Global Taste of Korea Contest 2014: Philippine Leg

About a month ago, a good friend of mine, Nadine encouraged me to submit an application for the the Global Taste of Korea Contest 2014. I had to come up with a recipe (or two) of a traditional Korean or fusion dish, and had to answer some questions as well. Being the Korea fanatic that I am, I finalized and passed my application online all in one day. Talk about enthusiastic. This contest's perfect for me. Two of my passions: FOOD and KOREA.

A couple of weeks later, I received an email from the Korean Cultural Center saying that I'm one of the finalists for the contest. I was ecstatic...at first. I found out that we're 28 finalists in total. Oh come on. The contest was open to both professional chefs and amateur cooks, so the thought of having to compete against 27 of them worried me. I mean, what are the chances of me, winning against all those talented people? See the optimistic person that I am? Haha! But I went to the contest finals anyway.  

The final round for the Philippine Leg of the competition was held last June 27, 2014 at the Lyceum Culinary Institute of the Philippines. We, the contestants were divided into three batches since we were too many, I guess. 

Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

I was part of Batch 2, and arrived a little early before our call time. I was so nervous, as usual, but the thought of having a friend (Hello Zai!) as my assistant, and having one of  the media people as a friend (Hi Nadine!) kept me sane.

By 12:30 pm, we were oriented on the mechanics and rules of the competition. We were all given an hour to prepare and cook our dishes. After an hour, we were to present and explain our dishes to the judges. It was very much a la Iron Chef. Haha! One thing that really adjusted me though was when they said that the assistants won't be allowed in the kitchen during the "hour of battle". Haha! That really worried me because I'm quite slow in the kitchen. I already had a game plan with my assistant in mind, but that totally went out the window at that moment. I was all by myself, and there was no turning back. Chos!

This is me in action! Haha The contestant beside me was from Global Culinary & Hospitality Academy as well. Global represent! :)
Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

I was aiming to make two fusion dishes in one hour. Ambitious, eh? I had things planned out in my head, but seriously, things just don't go as planned specially if you have a one hour time limit.

Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

With 50 minutes down, and 10 minutes to go, I only had one solid dish I'm certain I can present to the judges. My other dish still lacked a few components and I haven't even started with the sauce yet. But what the heck, I'll keep cooking to the very last minute, I told myself. True enough, at the very last minute, I was plating my second dish, throwing random components on the plate. Haha! It DIDN'T look pretty, but I finished on time. That's what matters. I still had to worry how I'm going to present my dishes to the judges. "Public speaking" isn't my forte. It's one of the the things I dread the most!

The panel of judges
Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

Batch 2 Dishes
Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

I was up first in presenting. There was only one Filipino judge, all the rest were Korean, and that added to my nervousness. But then again, I kept telling myself that I should already be proud that I finished in an hour. :) I was.

I presented two fusion dishes: 1) Sinjjigae - Sinigang + Kimchi Jjigae, which I have to add, the judges found clever. One of the judges even said, she loved how I named it. Hahaha! 

2) Bibimbap Sarap/Bibimbap Fusion - I incorporated Filipino flavors such as that of the adobo, and both green/unripe and ripe mangoes into the popular Korean dish. It was sweet, spicy, salty & tangy, with quite a lot of texture coming from the different vegetables.

This was my practice dish. The actual one I presented was so ugly, I didn't even bother taking a photo of it. Haha! It tasted better than this though. ;)

It was definitely the longest yet shortest hour (yeah, it's possible) of my life. Yeah, of course I wanted to win and have a shot in winning the USD 10,000 in Korea, but seriously, I was just so happy and relieved and didn't present an empty plate. That alone was an achievement for me! *pats myself in the back*

I had to wait for 3 more hours before the awarding ceremony because there was still one batch of contestants left, and the organizers still had to prepare. Again, I was so glad to have Zai & Nadine there to keep me company. :) Plus, Nadine really had to wait out too since she was going to write an article about the event. Haha!

Three hours later, it was already the moment of truth.

Ms. Linh Dalangin, KCC Events Coordinator hosted the ceremony
Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

Minister Min Kyong-Ho of the Embassy of South Korea
Seeing him there made me realize, that yeah, maybe this contest is a big deal. Haha!
Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

All of the contestants were given a Certificate of Recognition.
The paper bags alone already made me happy. I have a weird thing for nice paper bags. Hahaha!
Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

And now, the winners...

2nd runner up: John Ignacio from CCA Manila

He made Galbi Jjim but used European cooking techniques.

Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

By this time, I already had zero expectation of winning anything. The second runner up's dish was nicely done & he knew what he was talking about. There was no chance that I could possibly win...

...but then I did!

1st runner up: Yzabel Montealegre from ICIF and Global Culinary & Hospitality Academy *throws confetti*

My friends and I were so shocked, that I even let out a loud "Whaaaaat?" Haha! IT WAS ALL GOD. :) I give it all back to Him. It's crazy!

First runner up ain't so shabby right? It's instant USD 500 (and other gifts) for me, and if for some reason the champ can't go to Korea for the finals, I automatically get his/her place. I doubt that that will happen though. Haha!

Chef Dan Basilio, LPU Culinary Institute Director and I
Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

Champion: Mark Tee from UP and Woosong University

He made Samgyetang with a modern twist.

Photo by Nadine Postigo, Worldwide Korea Blogger

Mark gets to go to Seoul for 2-week culinary tour and gets compete against 13 other countries for a shot in winning USD 10,000 and the title of Honorary Korean Cuisine Ambassador. Of course, I wanted to win the Grand Prize, but he deserved it! He was confident, really knew what he was talking about, and he seemed like a nice, talented young chef. Wishing him all the best for the Global Finals! :) 

Thank you Korean Cultural Center of the Philippines for organizing this event! :) I had fun and it surely made me want to learn more about Korean cuisine. My love for all things Korea's finally paying off. Hahaha! Looking forward to more!

KCC's so generous!