Almost 500 HRM and Nutrition students from distinguished universities and colleges in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, including University of Sto. Tomas, Lyceum Manila and Miriam College, are set to showcase their culinary skills and mastery of the umami taste at the AJINOMOTO® Umami Culinary Challenge (UCC) 2013. This will be held on 02 February, 2013 at the SMX Convention Center, Hall 2.
“We want more aspiring chefs to discover how deep understanding of umami effectively develop their skills to attain culinary excellence.” says Chef Russell Bautista, Project Head of UCC. Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation has established UCC, as the first of its kind, inter-school, multi-category culinary competition that focuses on umami, the 5th basic taste alongside sweet, sour, bitter and salty. UCC is growing bigger each year, now on its fourth year.
Contestants will be engaged in five (5) competition categories: 1) Umami Bento Meal, 2) Healthy Asian Umami Dish, 3) Best Filipino Umami Dish, 4) My own Umami Creation and 5) Umami Potter. Criteria for selecting the winning dishes include intensity of umami taste, culinary technique and creativity, dish preparation, plate presentation and Eat Well, Live Well.® Cooking, which refers to the integration of culinary skills and nutrition knowledge to create a delicious and nourishing umami dish.
Culinary luminaries like Chef Seiji Kamura (Executive Chef Mana Clinary Fusion), Chef Joey Herrera (ISCAHM Chef), Chef Ed Quimson (Chef Patron M Catering & Fine Foods), Chef Eugene Raymundo (Food stylist, part owner of Five Cows Restaurant and Kitch Café), Chef Babes Austria (Executive Chef, Taal Vista Hotel Tagaytay), to name a few, will serve as competition judges.
Seminars on food safety and food processing, umami cooking demonstrations, interactive booths from sponsors and other exciting activities, will enjoyed by foodies and other guests who will participate in this whole day event . UCC also welcomes caterers and meat processors as the event is staged in partnership with the Food Caterers Association of the Philippines (FCAP) and the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS). The AJINOMOTO® Umami Culinary Challenge 2013 is presented by Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation and sponsored by La Germania, Whirlpool/Fujidenzo, Solane, and Masflex.