Laguna: Paete Chef Culinary Arts Festival Ice And Vegetable Carving Competition

Paete's townsfolk re-invented themselves from wood carvers to carving butter, vegetables, chocolate, and ice years ago due to the dearth of wood to support the industry, fueled by the growing demand for kitchen artists and chefs by hotels and restaurants here and abroad.

It is by this reason there's a Paetenian in (almost) every hotel and restaurant in the Philippines working as kitchen artists. (wonder why paetenians have yet to discover food styling as a profession very close to vegetable carving)

Every 24th of July, a day before the town fiesta in honor of St. James the Apostle, Paetenians (or Paeteños) hold the annual Culinary Arts Festival: a competition of vegetable carving, ice and bar tending at the town plaza.

Vegetable Carving Competition at 10am July 24, Paete town plaza


Recognized this gifted lad as Tutubi's nephew :)

birds from pineapple, onions, cucumber, grapes, oranges, carrots et alii
a flower carved from a bell pepper

Ice Carving Competition at 1pm





Tools of the trade: saws, ice clamps, pang-ukit (chisels) of various kinds: paet (straight-edged chisel from where Paete town got its name), landay (slightly arched chisel), lukob (arched or U-shaped chisel), tres pico (V-shaped chisel). (Yes, the word paet is actually a kind of chisel and not the generic word for it. Tutubi knows how to hold, use and sharpen one but is not adept at it)



After almost an hour of chipping away the block of ice, the blocks of ice morphed into different works of ice-cold art that'll melt away in a few minutes



An ice sculpture made from several blocks of ice joined together (in physics, this process is called ice sintering) to create the larger block required for the ice structure. This is not an entry in the competition as it's sculpted by professionals. Notice also the Emperador bottles, one of the sponsors of this annual event.


The red and white canopy provided some relief from the heat of the searing sun and acted as diffuser from the harsh lighting available.




The winners of the contest were awarded trophies and training/employment opportunities in some Manila hotels.

Wasn't able to take pictures of the bartending contest held later. Went instead to Kape Kesada, Wawa Park and nearby Exotikk Restaurant.

The 2006 edition of Ice Age in Paete is availablehere

Pictures taken using Canon EOS 300D either with the super kit lens or the nifty fifty

If ever any of the readers is looking for an ice carver for weddings and other events, just drop a comment and Tutubi may be able to find someone to render the service for you.