Twelve men and women from different parts of the world are set to battle it out in the Philippines for the third season of “The Amazing Food Challenge: Fun in the Philippines.”
Produced by Asian Food Channel (AFC) in collaboration with the Department of Tourism and the Tourism Promotions Board, the culinary competition features contestants in a series of rigorous cooking and physical challenges set against the breathtakingly diverse Philippine landscape—from Unesco world heritage sites to the country’s seafood capital and a select list of natural attractions.
The new 13-episode television series also displays the mental and physical toughness of each contestant—from paddling through rough waters to crab fishing, harvesting ingredients for a cooking challenge, and recreating fiesta dishes for up to 50 hungry townspeople.
Only one contestant will win the third season’s prize of $30,000 and an all-expense-paid trip around the Philippines.
The challengers, who were chosen after a string of auditions and prescreening tests, come from different backgrounds— home cooks, a banker, an interior designer, a culinary student or, simply, foodies trying their hand at cooking before a mass audience.
They are Hanson Wong (Indonesia), Swee Lim (Singapore), Fauzan Ruslan (Malaysia), Kenton Wu (United Kingdom), Callie Roberts (France), Tri Phan (Vietnam), Clayton Klyne (Canada), Marilyn White (New Zealand), Jareuk Sriaroon (Thailand), Johnson Lo (Hong Kong), Chloe Chee (Malaysia) and Yee Mon Thu (Myanmar).
One big family
British celebrity chef Aaron Craze hosts the third season of the reality-TV cooking challenge. He went around the countryside from day 1 of the season taping.
“I didn’t want to leave the Philippines anymore,” said Craze during the AFC press conference at Culinary On, One Raffles Place, Singapore, a few weeks ago. “I wanted to stay, especially in the last region that we went to. I was absolutely blown away by the food. I was also looked after so well by everybody. It was one big family.”
Craze was referring to the panga ng tuna (yellowfin tuna jaw) he ate in Roxas City. The fresh catch was marinated in garlic and toasted in butter, then grilled and served with sweet vinegar and chilies.
“In terms of presenting food shows, I’ve never been in a show something like this,” Craze added. “A lot of times, it’s studio-based. Here, it’s like we are in a band, moving from one place to another and sleeping at the airport. We didn’t know what to expect in the next few places. But, I’d get goosebumps whenever we would stop and see the breathtaking views.”
Craze, who’s also judging with Filipino celebrity chefs Fernando Aracama and Rob Pengson, admitted that he developed close friendships with the challengers as the days went by.
“You eat together every day and travel on the coach for nine long hours,” he recounted. “You start to get close with these people and then, all of a sudden, elimination time. You make decisions as to who goes home. It’s like a puppy looking at you when it’s cold outside and they look at your eyes. I always tell them, ‘Hey, look, it’s a competition. It’s a show and you know that. Enjoy every single day, because it could be your last. You just enjoy.’”
Criteria
The contestants traveled from region to region, with all kinds of challenges thrown at them. But the overall criteria remained the flavor and quality of their cooking.
They were shown dishes prepared by traditional cooks from a specific region. They were allowed to taste and analyze the dishes, but only briefly.
Then, under a strict time limit, they had to do the marketing themselves at a local talipapa to recreate the dish.
For instance, in one destination, they had to consult with the local tribal council to ensure that their assigned dish was done in a way that would avoid diluting the local cuisine. The contestants’ food had to be as authentic as it could get.
“Even us, the judges, had to taste the authentic dish and base our judging on that,” said Aracama, who demonstrated Yellow Fin Tuna Kinilaw before a group of media during the launching in Singapore. “You can imagine how stressful it was for the challengers, as these dishes were foreign to their eyes and palate.”
Pengson added: “Actually, the criteria would change almost on a daily basis. Sometimes, for two straight days, the criteria would be the same, but on the third day, when everything was already planned by the challengers, the criteria would change.”
Aracama said a minimum of 50 percent always went to the flavor, which had to be well-seasoned and consistent.
