Best Food Blogger 2014 – 7th Best Cebu Blogs Awards

The week leading up to the 7th Best Cebu Blogs Awards Night was rife with anticipation if not anxiety. Yolanda was so much bad news that buzz about the coming of a little sister got everyone on the verge of panic. Canned goods, instant noodles and emergency items started getting cleaned off supermarket shelves. I milled about the deli section of Rustan’s hoping there would be a flash sale of sorts, to my later disappointment. I noted a selection of cheeses and some charcuterie sets should things go apocalyptic and survival instincts push us to explore looting. Yeah, maybe some cheap, reconstituted reds that come in handy liter tetrapaks, too. Anticipation. Anxiety.

Ruby announced her coming — shortly after Queenie — and proceeded to dilly dally. Local government answered schoolchildren’s prayers by cancelling classes as early as Thursday. A circular encouraged businesses to close shop clearing most offices by Friday afternoon. Some events and dinners had to be moved around to accommodate logistical delays. Kitchen Matador as he is, Chef Ipar Miranda pushed through with his intimate invitational at his eponymous Spanish restaurant for the seven souls who braved the eerie calm before the storm. More on that in a separate post. Anticipation. Anxiety.

Most of the weekend was spent finishing my writing assignments for the upcoming Sun Star’s Best Of Cebu 2014 issue. I had swung by the office for last minute checks and squeezed in a short write-up before heading out to the 7th Best Cebu Blogs Awards Night program. Yes, I have had enough practice in reeling it all in to a hundred words or less. The unexpected inclusion as a finalist in two categories was validation in itself though still needing a win to cement that. On the polar end, not bagging either one would somewhat be humiliating. The weird, immapouranytimenow skies loomed the whole day and gave way to a dark and starless night. Anticipation. Anxiety.

We pulled up to Avalon to a light drizzle our matchy trenches could very well handle. That’s probably as far as we would go into the couples-clothing thing. I rocked my burger-print sweater in homage and for good luck. We walked into a room full of wide eyes. Am I ever thankful I put some elbow into learning the squinch. The program began rather perfunctorily and dinner commenced. A spread by an unnamed caterer welcomed the attendees but we were such tight strings we didn’t even get to take pictures of the food. Of note were those sizable round-cuts of beef caldereta, a little dried-out but otherwise excellently yielding to a fork alone. Anticipation. Anxiety.

The Best Cebu Blogs Awards (BCBA) is a yearly Awarding Ceremony of Cebu-based Bloggers. BCBA is the only and pioneering award giving body that recognizes the existence of blogs and bloggers in Cebu’s blogosphere. It acknowledges the existence and importance of Cebu Bloggers in the Visayas and in the Philippines. BCBA aims to recognize the finest blogs by Cebuanos and Cebu-based bloggers which are at par even with their foreign counterparts. Best Cebu Blogs Awards is organized and handled by Blogger Volunteers headed by Cebu Bloggers Society Inc. Founder Mark M. Monta. Judges for the Best Cebu Blogs Awards By Niches are changing every year. Most of them came from Manila, Cagayan De Oro, Ilo-ilo, General Santos, Davao and of course, a home-based judge here in Cebu. BCBA was founded by Mark Monta on December of 2008 and later joined by fellow organizers Agnes Jimenez, Bjorn Bernales, Gezelle Tapangan, Chanel Marie Imperial and Jaysee Pingkian. (info from BCBA website)

Items were raffled off and awards for the different niche categories were given out. Each winner was allotted two minutes for their acceptance speeches but each barely hit a minute. I missed out on Best Personal Blog Award but found it easy to let slide. I think I broke into a little sweat trying not to pull a Leonardo Di Caprio. Then my name was called. Oh, the agony of ecstasy. I totally forgot to play out the pageant humblebrag winface I rehearsed earlier and just had a kooky grin from ear to ear. This year’s beautifully-designed trophy by Cebu Best Blogs Awards Founder, Mark Monta, was inspired by the Cebu Provincial Capitol building and probably weighed just as much. There was to be no way I could attach a chain to it to wear around my neck. Quickly over that just as it crossed my mind, thanks and credits were given, we posed for a million photos and adjourned into the night.

Thanks to all my readers and supporters. Thanks to the judges and the Best Cebu Blogs Awards group. Special thanks to my official blog mascot, proofreader, shock prod, leash, muse and everything in between, The PussyKat, without whom none of this would be possible.

The 7th Annual Best Cebu Blogs Awards Night was made possible through the generous support of The Best Cebu Blogs Awards (BCBA)’ partners, namely, Gold Sponsors, Globe Telecommunications Inc. and Primary Homes Incorporated; Silver Sponsors, Greenwich Philippines and Krispy Kreme Philippines; Donors, Starbucks Philippines, Payag Payag, Island Grill Express and Javders Projector Rentals; Media Partners, Cebu Bloggers Society Incorporated and tenmimutes.ph; Official Photographer, Alvin Asayas of Alvin Asayas Photography; and Blogger Volunteers, Cebu Fitness Blog, FaceCebu.net, EmpressofDrac.com, Geemiz:Accounting Blog, ChannelImperial.com, The Gum Shoes Blog and One Frozen Mind.

Follow the Best Cebu Blogs Awards (BCBA) and get more info about 7th Annual Best Cebu Blogs Awards Night on their official website, www.bestcebublogsawards.com, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bestcebublogs and Twitter: @bcbawards. Hashtag your posts, tweets and shares: #bcbawards2014 and #cebutopblogs.

