Celebrity chef Segismundo presents Flavours of the Philippines in Sydney

By Marilie Bomediano
Sydney-Australia
August 7, 2016



Sydney: The Philippine Department of Tourism, Philippine Airlines (PAL) and the Grace Hotel Sydney once again proudly celebrated  The Flavours of the Philippines on  its 10^th Anniversary for two weeks that commenced last  July 28, at the heritage hotel’s Grace Brasserie.



“The Flavours of the Philippines Food Festival is a celebration of the strengthening relations between Australia and the Philippines which has continued for the past 7 years, DOT Attaché Norjamin Delos Reyes said

Australia is currently the Philippines’ fifth largest market source with a total of 241, 187 arrivals from January to December 2015. We hope that Australians enjoy the very best of the Philippines’ culinary delights over the next two weeks.


Events like this help celebrate the growing bonds between our two countries”, DOT Attaché Ms. Delos Reyes added.

Celebrity chef-author and restauranteur Myrna Dizon Segismundo,  a UP Dilliman  Batangueña alumna in Bachelor of Science in Hotel Restaurant and Administration  has  internationally served as an ambassador for the traditional Philippine cuisine alongside  with other three chefs.

Chef Myrna Segismundo looks up on restauranteur-chef Glenda Barreto of the Via Mare chain! Segismundo and her team uses no MSG in their cooking.

Chef Anne San Diego who  specializes in continental and Asian Cuisine, equipped in advertising by  Mayknoll College, Manila  and culinary trainings from Peter Kump’s Culinary School of New York and Thai Cooking School of Bangkok Thailand.

Chef Mariano  Catamin Jr. is the current Chef de Partie of Restaurant 9501, the exclusive corporate dining of ABS-CBN, the largest broadcasting network in the Philippines, where he was always invited to assist Chef Segismundo to hold promotions and cooking demos around the Philippines alongside with  colleague Chef Raul Ramos, who also received countless accolades from international gourmet societies like Chaine de Rotisseurs and International Wine and Food Society.

Looking back, chef  Segismundo recently retired from the exclusive executive unique corporate dining of  the Lopez family’s ABS-CBN Corporation, now works out of her private kitchen studio called New Manila where she does consultancy and recipe development.
She was managing director of Restaurant 9501, the exclusive executive dining restaurant of ABS-CBN Corporation, the biggest broadcast network in the Philippines, and the Sign of the Anvil Restaurant of the former PCIBANK Head office, now Banco de Oro. These multi-awarded corporate dining restaurants specialize in both Filipino and International Cuisines.
She was also a  part of  the ABS-CBN TV media network on her culinary travel show advocacy as she explains:
"My latest experience is in corporate dining, it is a unique operation and that there is no cuisine or style of cooking that defines it”, celebrity chef Myrna Segismundo said

Segismundo’s work has led her to become the editor-in-chief of a culinary monthly magazine called Foodie.  She was also host of 2 cooking shows, Chef TV – The Foodshow, and Foodie Cooking Show, and is presently host of a culinary travel show entitled Fork in the Road on ABS-CBN’s Lifestyle Network. 

She has 2 books to her name: The Party Cookbookand her second book, Philippine Cuisine, home-cooked recipes wherever you may be.   Myrna is one of the 6 participating chef authors of “Kulinarya:  A Guide to Philippine Cooking,” a new book/manual supported by the Philippine Department of Tourism that aims to promote Filipino cuisine.

Her professional experiences also include work stints in hotels in the Philippines and overseas (Waldorf Astoria Hotel, St. Moritz Hotel on-the-Park, Sheraton Centre Hotel, all in NYC; Manila Hilton International in the Philippines).

She has also served in various capacities in the board of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines (HRAP), is often invited to guest in TV talk shows and regularly invited as culinary judge and lecturer/speaker. 

She is the organizer/chair of The National Food Showdown, an annual culinary competitionin the Philippines that aims to elevate the culinary skills of chefs and students in the hospitality trade.  She was also Chairman of Chefs on Parade of the HRAP. 

She is a founding member of the International Wine and Food Society (Manila Ladies Branch).  She was also a member of the Chaine de Rotisseurs with the rank of Maitre d’ Hotel.

She advocates the preservation of traditional Filipino cooking and has spread the flavors of her country’s cuisine through yearly food festivals in 5-star hotels both in the Philippines and abroad, as well as through her research, her writings and her support of organizations that have the same goal.  Segismundo constantly experiments with ways to improve preparation techniques and presentation so that Filipino cuisine can gain the international attention it deserves.

She has held Filipino Food Festivals in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Japan, India, Israel, Canada, Australia and the U.S.A.   She is part of the Philippine Airlines’ Pinoy Chef Brigade Program which aims to promote Philippine cuisine.

Trip to Palawan  with Philippine Airlines (The Heart of the Filipino) as the major prize for the diners is exciting fun, don’t you think? so……. join now!

For more information and buffet times & prices please visit our website www.gracehotel.com.au or call the Grace  Brasserie on 9272 6670 .