Brew of The Day: Food Diary - Moulinex You Cook Year 2 Grand Winner

Hey Coffeeholics, yep the second event that I went to this year is another food event - The Grand Finals of the Moulinex You Cook Video Recipe Challenge Year 2! The event was held last Saturday, January 28, 2012. It was quite a challenge for me coz I just came from a Parent-Teacher Conference that time. As a teacher mind you, not a parent noh! haha! Being a commuter (mostly by train!) and a blogger is quite challenging I have to figure out the best routes and modes of transpo available for me to arrive at my destination on time and not get lost in the process. That's why I was quite happy to find out that the "Last ~~Battle~~ Cook Off" was at SM Makati! Since its connected to the MRT, it made my life easier (just like MOULINEX!).

Anyway, as I arrived and immediately signed up to register, I pleasantly bumped into Marj and Jonel, the blogger buddies that I met during the Semi Finals of this event. So glad to see familiar faces!

MEET THE FINALISTS!

The Moulinex You Cook Video Recipe Challenge Year 2 Grand Finalists finally battle it out last Saturday! This time to prove to the judges and to the rest of us who has the RIGHT to be called the GRAND WINNER! I'm pretty much excited to find out who brings home the "bacon". Like I said in my previous post about this, my "bets" were Leonelia De Castro and Karen Grace Santiago. So read on to find out if I pegged this correctly!

You can definitely feel the electricity in the air as the contestants were all fired up coz this time, they weren't just going to replicate the recipe of the video that they submitted to Moulinex.
This time, they were going to prove themselves to the esteemed judges that they can indeed cook.

Each finalist was assigned a "secret" ingredient (secret coz they only found out on the contest itself what it was!) that they will showcase to the judges.
Photo credit - Moulinex FB

Then they were all given 20 minutes to shop at SM Grocery for the items that they need to create a fantastic concoction for the judges. Limited to a budget of Php 1000 was probably tough! I probably would have gone crazy thinking what recipe to use, how much or how many ingredients to buy, and how fantastic the meal should be to impress the panel of judges. Fortunately for Miss Leonelia, she seemed to be cool and prepared to battle. She was one of the first who was able to return to her station and prep her stuff before the official countdown began.

One of the judges, Ms. Rory, scoring one of the finalists during the preparation period.

I must admit that I really admire the judges for their active involvement for this event. Some of them even went to the grocery just to check out how the finalists chose their products etc. Also after the grocery shopping, the judges also noted the preparation details that each finalists did before they actually cooked. Yes its part of the judging criteria!

TRIVIA: Do you know that you should have INDIVIDUAL chopping boards for different types of food to avoid cross-contamination? Hehe. I DIDN'T! I was surprised and fascinated by that piece of info! Plus its all COLOR CODED pa! Hehehe. Meticulous judging indeed!

Thank you Chef Nino for enlightening us!
(hehe.. but seriously, this is just an excuse to post his cute pic here! hahaha.)

Juno Sedigo, getting all serious with his secret ingredient - SALMON!

Then the official clock started ticking! Given only 1 1/2 hours to finish their final product, each finalist indeed gave their best to make the most delicious meal out of the secret ingredient that was assigned to them.

James Bicaldo explaining his "SQUID" dish to the judges.

Finally, when the final product is done -- each finalist started to present their dishes to the judges while it was hot and fresh. Each finalist was given the chance to present their dish and explain to the judges what they did and at the same time be "grilled" in return or "complimented" with their final work.

Here are the Finalists with their creations! Check it out!

LEONELIA DE CASTRO
from MOST Institute with her CRAB dish

"Chili Crab & Saba Tower with Mango Puree"
She was the first to finish and present her dish to the judges. After she finished, I was able to chat with her for a bit and was pleasantly surprised by this humble yet very talented lady! With only a few months studying culinary arts under her belt, I really couldn't help but be impressed with her cooking abilities.

POCHOLO SEDIGO

First Gourmet Academy

with his secret ingredient dish - SALMON.

"Salmon Burger"

NINO CARLO ROSALI

Asian Institute of Culinary Arts

with his secret ingredient dish - Catfish (Hito).

It looks like a soft taco! I wasn't able to catch its name but it's most probably Catfish Taco.

KAREN GRACE SANTIAGO

La Consalacion College-Manila

with her secret ingredient dish - Pork Liver.

The Pork Liver is in the sauce! I like how she designed it with the cute hearts. Had a small talk with this girl coz I really liked her previous work during the semi's and I ha high hopes for her as well. It was amazing to have met you!

ROSANA RAMEL

MICARS

with her secret ingredient dish - Milkfish (Bangus).

She cooked the traditional Sinigang na Bangus and added a twist by having Pasta on the side.

ROMEO APOSTOL JR.

His secret ingredient was originally OYSTER. But since during that time, it wasn't available in the grocery, the judges agreed to change it into Blue Marlin instead. So this was his Blue Marlin dish.

HALSON LAPUZ

First Gourmet Academy

He had shrimp as his secret ingredient that made quite an impact to the judges.

JAMES ANDRIAN BICALDO

Center for Culinary Arts - Manila

He had squid as his secret ingredient and partnered it with pasta.

All these dishes were made by each finalists and I salute them with their effort. Di ko kaya mga ginawa nila kaya saludo talaga ako! hihi! But like in any competition, there can be only ONE GRAND WINNER of the Moulinex You Cook Video Recipe Challenge Year 2!

Besides the grand prize, a winner in the "BEST IN PLATING" category courtesy of CORELLE was awarded to none other than Leonelia De Castro. If you take a good look at all those dishes and you would definitely agree with me that she deserves it!

Also, Joemary Grace Balza of MICARS was acknowledged as the People's Choice Awardee! If you wanna know why, then you should watch her video entry that is really fun and enjoyable to watch. It will definitely not bore you. I'm really pleased with this choice as well!

FINALLY, the runner up was chosen!

This year's Moulinex You Cook Video Recipe Challenge Runner-up goes to Halson Lapuz from First Gourmet Academy. CONGRATULATIONS!

AND OF COURSE, the GRAND WINNER of this Year 2012 Moulinex You Cook Video Recipe Challenge goes to none other than Ms. Leonelia De Castro from MOST Institute!

I think she is very much deserving of being the Grand Winner! Her talent and skill was very much evident. Haha. Tama ang hula ko! CONGRATULATIONS Leonelia!

Congratulations as well to Moulinex, Hotel Intercon, and all the other sponsors who started this kind of contest and event that aims to encourage and inspire future chefs here in the Philippines!