ONGOING at all Metro Supermarket branches until April 6, 2014, is Market Australia, a three-week food and beverage festival highlighting the quality, range and diversity of Australian products.
A partnership between the Australian Embassy, headed by Ambassador Bill Tweddell, through Austrade, led by Austrade senior trade commissioner Anthony Weymouth, and the Metro Retail Stores Group, Market Australia puts to the fore Australia’s wide range of food and beverage products, including wines, fruit juices, cheeses and yogurt, premium beef and lamb, prime deli selections, fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits like apricots and cranberries, biscuits and other ready-to-eat snacks, canned goods, pasta, bottled sauces, oats, cake and muffin mixes, and confections.
Market Australia gives shoppers in Manila an opportunity to get to know more about Australian food and beverage products and to actually taste them. In-store educational product boards have also been installed in the display areas of various Australian products, such as cheeses and wines, to give more information about the featured products, how best to enjoy them and what benefits they can get from them.
During the launch of Market Australia held at the Metro Supermarket in Alabang Town Center, Muntinlupa City, Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell stressed that Australian products are of high quality because they’re Clean, Green and Safe.
“Australian food and beverages are ‘Clean’ because, in Australia, we have a pristine growing environment for our livestock and produce. A clean environment ensures that only the freshest and best quality products are produced. They’re ‘Green’ because Australian companies utilize growing and production processes that are environmentally friendly and sustainable. They’re ‘Safe’ because Australia’s food production processes have high levels of regulatory supervision and strict quality standards. We have food safety management and traceability systems in place,” explains Ambassador Tweddell, who did the honors of cutting the ceremonial ribbon during the formal opening rites.
He shared ribbon-cutting chores with Trade Commissioner Weymouth as well as Metro Retail Stores Group chairman and CEO Frank Gaisano and president and COO Eduardo Ponce. The four of them also presided over a mini press conference held in the Market Australia display area for fresh produce and wines inside Metro Supermarket a few minutes before the formal opening.
After the ribbon-cutting rites came the food and wine tasting. On the buffet spread were platters of cheese with walnuts and crackers, Sweet Chili Tenders, Chicken Dinosnacks, Southern Style Burgers, Salt and Pepper Fingers, Mini Garlic Kievs, Spicy Hot Tenders, and Yellow Couscous with Grilled Sausage, all prepared by Zuni, and washed down with Harvey Fresh fruit juices, Bundaberg Sarsaparilla, and Hardys and Seahorse wines. Zuni also passed around some Marinated Australian Meltique Striploin Skewers, Australian Meltique Steak Crostinis, Crostinis with Jarcroix Cream Cheese Sweet Chili and Primo Danish Salami Bevel Cut, Australian Lamb Kebabs, and Australian Lamb Koftas.
Also being sampled in booths were Australian yogurt and Arnott’s biscuits to give both guests and shoppers a taste of Australian food and beverage products.
Market Australia runs until April 6, 2014, in Metro Supermarket branches located in Market Market in Taguig, Alabang Town Center in Muntinlupa City, Marquee Mall in Pampanga, Lucky Chinatown in Binondo, Ayala Center in Cebu, and Super Metro at The District Northpoint in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.
