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Nine chefs from across the country battled it out in a cook-off featuring classic Filipino dishes with a twist at Eastwood, Quezon City, on Saturday.
The nine finalists bested 150 other participants who competed against each other at the “Funlasang Pinoy Twist Fest” organized by Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) Philippines.
During the competition, they came up with ways to innovate Filipino dishes such as sinigang, kaldereta, pansit, sisig and tapa.
“We are very excited for this day to come as we witness our very talented Pinoy chefs showcase their ingenuity in making a classic Filipino dish stand out like we’ve never seen nor tasted before,” UFS Philippines managing director James Benedict Carreon said in a statement.
Aside from the competition, UFS also hopes to create a bigger impact in the Philippine culinary scene.
“This competition was created to provide an avenue for our chefs and cooks to showcase their talents and creativity to reignite everyone’s love for Filipino food,” Carreon added.
The creativity, taste and presentation of dishes were scrutinized and judged by culinary experts Executive Chef Fernando Aracama of Aracama Filipino Cuisine, UFS Senior Sous Chefs Brando Santos and Paolo Sia.
“Food innovation is not about changing the original recipe of a dish. It is about staying faithful to the original concept of the dish but adding creativity to improve the taste and overall experience of your diners as they eat it,” Aracama said.
“We chefs need to remember this to cater to the ever-changing plate of diners who continue to seek a different kind of dining experience, and to stand out from the clutter of food choices available these days,” he added.
Danilo Puga, who was hailed as the first-ever “Funlasang Pinoy Twist Fest” champion, won a P100,000 cash prize, an exclusive publicity feature and a special feature in the official Funlasang Pinoy Cookbook.
“The talent and creativity of Pinoy chefs are definitely something to be proud of,” Carreon said.
“As a team of chefs who understand the needs of the culinary industry, we at Unilever Food Solutions are always finding ways to provide them avenues to gain more inspiration, knowledge and access to the right products that will complement that and help them improve the dining experience of their loyal diners,” he added.
The other finalists were Christian Lachenal, Miguel Valdez, Fernando Joson, Mel Tobias, John Jugo, Jeane Cruz, Junrey Remiter, and Rossana Rosal. CBB
