The Cook Academy Asian Fusion Festival was recently held in Our Lady of Fatima University in Novaliches, Quezon City. This was made possible by the partnership of Mother’s Best and COOK Magazine. The cooking competition and seminar attracted the enthused participation of their students, particularly those from the College of Hospitality and Institutional Management (CHIM).
“Student chefs can provide us new exciting recipes for our products as well as possible new sauces which they can formulate using their own creativity and knowledge they got from the school and their other experiences,” explains Gabriel A. Reyes, Assistant General Manager of HDR Foods Corporations, the company that produces the Mother’s Best Brand.
The college boasts of comprehensive programs in all related disciplines, and Mr. Reynaldo H. Carandang Jr., program head of CHIM agrees that participation by culinary students will further hone their skills and creativity: “Student’s exposure to various culinary contests allows them to enhance their confidence and be more competent in their field of expertise. They are also made abreast of culinary trends and innovations. The exposure provides an opportunity for them to interact with industry practitioners providing them tips and advice in getting first hand information from the experts.”
It was a privilege to witness a well-loved brand invest on the future of the young people and they expressed an intention of this being the first of many: “It is important to work with them and build the relationship with them while they are young,” says Reyes. “These young chefs will be the future driving force of our restaurants industry as well as the future chefs of their respective home kitchen, and we want them to patronize Mother’s Best both in their future careers and at home.”
COOK Magazine’s Editor In Chief, Chef Dino Datu along with Chef Winston Jerome C. Luna, Caterer and Event Specialist, shared their culinary expertise by demonstrating their own version of Asian Fusion Dishes as well as giving students valuable tips and advice about the industry. Chef Dino Datu whipped up Black Pepper Crab, Singapore Chili Prawns, and Easy Claypot Rice, which are just some of the most popular recipes that the COOK Magazine test kitchen has featured specifically using Mother’s Best products.
Chef Winston, who owns Chefwix Catering, not only showed kitchen expertise by cooking Oriental Wings with Chinese Greens, he also held an engaging seminar on what it takes to be a success in food related ventures.
The Contestants’ Entries in The Cook Academy Asian Fusion Festival:
Team 1 represented by Curt Austin Castro and Joshua Cuyugan presented the following dishes:
Appetizer: Shrimp and Pomelo Dumplings
Main Course No.1: Hungarian Plate with Atchara and Avocado Cream Dip
Main Course No.2 Rosemary Tuna and Avocado Pasta
Team 2: Mary Joy Borbe and Nino Christ Hagos
Appetizer: Pomelo Bruschetta
Main Course No. 1: Chicken Avocado Cordon Bleu with Char Siu Ketchup
Main Course No. 2: Sweet and Spicy Avocado Chicken
Team 3: Mikaela dela Rosa and Kent Edric Leander Asinas
Appetizer: Pompelous Montage
Main Course No. 1: Pasta Verde Basilicium
Main Course No. 2: Tom Thumb Oriental
Team 4: Cherry Anne Gorospe and Maripo Anog
Appetizer: Bracing Pomelo Salad
Main Course No. 1: Chicken Avocado Egg Rolls
Main Course No. 2: Baked Seafood Stuffed Avocado
Team 5: Kimberly de Belen and Juan Paolo Ilagan
Appetizer: Pan Grilled Shrimp with Pomelo and Mango Salsa
Main Course No. 1: Pan Seared Sesame Crusted Tuna, Avocado – Lemon Puree
Main Course No. 2: Glazed Spicy Pepper Chicken with Creamy Avocado-Garlic Dip
In the culinary competition, the students worked with stoves provided by Fujidenzo, while the cooking implements were supplied by Masflex. The student chefs were grouped into five teams, with two students per team, and they cooked with Mother’s Best Hot Sauce, Mother’s Best Oyster Sauce, and the Mother’s Best Barbecue Marinade, which are the items the company is most known for. “For now we want to focus on our core products, since we want to build on and strengthen the loyalty, acceptance and the market for these items,” Gabby emphasizes. “But of course we would still want others to try our new products and we are continuously developing new ones to provide instant kitchen solutions for our cooks and chefs.”
Cherry Anne Gorospe and Maripo Anog of Team 4 won the judges over with their very unique, sumptuous and mouthwatering recipes: Bracing Pomelo Salad, Chicken Avocado Egg Rolls and Baked Seafood Stuffed Avocado.
Congratulations to Cook Magazine, Mother’s Best and Our Lady of Fatima University for a very successful culinary event – The Cook Academy Asian Fusion Festival !
