The best cooks in the 20 barangays of Las Piñas City got together recently to showcase their best dishes and desserts for the annual cooking competition that kicked off the festivities for the city’s 2018 Food Festival. It was the fifth year the city hosted such an event.
Sen. Cynthia A. Villar welcomed participants, as she lauded them for going the extra mile in using modern techniques to make original and sumptuous culinary creations that display the Filipinos’ imaginative minds and innovative skills.
“Filipinos are popular for their ingenuity. We are known for our ability to replicate foreign dishes and changing their tastes by introducing local ingredients to give them the unique flavors of the Philippine islands. Through this cooking competition, residents of Las Piñas City become gastronomic witnesses to the creativity of our local cooking experts,” said Villar, director of the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar SIPAG).
The senator said the annual cooking competition is a friendly contest that seeks to display not only the culinary skills of Las Piñas’ top 20 cooks, but likewise showcase innovative uses of local food resources.
“Families can learn new ways on how to transform their regular dishes to something special and unique,” she added.
The inter-barangay cooking showdown was held last May 18 at the Villar SIPAG square in C5 Extension Road, Pulang Lupa Uno in Las Piñas City.
The experts were asked to prepare a dish/viand cooked Pinoy-style using native ingredients, and a dessert that would impress and delight the sweet tooth and sugary taste buds of Filipinos. Barangay Talon 2 made the biggest impact and brought home P20,000 and a trophy for bagging the grand prize. Its entry Inadobong Lapu-Lapu sa Mantikilya and Cala-Squash Soup impressed judges the most.
Barangay Pilar won the 1st Runner-Up trophy and P15,000 cash prize for its Lapu-Lapu Caramelized Onion and Mixed Vegetable Sour Soup. Barangay Talon 3 won P10,000 and a trophy as 2nd Runner-Up for its Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce and Potato Soup in Sampaloc Broth.
The competing entries were judged according to the following criteria: Overall impact and plating (30 percent); Taste (30 percent); Creativity and visual appeal (15 percent); Technique used (15 percent); and Hygiene and sanitation (10 percent).
Aside from the cooking competition, the 5th Las Piñas Food Festival also showcased a food exhibit with 40 exhibitors from Las Pinas City, other cities and municipalities in the National Capital Region, and other nearby regions and provinces. On display at the Villar SIPAG grounds were native delicacies and local products for sampling and selling, fresh or ready-to-eat food products, processed foods, snacks and beverages, as well as fresh garden or farm produce.
Also during the annual event, winners of the Villar SIPAG Urban Gardening Competition were also announced. They are BF International/CAA for the Inter-Barangay category, the Las Pinas East National High School for the Inter-School category, and the Phase 3 West Talon 2 for the Inter-Homeowners Associations category. Each category winner received a trophy and a cash prize of P50, 000 each.
For this year’s event festivities, the Villar SIPAG partnered with Silver Swan, Apicius, ELBA, Mushroomburger, Jollibee and Golden Oats.
Winning recipes
Brgy. Talon 2 – Grand Winner
Team Members
- Jeshel L. Abucejo
- Marilyn K. Aplaon
- Ruby Rosa L. Baptista
- Fish Viand (ulam)
Inadobong Lapu-Lapu sa mantikilya
Ingredients
- Sliced/boneless Lapu-Lapu
- Garlic
- Soysauce
- Vinegar
- Butter
- Ground Pepper
Procedure
Pre-heat pan griller, marinate the lapu-lapu in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and pepper. Put butter in the pan and grilled the marinated lapu-lapu. Set aside. Heat the remaining marinate in the pan and serve as sauce.
- Vegetable Soup
Cala-Squash Soup
Ingredients
- ½ Kilo – Beef Pata (cut into cubes)
- ½ Kilo – Beef Sirloin (cut into cubes)
- ¼ Kilo – Ham
- ¼ Kilo – Hotdog
- 2pcs – Chorizo de bilbao
- – Carrots, diced
- – Potato (big), diced
- ¼ Kilo – Squash, diced
- 1/8 grams – white beans, boiled
- 1/8 grams – Garbanzos
- 1 stalk – celery
- 1 can – evaporated milk
- 1 cup – butter (Dairy Crème)
- 1 tbsp. – ground pepper
- 2 tbsp. – patis
- 1 cube – knorr beef
- 1 clove – garlic
- 2pcs – onion
- 3 cups – water
Procedure
In a pan, melt butter in a medium heat. Saute onion and garlic then add pre-boiled beef sirloin, pata ng baka. Saute for two minutes. Add in remaining ingredients until cook and tender. Put 1 Knorr Beef cube and 2 tbsp of patis and a pinch of salt to taste. Lastly, add 1 can evaporated milk and ground pepper to taste.