 

Best Cebu Blogs Awards 2014

I threw caution to the wind and went on sabbatical for a year abroad. Being away from home allowed me a viewpoint on things back here from the outside looking in and also that of a foreigner — a new perspective on society, politics, economy, life, relationships and even myself. I opened myself to entirely new experiences, languages and cultures I thought I would have been familiar with from what I feed on from popular media. My favorites were those of the culinary vein.

 

Authentic, local Chinese cuisine presented flavors, nuances and presentations way beyond the familiar Ding Qua Qua and Grand Majestic. I ate off dingy carts, had dumplings with meats of questionable origins, enjoyed grilled scorpion and fried silkworm larvae, lost myself in many a hutong in search of neighborhood specialty food institutions, learned to eat seasonal crustaceans from a four-year old, had all the permutations possible for Beijing Duck, fell in love with the savory all-day breakfast crepe jian beng, stood in an autumn chill with a mojito from a street bar, had a freaking donkey burger and many, many other food adventures and misadventures. The international community I identified with also contributed much to the whole. Travels across the plains and around the neighboring countries from that hub city offered even more experiences with regional variations.

A year through the coldest winter in that city in thirty years, the most bitter of lies and green eyes, the most unexpected warmth and welcome from the spawn of the sleeping, nay, waking…waking giant, and, the most gorgeous, most real gastronomic experiences I have had and I was ready to come home. For most part, it was because I was ready to come home to love.

Endless catch up dates with The PussyKat meant endless food and drink, endless photos and endless uploads. It was then that The PussyKat all but forced me to migrate my food posts and commentary from Facebook to a blog platform. This blog has had many concept incarnations until I settled simply with Pornografeed, an obvious play on the food porn theme. I wrote to share my experiences and thoughts about food and the stories associated with those. Virtually a transcription of the volumes that spill out of my mouth, it was also an exercise in keeping a coherent train of thought and vain attempts at brevity.

We all spend a lot of time thinking about what has been, talking about what is going on and worrying about what will be. Periodically waking up from the stupor of being drunk in love to, well, life in general, my return and reestablishment has been marked with some difficulty. Between harsh realities, hype and everything else I’ve had to grin and bear with, I beat myself up for the resulting cynicism thinking surely this year would be even better than the last. As it is true with Murphy’s Law, when it rains it pours, so it also did with surprises.

Readership slowly picked up steam. I started bumping into people who strike up conversation about their favorite posts and their own experiences, recommend their discoveries or even request reviews as their previews. Copywriting assignments slowly trickled in on top of invitations to contribute to print publications. Dinners and events piled up with the resulting connections and friendships with the movers and shakers of the local food industry. Upcoming collaborations are in the works, too. The biggest surprise came by the announcement of the finalists for the 7th Annual Best Cebu Blogs where Pornografeed made it in the Food Blog category and, even more surprisingly, the Personal Blog category lists.

The Best Cebu Blogs Awards (BCBA) is a yearly Awarding Ceremony of Cebu-based Bloggers. BCBA is the only and pioneering award giving body that recognizes the existence of blogs and bloggers in Cebu’s blogosphere. It acknowledges the existence and importance of Cebu Bloggers in the Visayas and in the Philippines. BCBA aims to recognize the finest blogs by Cebuanos and Cebu-based bloggers which are at par even with their foreign counterparts.

Best Cebu Blogs Awards is organized and handled by Blogger Volunteers headed by Cebu Bloggers Society Inc. Founder Mark M. Monta. Judges for the Best Cebu Blogs Awards By Niches are changing every year. Most of them came from Manila, Cagayan De Oro, Ilo-ilo, General Santos, Davao and of course, a home-based judge here in Cebu.

BCBA was founded by Mark Monta on December of 2008 and later joined by fellow organizers Agnes Jimenez, Bjorn Bernales, Gezelle Tapangan, Chanel Marie Imperial and Jaysee Pingkian. (from the BCBA website)

The 7th Annual Best Cebu Blogs Awards Night will be held at 6PM on a Sunday, December 7, 2014 at the Avalon Building, Cebu Business Park, featuring the participation of previous Best Cebu Blogs Awards winners, prizes and more surprises.

The 7th Annual Best Cebu Blogs Awards Night is made possible through the generous support of The Best Cebu Blogs Awards (BCBA)’ partners, namely, Gold Sponsors, Globe Telecommunications Inc. and Primary Homes Incorporated; Silver Sponsors, Greenwich Philippines and Krispy Kreme Philippines; Bronze Sponsors, Maribago Bluewaters and Dr. Xavier Solis, Donors, Starbucks Philippines, Payag Payag, Island Grill Express and Javders Projector Rentals; Media Partners, Cebu Bloggers Society Incorporated and tenmimutes.ph; Official Photographer, Alvin Asayas of Alvin Asayas Photography; and Blogger Volunteers, Cebu Fitness Blog, FaceCebu.net, EmpressofDrac.com, Geemiz:Accounting Blog, ChannelImperial.com, The Gum Shoes Blog and One Frozen Mind.

Follow the Best Cebu Blogs Awards (BCBA) and get updates about 7th Annual Best Cebu Blogs Awards Night on their official website, www.bestcebublogsawards.com, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bestcebublogs and Twitter: @bcbawards. Hashtag your posts, tweets and shares: #bcbawards2014 and #cebutopblogs and wish me luck!