Creative twists get cooks into Top 5 of culinary tilt

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TRADITIONAL Filipino dishes made with Irish pork and beef — and given a twist — propelled their creators to the Top 5 of the East Meets West culinary competition run by the Irish Government Food Board (Bord Bia).

The top 10 entries were selected from a pool of over 100 participants, then further whittled down to the Top 5 by chefs Billy King (owner and chef at Le Chef Restaurant in The Manor at Camp John Hay, Baguio), Mark Hagan (executive chef at the Grand Hyatt Manila), and Philip John Golding (founding chairman, Disciples of Escoffier Philippines), as well as by representatives from Bord Bia who all served in the board of judges.

Marion Rogan, EU Pork and Beef Programme Manager said, “We were thrilled with the level of entries and the quality of the recipes submitted to the competition as this is our first culinary competition in the Philippines. Our aim is to raise awareness of the high quality and unique taste of Irish beef and pork from Europe.”

The top five are the winners of a culinary trip to Ireland slated for 2021. They will also get the opportunity to attend a cooking class with Mr. King plus other prizes.

The finalists are Donie Bugcas, a student of Center for Culinary Arts Manila; Francis Dave Lacson Selorio, the Executive Chef/Operations Manager of Project Digamo; home coof and financial advisor Karl Watson; Marichu Jung, a student at Apicius Culinary Arts – Parañaque; and Nathaniel Deocaris, a chef from Cainta, Rizal.

The judging panel selected recipes that showed innovative culinary techniques and twists such as the use of charcoaled coconut sauce, pureed quenelle pumpkin, fondant potato and pineapple foam, and sweet potato puree and pineapple atchara.

The panel of judges were delighted by the creative recipes that featured common, regional, and indigenous Filipino ingredients like Pork in Country: Baked Laing-Stuffed Pork Belly, served with Rambutan Sauce and Adlai, garnished with Pansit-pansitan. This recipe was created by Francis Dave Lacson Selorio, whose inspiration is from his childhood.

For more details and updates of the European Pork and Beef Campaign in the Philippines, a campaign financed with aid from the European Union, visit https://europeanporkbeef.com/ph. Visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/EUPorkandBeefPH/ and Instagram @euporkbeef.ph. — JLG