SWITZERLAND
Savoring Filipino Delicacies at the Bern Fernweh Festival Text & images by Monette Bichsel
M
ultiple chatters in Tagalog, punctuated with highpitched laughter, bounced off the high-vaulted ceiling that gives Zum Äusseren Stand its distinct regal air. The smell of grilled adobo wafted through the courtyard walls, signaling that my friend, tita Susan, and I had finally arrived at the Philippine venue at the 2021 Fernweh Festival in Bern. With the cooperation of Filipino owned businesses in Switzerland, the Philippine Embassy Bern delivered its promise of transporting visitors to the Philippines by awakening all five senses. I was drawn, particularly, to
taste and smell as one is drawn to halo-halo on a hot, summer day. The warmest welcome only Pinoys could give greeted me at every booth, followed by a sampler of taste from home. PhilMango’s carabao mangoes from Davao lived up to its reputation as one of the world’s sweetest. The Pinoy ambrosia was shared by the proprietor, Maria Kristina Stalder, the youngest Swiss-Filipina importer. Not only that, it seemed that majority of the participants in the festival who use mango in their dishes source their ingredient from the newly established brand. (https://www.facebook.com/philmangoph) Deinalpkaese, an offshoot of Mondalp by siblings Lloyd and Aileen Zumstein, offered a taste of their Cheesus line of products. It is the first alpine cheese produced in mobile cheese dairy that aims to save milk that is otherwise thrown out because of accessibility and transport challenges. A special sort using mangoes from PhilMango was created specifically for the Fernweh Festival. (https://www.deinalpkaese.ch/) Sagana’s Cattleya Romero-Faude’s warmth is as comforting as the spoon-
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