FIESTA DE MOLDERO #9

9

Un Viaje de Amor
A Journey of Love
12 • 22 • 2021

Almeria

Sagada Kalinga
Baguio Bontoc

Fiesta de Moldero

Few people today outside his clan and knowledgeable local coffee
aficionados know of Manuel Moldero’s legacy, which had been

well-known to older generations of Cordillerans. This feast celebrates
the life and loves of the man, and his rightful place in the history
of the Philippine coffee industry.

Fiesta de Moldero is carefully created and prepared by the Casa Buenas
team to honor Moldero’s legacy with a banquet that seamlessly

blends the culinary cultures of Spain, his birthplace; and the Uplands
of Northern Philippines, his adopted home. The feast features
elevated dishes that preserve their traditional roots,
while following Moldero’s journey of love.

This feast for the senses is made richer by an elegant tablescape
designed and created by Tati Miranda Fortuna—a direct descendant

of Moldero—together with Resorts World Manila’s
Angelo Tibudan. The design uses traditional Filipino fabric beautifully
hand-embroidered by “burderos” of Lumban, Laguna, giving new life

to old fabric stock from Tesoros through artistic repurposing.

Fiesta de Moldero is not just a celebration of one man’s life,
but of life itself. We invite discerning lovers of food and history

to enjoy the full experience while dressed in the finery
of traditional Filipino attire.



Don Manuel Moldero

Passion for adventure brought a young, intrepid Spanish soldier
to the mountainous northern region of the Philippines more than
a century ago. Love for the place, its rich culture, and a native woman
made him stay. Today, his passion and love linger on, not just through
his bloodline, but through a distinctive legacy: the Sagada coffee

that he planted and has gained recognition as being one
of the best in the world.

Manuel Moldero y Fernandez was born in Almeria
on the coast of Andalucia, Spain in 1858. As a young medical student,
he left his motherland and sought adventure in the Philippine islands

in the early 1880s, joining the Spanish army in the colony.
In 1892, the year after the establishment of Quiangan as
comandancia-politico-militar for Ifugao, Moldero, then a Sergeant,
was sent to Sagada in order to establish a small detachment in the area.
This was the beginning of his love affair with the place and people

that he would come to embrace as his own.

Imas

Love at First Bite

Moldero fell in love with the picturesque Uplands,
its pleasant climate and friendly people. He had to
return to Spain for a time, but he stayed there for only
a year, eager to go back to the Philippines and resume
his life among the people that he had come to love.
He left the Spanish Army in 1895 to pursue another passion:
coffee. This was already being grown in the Uplands,
most likely from seedlings brought by Spanish missionaries.
Moldero established a coffee plantation in Sagada,
on a 100-hectare homestead in Batalao. This was

the beginning of large-scale coffee cultivation
in the Cordilleras.

Baguio Ube Lavosh

Start your journey with thin and crunchy cracker bread
made from Baguio Ube, sprinkled with crispy organic
Kalinga black rice, and served with sweet coconut jam.

Dinakdakan

An elevated version of the traditional Ilocano
meat dish of chopped, boiled, and grilled mixed pork parts,

garnished with fresh vegetables and paired with “Etag,”
the Upland version of Spanish Jamon, served with Sparkling Tapuy.

Pinilipit

In Coconut Milk
A surprise take on “susong pilipit” or river snails,
picked from their shells and cooked in coconut milk

with aromatics, jackfruit and mixed greens.
Consommé

Flavorful clear broth from the “pilipit” snails,
enhanced with vegetables from the Uplands.

Pinagtimpuyog
nga Ayat

A Love that Binds

He went on to visit many other places in the region,
including Bontoc, where he found love in an Igorot woman,
Diega Sales, whom he married and started a family with in

the early 1900s. Moldero eventually left his first coffee
plantation to the care of Masferre, a fellow former soldier,

as he sought new places to cultivate his beloved beans.
He took his family to Baguio and Benguet in the 1900s
to establish a new plantation. In the 1920s, he relocated
to Kalinga to grow his coffee in the village of Tuga in Tabuk.
He did not return to his homeland, choosing instead to live
and die in his adopted home. He died on March 30, 1929
and was buried in the public cemetery of Lubuagan.

