FROM THE LAND TO YOUR PLATE: LOUIE GUTIERREZ X CARLOS TIGAS

It's a food concept, nay a movement that traces the journey of food — from the land, where it was grown, to your plate; from the soil to your soul. It's more than a trend — it's a burning commitment to the community, the environment, and to agriculture sustainability.

- CHING M. ALANO

Urban Farmers PH and Project Vino Reserve have teamed up to give us a fresh taste of that farm-to-table experience. Imagine assorted produce picked fresh from a nearby farm (no need to travel far), or sourced directly from a farmer, and then thoughtfully made into the most delicious, nutritious dishes in the posh kitchen of Project Vino Reserve at the Proscenium in Rockwell, Makati.

Trust Carlos Tigas, the young, innovative head chef of Project Vino Reserve, to come up with the freshest, palate-tickling ideas just for this limited offering that runs until Oct. 31.

THINK — AND EAT — GREEN

Start off with Grilled Greens with Burnt Onion Cream — a dazzling medley of grilled romaine hearts, burnt onion cream (from onion skin), tomato confit, crispy Talilom leaves (good for heart health), charred eggplant, and finished with extra virgin olive oil. So pristine fresh there's nary a leaf left in our salad after wiping it clean of its robust onion dressing. Truly, in onion, there is strength.

The second course consists of Roasted Vegetables Flatbread, or what I'd call a rectangular pizza carefully sliced into eight pieces. The crusty flatbread is layered with rich pomodoro sauce and a happy mix of slow-cooked vegetable confit — eggplant, onions, tomato, zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms and olives — generously topped with alfalfa sprouts for that earthy, crispy bite.