February 2023 was a month of elegant celebrations for Raffles Makati, which marked its milestone 10th anniversary with an exclusive commemoration held at its fine dining Mirèio restaurant.
The special, intimate evening was attended by executives of Ayala Corp., led by its chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, special advisor Fernando Zobel de Ayala, and other high-profile guests.
Dubbed as Affaires Artistiques, the Raffles Makati’s 10th anniversary was a showcase of various forms of art – from visual, to performing, and most especially culinary arts. Over the years, Raffles Makati has been known to be a strong supporter of the arts. In its various forms, it has played an important component in the legacy of Raffles properties the world over.
For the visual arts and one of the evening’s highlights, up-and-coming Impressionist painter Joemarie Sanclaria graced the event to capture and immortalize the special celebration with his live painting artistry.
The vivid Impressionist painting features the event’s opening ceremony, as cluster general manager Bernd Schneider acknowledged the guests at Mirèio, the hotel’s elegant signature restaurant, with Makati City’s dramatic skyline sunset as the backdrop. The masterpiece is reminiscent of visual arts greatness of 1887, which was the height of Impressionism art movement and coincidentally was also the birth year of the first Raffles Hotel in Singapore.
Performing arts was represented in the celebration by Quatro, a “classic pop crossover” group of four talented young tenors and baritones who delighted the guests with a repertoire that ranged from familiar jazz standards to contemporary classics. The group of four wowed the audience with deep vocals, charisma and talent. During the cocktails and in between dinner courses, guests were treated to a soothing string of music by a duo of skilled violinist and cellist.
The main highlight of the event was the gastronomic masterpiece of the four-course dinner created especially for the evening by Raffles Makati executive chef Bela Rieck perfectly matched with choice wine pairings. Culinary artistry was in fine form and in full display in each of the beautifully crafted dishes, which were inspired by one of the pieces in the “Harana” series by Anthony Palomo, an iconic assembly of paintings seen in The Writers Bar at Raffles Makati. Taking his cue from a piece in the aforementioned painting series depicting a man making music with a reed of grass, the exquisite menu incorporated a leaf element into each course, from appetizer to dessert.
Incidentally, February is also branded as the National Arts Month in the Philippines. Affaires Artistiques – Raffles Makati 10th anniversary was indeed a very timely and memorable event.