Master Chefs 2013 : From Barangay Cooking Idols to Talented Master Chefs

Wazzup Pilipinas!

I have a knack for cooking. Somehow, after I'm able to taste a certain dish and if provided with all the ingredients (optional), I would immediately be able to figure out how the dish was cooked. It comes out easy to determine which ingredient comes first and how they are prepared to be ready for cooking.

I am also very fond of trying out new dishes especially if its presentation is attractive and colorful. Many call it gourmet food where cooking becomes an art and a science as well. This is probably why I have a lot of food reviews in my blog. I do not really eat that much but I do love tasting each and every dish served to me.

It fascinates me to see cooking demos especially if its done by chefs who really are very creative in their cooking and presentation. I guess there has been an increase in the number of students who like to pursue a culinary art degree because I've been seeing a lot of chefs in the news lately. They've also become like superstars following the footprints of sports athletes and celebrities being recruited as endorsers of popular brands.

SM Hypermart, one of the great places to go buy your grocery needs, sponsors a cooking challenge to highlight Filipinos who excel in cooking.

They are targeting barangays and amateur contestants who would like to compete and be recognized as a "Master Chef".

Papa Dan of 97.1 Barangay LS and Monica Verallo of Unang Hirit hosted the launch of the Master Chefs 2013 at the SM Hypermart Cubao branch a few days ago and treated the audience with three cooking demos from chefs Paolo Sia, Kris Alcedo, and, Master Chefs 2013 ambassador, Hasset Go. There were also a few games where the audience were given a chance to participate and win prizes from the sponsoring brands. A few entertainment numbers were also provided to please the crowd.

Chef Paolo Sia presented a dish he calls Firecracker Beef which he made in just a few minutes.

Chef Kris Alcedo prepared Chicken Nuggets Cheezee and Barbecue Rumaki

 

Chef Hasset Go wowed the audience with his gourmet omelet cooking demo.

  

I actually participated in one of the games where we were tasked to create a letter K out of Knorr granules. While all of the other contestants created the letter K by making a hole shaped as a letter K, I was the only one who actually made a letter K out of the Knorr granules.

However, I did not win probably because my work was too much of a mess while the winner made her letter K so neat and tidy. Congrats to fellow blogger Jing Javier for winning the challenge.

The second game pitted another fellow blogger competing against members of the barangay where they were tasked to dip their faces into mayo to find three Maggi cubes.

I knew our fellow blogger Rudstin Estrellado will win that game and bring home a rice cooker! Yehey!

Another game was an eating challenge to find out who among the contestants can quickly eat the most number of nuggets. Fellow blogger Ria Lumandog almost got it but the other contestant was simply a "nugget monster"!

Members of the barangay were given color-coded numbers to get the chance of winning lots of prizes from the raffle.

Thank you to Chef Hasset Go for this photo ops with the newest Master Chefs 2013 Ambassador!

Good luck with your new Vietnamese restaurant! We hope we could visit it one of these days and get to try out your master dishes!



Here is the official Master Chefs 2013 press release:

Filipinos really appreciate a wide variety of cuisines. Though we are loyal to local cooking, we are still open to new and different flavors. Just take a look at traditional Filipino cuisine and the vastness of the menu proves it. The long list of delicious food is a product of Pinoy creativity and ingenuity when it comes to food. We continuously modify and incorporate new techniques and recipes to further enrich traditional Filipino cooking. It just shows that Filipinos definitely know what we want to eat. Great Filipino cooking is not just found in restaurants and hotels but also in residences, carinderias, and eateries where people regularly eat.

On its 7th year, Master Chefs pays tribute to the culinary prowess of the barangay. Master Chefs highlights the everyday excellence displayed by carinderias, canteens, food stalls, and home kitchens in making exquisite dishes. These places produce exactly what Pinoys crave for simply because these cooks desire to eat the same masterpieces they create. And because they have truly captured Filipino taste, the barangay chefs are this year’s focus.

Master Chefs 2013 was launched last September 5, 2013 at SM Hypermarket Cubao and was hosted by none other than Papa Dan of 97.1 Barangay LS and Monica Verallo of Unang Hirit. The Master brands and their reputable chefs Chef Paolo Sia, Chef Kris Alcedo, and, Master Chefs 2013 ambassador, Chef Hasset Go were there and showed more exciting ways of mixing up their signature products. And for a little more flavour for the crowd, games with cool prizes were played by the audience. Of course, the event would not be complete without great tasting food. It was truly a culinary event highlighting the barangay’s cooking talents; a food fest no Filipino can ever say no to.

Master Chefs 2013 Barangay Cooking Challenge’s launch marked the start of cooking competitions to be held in all 37 SM Hypermarkets nationwide. The Barangay Cooking Idol introduces something new. It is a competition open not only to anyone who cook well, they should have other talents too. Those who aspire to become Master Chefs must incorporate a routine that wows the crowd. They could sing, dance, act, anything amazing is welcome. At the end of it all, Master Chefs 2013 will introduce a new breed of super chefs that are not only exemplary cooks but also talented individuals.

Master Chefs 2013 will also reinvent the Pinoy’s all-time favorites; adobo, sinigang, pochero, kare-kare, chopsuey, Caldereta, menudo, pinakbet, and in the process, discover new ways of cooking the Master Brands. Master Chefs will creatively put new twists in the food products people have learned to enjoy like Nestle All-Purpose Cream, Maggi Magic Sarap and Maggi Savor, CDO Funtastyk, Idol Cheesedog, Bibbo Hotdog, and Ulamburger, Bounty Fresh Gourmet Chicken and Nuggets, Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs, Stuffed Nuggets and Chicken Drummets, and Unilever Knorr Soups and ready mixes.