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More than a decade ago—on May 18, 1994; February 22, 1995; March 20, 1996; and March 18, 1997—Les Toque Blanche, Philippines held its first, second, third and fourth LTB Golf Classics in annual succession. The first two were held at the Manila Southwoods, the third at the Arnold Palmer at the Orchard in Cavite, while the last took place at the Tagaytay Highlands Golf and Country Club.
In the early part of 1997, the success of these predecessors spawned a “menu” by particularly eager chefs (led by propagators Werner Berger, Othmar Frei and other members and culinary colleagues of Les Toques Blanche, Philippines) to bring about a genuine get-together of culinary professionals from all over Southeast Asia. The idea, of course, was to break the mold—not with a conventional congress or culinary event, but with a relaxing and disarming sports event interspersed, seamlessly, with culinary indulgence.
This, the Southeast Asian Chefs (SEAC) Golf Tournament was born.
The first SEAC Golf Tournament was held on January 19-20th, 1998. It was to be the seed of today’s spectacular showcase, and it unfolded at the Tagaytay Highlands Golf & Country Club and at Evercrest Batulao. Two groups—the Culinary and Sponsorships teams—were formed; and this format still applies today. The Awarding Ceremonies for that year were held at the Gold Ranch Steak House.
This second edition of SEAC could already be recognized as a reasonable facsimile of what now transpires every two years. Both rounds of golf were held, alternatively, at the two courses of the Riviera Golf and Country Club in Silang, Cavite; the Fred Couples and the Bernard Langer. Undoubtedly, the highlight of this second edition was the night in between the two rounds of golf, an outrageously fun-filled party at the Xanadu Discotheque at the Tagaytay Highlands. It was a costumed event where the likes of Foie Dunaway and Bridgitte Bar Goat vied for the First Gravy Awards of 2000.
 Two years ago, attendance reached an impressive 112 Executive Chefs, restaurateurs, F&B Managers, Country Ambassadors, and dozens of Philippine-based and local business executives. Participants came to include not only those from Asia, the Middle East and Europe, but also from as far as the USA and Trinidad & Tobago. By then, the reputation of the tournament had reached such proportions that almost 20 non-golfing participants came for the sheer fun, frolic, and revelry of the burgeoning phenomenon.
This time, the guests were all billeted at the Mandarin Oriental Manila, whose Ballroom became the venue for the Awarding Ceremonies on the final night of the tournament. The evening was punctuated by the surprise appearance of Willy Nepomuceno, a nationally-renowned singer, comedian, actor and impersonator extraordinaire, who did a deft rendition of former Philippine President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, among a slew of other characters.
Staged last January 11-13, 2004, this extravaganza was such a hit that early on, there were already sponsors lining up for the next tournament in 2006. Over 120 golfing chefs and culinary personalities from over 20 plus different countries got together in the Philippines for 36 holes of golf in a competitive, yet fun two-day and three-night gathering.
In between the two days of golf was a delectable dinner at Le Soufflé in Fort Bonifacio, and, of course the entire celebration and gauntlet of activities climaxed on the final evening at Mandarin Oriental, Manila, where all participants had been billeted.
The famed chameleon/comedian Willie Nepomuceno made his second side-splitting appearance at the SEAC Golf Tournament, this time, as emcee as well. It was a breathtaking evening of non-stop entertainment, laughter, fabulous food and a solid rejuvenation of that much-needed camaraderie between colleagues.
Whew! At the fifth SEAC Golf Tournament in 2006, we definitely reached our summit! Total golfer participation reached an all-time high of 144, and total number of delegates reached 160—25 different nationalities and 20-different country-bases. And as confirmed by SEAC Chairman Werner Berger, we are now bigger than the Philippine Open. But more importantly, we were all witness to the fact that the SEAC golfers have reached their apex in their passion for golf as they relentlessly braved the sudden strong winds and non-stop rain spells throughout the day at the Mt. Malarayat Golf & Country Club.
The exhaustion at the end of the first golfing day was well-rewarded with a comical welcome by cute dwarf golfers and mime artists at the Le Souffle Fort, where a very unique Filipino-inspired four-course dinner was created especially for SEAC. The Bloomfields’ hyper rendition of The Beatles songs and the anarchic “Great Balls of Fire” set golfers in a contagious frenzy they almost didn't want to stop!
The SEAC event culminated at the Mandarin Ballroom where the Awarding Ceremonies were held. Entertainment moved on to the relaxing classics and ballads of The Platters with a splendid solo performance by Bobby Soul. The audience reminisced with hit songs like “The Great Pretender” and “Only You”. The heart-pumping mood was brought back by sizzling dance numbers by the Joules Cabaret Dancers, and a hilarious show and lively music by international artist Salvo!
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