Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, in partnership with Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) Culinary Institute recently held the 2017 Global Taste of Korea Cooking Contest at LPU Culinary Institute, Manila.
22 chefs all over the country competed in the competition–which was divided into two categories: Kimchi Battle and Freestyle Korean cooking. For the kimchi battle, participants made a dish using Kimchi, whilst in Freestyle Korean cooking participants prepared a single-menu Korean dish either in a Traditional or Fusion style.
For this year, the grand winners of both categories won 15,000 pesos cash prize. Betina Erika Lim won the Kimchi Battle Category with her version of Kimchi Chicken Quesadilla. For the Freestyle Korean cooking, Regine Monsanto won the grand prize with Dwaejigalbi-jjim or Korean-style braised pork ribs.
28-year-old Monsanto also won the Best Korean Cook award of this year’s 2017 Global Taste of Korea. Aside from the cash prize that received, Monsanto was also awarded with a roundtrip ticket to Korea courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
Monsanto has been joining the competition since it began in 2014 but it was only this year that she received grand prize. To enhance her skills in cooking Korean dishes, Monsanto is attending KCC’s Korean cooking classes for the past years.
This year’s panel of judges was composed of KCC Director LEE Jincheol, KCC cooking class instructor and Author of ‘Easy Korean Food 114’ Lily Min, KTO Director Park In-Shik, Lyceum of the Philippines Culinary Director Chef Christopher Bautista and Chef Kim Sung Bae.
From Left: KTO Director Park In-Shik, Freestyle Korean cooking grand prize winner and Best Korean Cook Regine Monsanto, and KCC Director LEE Jincheol