Cover Photo: Unsplash / Edward Howell
Photo: Unsplash / Edward Howell
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Industry insiders share why chefs and restaurateurs are paying more attention to what (and how) their guests imbibe
When one opens a restaurant, the food usually takes centre stage, with the drinks playing a supporting role. Recently, though, chefs and restauranteurs seem to be giving their beverage programme a better thought based on the comprehensive menus of signature cocktails and wines on offer. Their kitchen team is made to work with a bartender with the objective of making classic cocktails right, as well as coming up with signature drinks reflective of the concept. A knowledgeable sommelier is also employed not only to recommend and decant wines but to also train the rest of the front-of-house on matters of stemware and wine service. What we drink—and how we drink it—now has equal footing with the food.
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Chef/owner of Metiz and Automat Stephan Duhesme recognizes the importance of a well-curated drinks list as a value-added for his restaurants. “Let’s start with Metiz since it has dictated pretty much our entire beverage programme philosophy,” he begins. “I think it’s important to note that I do not like cocktails. I’ll order a beer, wine, or a neat whisky before I consider a cocktail. However, I do recognize the opportunity for unlimited creative output and a unique personal touch that a great cocktail program can provide to any given venue. The challenge that I gave to Ronjob (Sanchez, their bartender) was to create cocktails that I would order over beer, wine and whisky. No easy task.”
Erin Recto—partner, operations director, and sommelier at Hapag and Ayà— plays an important role in their establishments, knowing how a properly staged beverage programme can enhance an already stellar dining experience led by chefs Kevin “Nav” Navoa and Thirdy Dolatre. She lays out the factors in play when putting together theirs, having just moved into their impressive space in Balmori Suites, Rockwell with the dual concept of a fine dining restaurant on the first level (Hapag) and a glitzy lounge upstairs (Ayà). “The beverage programme was designed with Filipino flavours in mind, with both the wines and cocktails,” she explains. “When it came to cocktails, we wanted to focus on what makes Filipino flavours unique—using local ingredients to create sweet, sour, salty and savoury beverages and reinvent classic cocktails. When it came to the wine list, we wanted to make sure that all notable regions around the world were represented, and that the wines enhance the experience of eating Filipino food, particularly Hapag’s take on Filipino cuisine.”
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For wine importer and distributor Premium Wine Exchange (PWX), attending to restaurants’ growing and evolving needs influences how they run their business and colour their portfolio. What do their restaurant partners look for these days? “In general, restaurants are looking for a broader range of selection in terms of price, quality, origin, grape variety, and of course, stock consistency,” imparts Ira del Rosario, PWX’s institutional sales manager. “For us at PWX—with the leadership and guidance of our bosses Jojo Madrid and Jaime Jalandoni—we continue to improve our wine portfolio and lobby for better allocations from the winery to provide better selection and service to our partner restaurants. To support their wine program, we organize intimate wine dinners and give their staff a series of wine training.”
While del Rosario explains that they work with the restaurant to curate a balanced wine list based on their menu and personal preferences, they must also be sensitive to their target customers. “Pricing is also crucial. If we want a list to be effective, the wines should be listed at enticing price points, allowing customers to be comfortable selecting a bottle within their budgets,” he says. For Duhesme, though, while a good wine list is a plus, it is not necessarily a deal-breaker. Not for his progressive Filipino concepts, anyway. “If the food is delicious but the cocktails are not, you break the experience of the guest,” he admits. “Wine lists have a wider range of philosophies, I don’t think it should make or break a dining experience. In the grand scheme of things, does a Filipino restaurant really need a wine list? That’s a whole other debate.”
Above Automat’s Disco Bitter Bliss (Photo: Lauren Golangco)
Automat’s Disco Bitter Bliss (Photo: Lauren Golangco)
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For Hapag and Ayà, though, both wines and cocktails play a role in how their food menus are conceptualized. “I’m grateful that chef Nav and chef Thirdy always ask for my input when it comes to their dishes, thereby making a more cohesive food and wine pairing,” Recto explains. “The wine list and cocktails were definitely made with the idea that these are to be paired with Hapag and Ayà’s dishes. Particularly with Hapag’s wine pairing, it was made to enhance the overall dining experience, with the selection chosen to highlight a certain flavour of the dish.”
Perhaps this attention to beverage quality and beverages getting equal billing with food is also brought about by current trends. Del Rosario observed: “People are purchasing and consuming fewer wines, but they are opting for higher-quality options. People are becoming more mindful of their alcohol intake and are more knowledgeable.” This product knowledge is also observed by Recto, who says that from their time in Katipunan when they would go for days without wine pairings, now they have daily requests for them. There is also more demand for other kinds of high-quality drinks that diners like to pair with their food. “Craft beers as food pairings have become more prominent, as are low-ABV cocktails,” says Duhesme. “We’ve evolved in this direction at Metiz and now, Automat.”
Both Del Rosario and Duhesme recognize that natural wines are here to stay. “For me, this is a positive development because it captures the interest of a new demographic which may be younger but is curious and open-minded to the many different approaches to viticulture and winemaking,” admits del Rosario. “It’s important to understand that there are still levels of quality when it comes to making a stable natural wine, and there are winemakers that create energetic yet balanced expressions in their wines such as Frederic Cossard and Michael Cruise.”
With today’s highly competitive market, restaurants need to be abreast with ever-changing customer needs and emerging trends. A young market that enjoys a good drink and is willing to pay more for it is rightfully shifting the attention of restauranteurs to improving their beverage offerings. A good meal should always be a balanced one, and if you should have a drink or two, restaurants are now making sure that they are living up to your high expectations.
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Jaclyn Clemente Koppe is a food and lifestyle writer, as well as a consultant to some of the country’s beloved food and beverage brands. Her passion for food and drink is only surpassed by her devotion to her family, most especially to her soulmate, Pepa the poodle.