The cemetery eventually closed down,
and his grandchildren, led by

Dr. Amelia Moldero Belandres-Miranda,
took pains to search for his remains, which were

reinterred in the San Agustin Church
in Manila in 2016.

Cochinillo de Buenas

Only the choicest organic, free-range pot-bellied pig crossbred with native
wild boar, raised in limited numbers and fed mainly with pineapple

and fresh vegetables. This is roasted in the Casa Buenas signature style
to make it even crispier than traditional Cochinillo.

Estofado de Fundador

Based on a traditional recipe of the Moldero family,
made using free-range, naturally-fed, hormone and steroid-free

Bounty Fresh chicken. It is slow-cooked in a “palayok”
or clay pot in a gravy of soy sauce and Ilocos sugarcane vinegar or "Basi."

Served flambéed using the multi-awarded Fundador Supremo 18.

Red Rice Carne Paella

The traditional Spanish Paella made using heirloom Upland red rice,
mixed with savory meats and topped with artisanal Baguio Longanisa.

La Fresca

To cleanse the palate after
any of these courses,
you may ask for our special
mocktail made with seasonal
fruits and vegetables.

Ayat Ken Labes

Love and Beyond

Moldero’s story did not end with his death.
The coffee trees he originally grew in Sagada
were replanted and cared for by an heir of Masferre,
whose name has consequently become strongly
associated with coffee cultivation in the area. In 2012,
coffee entrepreneur Rich Watanabe partnered with a
local grower, the late Goad Sibayan, to propagate and
produce coffee from the seedlings found on the slopes
of the original Moldero plantation. Their SGD Coffee
from the Moldero heirloom trees won the Gourmet
Medals in 2017 (Puissant Amer Category) and 2019
(Rond Equilibre Category), in the International

Contest of Locally Roasted Coffees by
the Agency for the Valorization of
Agricultural Products (AVPA).

Moldero's Chocolate Cake

Davao Tablea Chocolate Sponge Cake infused with Moldero’s Coffee,
served with Lychee Flan and Coffee Sorbet made from

the same heirloom beans, served with Moldero Coffee Tapuy.

Mignardise

A must-experience surprise to close a remarkable meal,
putting an inventive take on an old Cordillera tradition.

Served with Tapuy de Oporto.

Moldero's Coffee Blend

And of course, what better way to end a journey than with a
cup of coffee made from Moldero’s heirloom Arabica beans,

grown in the idyllic Cordilleras.

Melibrew
TAPUY
Casa Buenas' very own version of traditional Banaue rice wine,
brewed in small batches using Upland rice.



Marca de Moldero
Seal of Moldero’s Love

Moldero is an old lineage of Castilian origin, with a branch in the town
of Torquemada (Palencia). The name derives from the old trade
of “moldero,” which means “printer.” The family has its roots
in Granada and went on to America, founding new families
in Argentina, Brazil, the United States, and the Philippine Islands.
The Moldero lineage in the Philippines has branches
in Moldero (Isabela) and Sagada (La Montaña).

With his family’s coat of arms, described in the Coat of Arms
Report of the Hispanic Community of Don Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent,

Chronicler and King of Arms, awarded by Archivo
Genealogico de Gritos de Madrid, Don Moldero’s heritage

is proudly enshrined in Filipino culture.

This is Moldero’s seal of love, an enduring symbol of his
commitment to the land he loved.

Cocineros y Viajeros

This journey of rich flavors and an even richer
history was carefully created and prepared by the
Casa Buenas team, led by Chef Godfrey Laforteza—
a team of exemplary culinary professionals whose
knowledge and skills have been enriched by their
own journeys across the Philippines and the world.

The challenge of crafting every detail of this
experience was made easier, and indeed,

more inspiring and enlightening, by working closely
with the direct descendants of Manuel Moldero
to honor not just the legacy of the man himself,
but also the traditions of the two cultures
that he loved.

We hope you enjoy this experience,
just as we have enjoyed bringing it to you.

Agyamanak!



Ground Floor Newport Grand Wing,
Portwood Street, Newport City
[email protected]

+63 (2) 7908-8000 loc. 21198 • +63 917-878 8312

#FiestaDeMolderoAtCasaBuenas