Text and photos by Liana Garcellano
The sheer array was exciting. As twilight fell shortly before September ended, there sat outside the Mercedes-Benz flagship showroom on Edsa in Greenhills six elegant collector cars of the brand that petrolheads would easily recognize: 1967 250 SE W108 SWB; 1968 280SL (Pagoda); 1981 200 W123; 1982 380SL; 1984 W124 Cabriolet (Final Edition); and the 2009 G550 W463 LWB.
The Mercedes-AMG SL 55 4MATIC+, supercharged and aggressive
The GLE 400e Plug-In Hybrid, sophisticated and innovative
Inside the showroom, jaws collectively dropped at the sight of the new GLE 400e Plug-In Hybrid and Mercedes-AMG SL 55 4MATIC+. Truly impressive, even if the German marque has always been synonymous with ultra-luxury, precision engineering and innovative technology.
A Mercedes is a dream car. My aunt who lives in Palo Alto, California drives a classic 2009 E350 four-door sedan. In one of our exchanges on DM, she described it as “really a good reliable car, and worth the price.”
She had previously owned a Mercedes E350, which, she said, saved her life. She recalled bracing for impact because “a stupid van” had abruptly stopped in front of her on Highway 101. “I was driving at 75 mph. If you slam on your brakes, you’d go on a tailspin, and on the lane beside me was a tanker barreling through,” she said. “I started slowing down while pressing on the brakes steadily. It seemed a crash was inevitable. I stepped on the brakes and the car stopped nicely a few inches from the van without swaying!”
Chef Chele González is Mercedes-Benz Philippines’ brand ambassador.
The cars lined outside the showroom were part of a soirée to celebrate Mercedes-Benz’s legacy. Titled “Welcome Home: A Culinary Journey Through 140 Years of Innovation,” the occasion brought together the fields of automotive and culinary arts under one roof represented by the German brand and Chef Jose Luis “Chele” González, respectively, sharing similarities in more ways than one.
‘Innovation,’ a tuna and pâtè roll, was an unlikely but delicious pairing.
The evening began with live saxophone music (Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely?) weaving through the converted showroom, and the service crew walking around offering iced calamansi juice and hors d’oeuvres. There was “Innovation,” or a tuna and pâté roll that would make people who dislike pâté reconsider. “Safety & Comfort” featured crab tartlets, with the flavorful puréed crab wrapped in a crunchy shell. “Technology,” the final appetizer, was abalone salad prepared with precision to balance the tastes of tangy and sweet.
Mercedes-Benz was fêted that night for 140 years of an enduring legacy that began when it introduced the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. It’s the world’s very first patented automobile powered by gasoline and propelled by an internal combustion engine (nationalmotormuseum.org.uk). Guests viewed a short film on Bertha Benz, wife of Mercedes-Benz founder Carl Benz. She test-drove the first car in 1886, and even solved a car problem with her lace garter. (As the film stated, Bertha drove the industry, not just the car.)
After the film showing, June Cajayon, Mercedes-Benz Philippines (MBP) business unit head, talked briefly about how Mercedes-Benz has been reimagining mobility through design, engineering, safety, and the uncompromising pursuit of excellence. He announced new dealerships opening in Alabang and Cebu before the end of the year, with each showroom featuring the Mercedes Architectural Rendition (or MAR 20X), a homey, open layout design reflecting a modern digitalized brand identity.
The other half of the celebration was the introduction of Chele as MBP’s new brand ambassador. A short film underscored the shared traits of Chele and the cars—creativity, commitment to serve only the best, and innovation.
A short film underscored the shared traits of Chele and the cars—creativity, commitment to serve only the best, and innovation
The GLE PHEV is Chele’s model of choice because of its convenience for family use, electric driving capability, sustainability, and the surrounding sound system handcrafted by German manufacturer Burmester Audiosysteme. The sound system is his favorite feature because it’s the finest car audio that only ultra-luxury car brands are fitted with.
Chele hails from Torrelevega in northern Spain, but has been a Philippine resident since 2013. He trained in Bilbao before working in the kitchens of El Bulli, Arzak, Mugaritz, Nerua, and El Celler de Can Roca. In the Philippines, he worked at Shangri-La and Sofitel, handling high-profile banquets and celebrations. He owns and operates Gallery by Chele (Michelin Star- and Green Star-rated), Asador Alfonso (Michelin Star-rated), and Deli by Chele.
