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Youthful Ramon Bilbao in his heyday
We all loved and enjoyed being with Ramon Bilbao. Every time he would visit from Paris, schedules were re-arranged so that he could join our eating gang. It was never a dull moment as he shared loads of experiences and amusing stories that we would end up with stomach aches from laughing the hours away. Though he had some health issues, we thought his health would improve. However, it was not meant to be as he suddenly passed away in France.
To commemorate his life, Mass was officiated at the Colegio San Agustin in Makati by Fr. Julian Mazana, and lunch of Ramon’s Manila gang followed in Lucille Carlos’ home with a Spanish-themed menu.
Many of his friends paid homage to the bon vivant:
Lulu Tan Gan: Ramon was a remarkable soul, full of energy and generosity. Being with him meant keeping pace — not just physically, but mentally — to absorb his wealth of knowledge about people and places. Fashion was a shared passion, especially with his background as a young Manila designer and his in-depth knowledge of style. My visits to Paris will be far less vibrant without him.
A memorial Mass to celebrate Ramon Bilbao’s life was officiated by Fr. Julian Mazana.
Gina Aboitiz: What I remember the most about Ramon is he would call me, “Hoy Gina, ano ka ba … am I shocking your virgin ears?” Every time he would make cuento, he would see the shock on my face... actually many times he embellished the stories just for shock value so he could tease me about my virgin ears.
Bettina Osmeña: Ramon was a one-of-a-kind character. He was very learned without being a showoff and laughed at himself when he made a faux pas. I will truly miss my good moments with him. He was very generous, too. During my last visit to Paris, he treated my daughters and me to Cafe de Flore because he wanted them to have a good time though he was already unwell.
Eduard Garcia, Paris: Cher Ramon will be sorely missed by moi. He was one of my dearest friends and one of my joys being in Paris, the city that I treasure. Forever mischievous, he was a walking encyclopedia of Philippine high society.
Minnie Cagatao Lawrie, Peching Gomez, Charito Aguilar, Monina Lacson, Jojo Zabarte, Genny Baltao, Lanie Aquino, Ping Valencia, Frannie Jacinto and Ramon Bilbao during a 2017 Karilagan gathering
A degustation lunch for chocolate lovers
With over 350 chocolate recipes and 90 gelato flavors, Venchi is known worldwide and the degustation lunch they prepared at M’s Dining + Bar for a select group of foodies ensured that every dish would have a taste of their premium brand with six chocolate pairings.
Interestingly, the mix of Philippine flavors and textures proved to be a successful blend with the manggang hilaw and fresh bagoong alamang combined with the Vechi’s Chocoviar Arancia (orange) being one of the top favorites.
MJ Tantoco, Michelle Tan, and Ana de Ocampo cool off with Venchi gelato.
The charming Giovanni Battista (GB) Mantelli, Venchi co-founder and brand ambassador, enthusiastically explained all six of the chocolate pairings with various cocktails by Don Papa Rhum. Fueled by a deep passion for chocolate and a relentless vigor to experiment, we learned that one of Venchi’s best-selling items, the Chocoviar, a combination of dark chocolate that Giovanni experimented with as a teenager, is now one of the company’s best-sellers worldwide.
Venchi Chocogelateria boutiques are located in Central Square BGC and The Podium.
