting the standard for perfection and de\u00adsign, the incomparable Herm\u00e8s coun\u00adtry manager Mario Katigbak <\/strong>truly outdid himself with this recent dinner extravaganza. Mario couldn\u2019t contain himself when I asked for a little peek on what his eye-catching style would be this time around. He said, \u201cOk, it\u2019s a se\u00adcret but I\u2019ll tell you. For cocktails, since I found these so tiny and creative, the hors d\u2019oeuvres are mahjong tiles made of white chocolate-covered salmon, ca\u00adsino tokens of Spanish anchovy bavar\u00adois, and dominoes of dark chocolate-covered foie gras.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When the waiter offered me cham\u00adpagne, he asked for my favorite color and with a dropper, changed the color of my champagne. Food, d\u00e9cor, and ar\u00adtistic feats went hand in hand, achiev\u00ading perfect harmony, set\u00adting the pace at the maison for a whimsical, youthful, and inviting 2018. Herm\u00e8s Paris and the Stores Spe\u00adcialists Inc., headed by its president Anton Huang<\/strong>, celebrated the theme of the year, \u201cLet\u2019s Play,\u201d at Solaire Resort and Casino grand ball\u00adroom. Solaire director of com\u00admunications Joy Wassmer <\/strong>and Herm\u00e8s marketing and PR manager Angelina Le\u00adgaspi<\/strong>, along with Mario, welcomed Herm\u00e8s\u2019 valued clients and partners to a sit-down dinner. For this dinner, Herm\u00e8s spent four times the amount it usually does for their events.<\/p>\n

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A fully orchestrated pro\u00adduction beyond expectation, the dinner was a most unique dining experience conceptualized by Bel\u00adgian designer Charles Kaisin<\/strong>, notori\u00adous for his surrealist dinners involv\u00ading dozens of costume changes, fancy props, and accoutrements. Charles\u2019 staff had to train Solaire\u2019s team in his choreographed way of serving. Mario boasted that it was more special than kobe\u2014the Omi wagyu from Japan and truffles from Italy. The dinner in itself was the program, with the guests rel\u00adishing the surprise that came with each course. With a formidable lineup of 120 guests in two long tables, I was fortu\u00adnate to have sat beside Solaire Resort and Casino president and chief operat\u00ading officer Tom Arasi <\/strong>and senior vice president Rajesh Jhingon<\/strong>. Tom was in high spirits as he expressed his enthu\u00adsiasm over the dinner at the cavernous ballroom, which was the perfect venue for such a production. Each course was ceremoniously presented by waiters in different cos\u00adtumes and presented in an unexpected manner where the guests enjoyed the new experience of playing games, mixing colors, and toying with the fanciful ideas.<\/p>\n

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Our Philippe Starck ghost chairs had our names print\u00aded in the back. The tablecloth had a chessboard design with actual chess pieces as tabl\u00adescape. A parade of 60 wait\u00aders dressed as chess pieces served a plate of Hokkaido scallops with potatoes and caviar and after the gong sounded, they immediately dis\u00adappeared. Emcee Philippe Levieux <\/strong>asked to unzip the tablecloth and voi\u00adl\u00e0, there was a white mat with a series of numbered dots on it. A toy car with a tray of colored markers rolled down the long table.<\/p>\n

The main course was served by 30 waiters in black with bowler hats with neon signs on top. Plates of colorful Herm\u00e8s paper carousels were on ro\u00adtating chargers and with the ding of the gong, the waiters pulled them off and revealed cubes of sous-vide Japa\u00adnese wagyu beef, rock lobster tem\u00adpura, porcini parcel, asparagus, and Italian truffles.<\/p>\n

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For the dessert, Levieux requested us to untie the black ribbons and off flew the balloons which carried the Ru\u00adbik\u2019s cubes. Over 35 chefs headed by Michael Dinges <\/strong>curated this dinner of edible art. The crowd emitted squeals of delight with the blast of confetti which climaxed another amazing Her\u00adm\u00e8s happening.<\/p>\n

The Herm\u00e8s boutique is located in Greenbelt 3 Ayala Center, Makati.<\/p>\n

www.tinajacinto.com<\/p>\n

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CAPTIONS:<\/p>\n

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  1. Mario Katigbak, the author and AA Patawaran<\/li>\n
  2. Anton Huang, president of SSI Group of Companies, with Anna Sobrepena and Nikki Huang.<\/li>\n
  3. Mia Borromeo, Lizzie Razon, Irene Francisco and Frannie Jacinto<\/li>\n
  4. Matio Katigbak and Thomas Arasi, Solaire Resort CEO and President<\/li>\n
  5. Rupert Jacinto, Mellie Ablaza, Louie Ablaza and Helen Ong.<\/li>\n
  6. Catherine Huang and David Endriga<\/li>\n
  7. Czarina Syquia, Ann Puno, Manolyne Taylor and Jun Jun Ablaza<\/li>\n
  8. Isabel Coyuito and Krizia de Zuzuarregi<\/li>\n
  9. Babette Benoit, Mario Katigbak and Thelma San Juan<\/li>\n
  10. Connie Haw, Agile Zamora and Cecile Asprec<\/li>\n
  11. Mel Meer, Nympha Valencia, Maritess Tantoco Enriquez and Renato Enriquez.<\/li>\n
  12. Chesca Lao and Maria Bernardino<\/li>\n
  13. Kathy Huang and Michael Huang.<\/li>\n
  14. Joy Wassmer and Alex de Leon<\/li>\n
  15. Mel Loh, Laurence Loh and Julie Tamayo<\/li>\n
  16. Hayden Kho and Vicki Belo Kho<\/li>\n
  17. Love Marie Escudero<\/li>\n
  18. Nikki Huang and Kathy Huang<\/li>\n
  19. Nenita Tan and Stephanie Tan<\/li>\n
  20. The stark imposing set up at the Hermes Gala dinner at the Solaire<\/li>\n
  21. The release of confetti<\/li>\n
  22. The coordinated orchestration of the appetizer<\/li>\n
  23. Foie Gras appetizer<\/li>\n
  24. The appetizer deck of cards<\/li>\n
  25. Balloons were released when the desert box was untied.<\/li>\n
  26. Neon lights carried by waiters for the main course<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A Whimsical Dinner Extravaganza Like No Other A one-of-a-kind gala of phantasmagoria hosted by Herm\u00e8s Anticipation mounted on the Herm\u00e8s-themed dinner, \u2018\u201dLet\u2019s play.\u201d The gala was a much […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-having-a-ball"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/B.jpg?fit=1000%2C645&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9FePs-1Df","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6277"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6313,"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6277\/revisions\/6313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinajacinto.com\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}