Chele went full throttle in interpreting five iconic Mercedes-Benz models into culinary creations through selected ingredients, presentation, and technique. Members of his service platoon—in black and white uniform and black apron—assembled outside the “kitchen” at the opposite end of the parked GLE PHEV and AMG SL 55.
Chele went full throttle in interpreting five iconic Mercedes-Benz models into culinary creations through selected ingredients, presentation, and technique
‘Ignition,’ with the Mercedes-Benz logo, combined the tastes of foie gras, fruit jams, and chocolate.
On cue, they marched in step and brought, first, the amuse-bouche titled “Ignition” to the tables. The foie gras torchon paired with langka, toasted pili nuts, and cacao honored the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, which revolutionized the automotive industry. Carl Benz’s invention of a self-propelled machine with a “compact, horizontal single-cylinder four-stroke engine bolted into a made-for-the-job chassis (autowin.com)” eliminated the need for horses and carriage frame.
As the guests savored the duck liver, the saxophonist went into concert mode until the final course, playing favorites by Spandau Ballet, Alicia Keys, Carole King and James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, and more.
‘Adrenaline’ balanced the scallop’s freshness and ‘calamansi’s’ sourness.
For the second course, Chele translated the AMG SL’s heritage, power, and open-air exhilaration into scallops hibiscus kinilaw, which he called “Adrenaline,” drizzling the Hokkaido scallops with hibiscus-chili dressing and shiso oil, and adding mango and calamansi to it. Some at our table followed the service crew’s suggestion of having the sour bonbon first in one go to wake up the palate before the fresh scallops. The verdict: The balanced sour-sweet taste whetted the appetite for the next course.
Lobster superseded the traditional German ‘maultaschen‘ (dumpling) in ‘The Icon.’
Chele has always broken new ground and set culinary trends (think burnt Basque cheesecake). Transforming the G-Class’ bold, rugged, and timeless character, he changed the maultaschen—traditional savory meat and spinach-filled dumplings from southern Germany—into lobster ravioli maultaschen for the third course called “The Icon.” He substituted the dumpling with ravioli stuffed with lobster and complemented it with butter and caviar, then encircled the filled pasta resting squarely on the plate’s center with currywurst sauce. The taste? It was of comfort and sophistication.
The master’s touch was continued in the penultimate course named “The Sovereign,” which had the luxurious S-Class Maybach as inspiration. The fourth dish was Chele’s take on the popular Filipino adobo. Instead of chicken or pork, he slow-cooked an imported, dressed Bresse pigeon leg that he surrounded with pickled beetroot purée, adobo sauce from the pigeon’s juices, and fondant potatoes.
David Celdran, the celebration’s host
Host David Celdran said of the fourth dish in the five-course meal: “The Sovereign was a dish of vibrant versatility and every bite sweet and sophisticated.”
‘Evolution’ was a dessert of Black Forest with Philippine ingredients.
For the grand finale called “Evolution,” Chele reimagined a classic dessert named after a forest in Stuttgart, the home of Mercedes-Benz, to show the merging of combustion and electric power, tradition, and innovation typified by the GLE 400e PHEV and EQE sedan. He turned the traditional Black Forest into a Davao Chocolate Black Forest, preparing it with streusel, red berry, mango jam, silky coulis, chocolate crunch, and light chocolate-cardamom foam. It came with a shot-glass of The Dalmore single malt whisky.
Said Celdran of the dessert: “Innovation with soul is evolution.”
The celebration was extraordinary, with guests enjoying the seamless intersection of automotive innovation and contemporary gastronomy, accompanied by lovely jazz music. Chele had one more trick up his sleeve before ending the night. He gifted each guest with a box of his popular burnt Basque cheesecake, a dessert he and wife Teri Echiverri had created.
Clearly, Chele’s partnership with the luxury brand epitomizes excellence that never stands still.
Visit the Mercedes-Benz showrooms and test drive their line-up: Greenhills, 1008 Edsa, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, tel. no. 8784-5000; Alabang, Alabang-Zapote Road, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City, tel. no. 8553-6334; and Cebu, tel. no. (0921) 935-8574