“We had to remind them many, many times to season their food properly,” Aracama pointed out.
Mentoring
In a way, the judges were also mentoring the contestants on how to do things the proper way.
“We reminded them about sanitation and hygiene,” said Aracama. “We hated seeing waste. We didn’t like it when they were not handling food properly. We had to be tough in telling them, ‘Guys, we are taking off points from you because you are throwing away a perfectly good vegetable. If you don’t need it, set it aside. Don’t throw it in the trash. You have to respect the ingredients to respect the food.”
He added: “Some ingredients might have been unfamiliar to some, but others recognized them right away. Some would say, ‘Oh, we’ve used that’ or ‘We grow that in the backyard, but it’s called something else.’ So there was an exchange of information and exchange of learning as well.”
Pengson and Aracama noted that they made a conscious effort to introduce Filipino cuisine to the foreign contestants.
“Apart from being the judges, we were also playing hosts,” said Aracama. “We were here to make sure they understood what they had to do and appreciated the cuisine that we were trying to teach them to cook. It would have to come from us why we do what we do. This is our expertise as Filipino chefs. These people took it all in and, even with all that pressure, they still managed to produce dishes within the minimum time given them.”
Pengson said: “It’s an eye-opener that our food is really meant to go beyond our shores and to be shown to everybody else. These people were able to understand what our food is—to be able to replicate it, enhance it and make it their own.”
“The Amazing Food Challenge: Fun in the Philippines Season 3” premieres on Dec. 22 on AFC.
E-mail the author: vbaga@inquirer.com.ph
Yellow Fin Tuna Kinilaw
Recipe by chef Fernando Aracama
For kinilaw:
300 grams sashimi-grade yellow fin tuna loin
120 milliliter coconut vinegar, divided into two
For ensalada:
100 g cherry tomatoes, halved
50 g Japanese cucumbers, sliced and salted
50 g red onions, sliced
15 g young ginger, peeled and julienned
2 pieces red and green chili, seeded and sliced (reserve the seeds)
2 tablespoons calamansi juice
60 ml coconut vinegar
Sea salt, to taste
Drizzle olive oil, optional
For coconut milk dressing:
120 ml fresh coconut cream
60 ml coconut vinegar
30 ml fresh ginger juice
Reserved chili seeds
Sea salt, to taste
For green mango granita:
2 cups green mango juice
60 ml honey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Garnish:
Assorted micro green herbs —chives, cilantro, amaranth, calamansi
Slice tuna loin 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Rinse in coconut vinegar for 30 seconds. Drain. Cover and chill.
For ensalada, combine all ingredients. Cover and chill.
For green mango granita: Combine all ingredients. Pour into a shallow dish and freeze. As the mixture begins to freeze, whisk with a fork to break the ice crystals. Do this every 20-30 minutes. The granita should be slushy and firm in texture.
To assemble: Toss the tuna in the remaining vinegar, a splash of calamansi juice and a pinch of sea salt. Spoon the ensalada onto a serving dish. Top with tuna kinilaw and coconut dressing. Dot the plate with the green mango granita and garnish with micro green herbs. Serve immediately.
Palitaw
Recipe by chef Rob Pengson
2 c glutinous rice flour
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 c water
1/2 c sesame seeds, roasted
1 c grated coconut
1 pc mango, ripe and cut into wedges
1/2 c colorful edible flowers
5 toothpicks
1/4 c palm oil
Combine glutinous rice flour with water and mix until a dough is formed. Scoop about 2 tbsp of dough and mold it into a ball-shaped figure. Flatten ball dough using the palm of your hands. Boil water in a cooking pot then add the flattened dough.
When the dough starts to float, remove it from the pot and set it aside, allowing water to drip. Combine sugar and roasted sesame seeds then mix well. Roll the rice cake in grated coconut then in the sugar-sesame seed mixture. Arrange in a serving plate and place toothpicks. Garnish with mango wedges and edible flowers then serve.