GMA: White House Executive Chef Calls Filipino Cuisine “Fusion”

White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford who brings her Filipina influence to the White House kitchen describes the cuisine of her people as basically a “fusion” of cultures, according to GMA

Comerford was part of a panel called “The Gourmet Intersections: Asian-Latino Fusion Food Crossings” put on by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Smithsonian Latino Center.

“Adobo is actually native to the Philippines but it is very akin to the Spaniards’ ‘adobo’ which is made with olive oil, garlic and marjoram,” she explained. “So when the Spaniards saw it, they liked it, and when the Chinese came, they liked it for its soy sauce.”

The way she sees it, both cultures benefit with the real winner being our  taste buds.

Comerford points out the ‘empanaditas’ is a big part of Spanish Cuisine and escabeche’ come from the ceviche from Central America.

Also appearing on the panel was Iron Chef America judge Trevor Corson.

You can read more about the fusion of Asian-Latino cooking in GMA