After a successful stint at the Food and Hotel Culinary Challenge in Singapore last year, the winning tie-up of the Magsaysay Center for Hospitality & Culinary Arts or MIHCA and Shang-ri La Makati did it again! This time, they reaped awards in HOFEX 2011, considered the most prestigious culinary competition in Asia.
HOFEX is Asia’s leading food and hospitality tradeshow with over 1,800 exhibiting companies and 35,000 professionals from all over the world gathered together at the Hong Kong Convention Center last May 7-10.
Before an international panel of distinguished chef-judges, Team Philippines showed their mettle in cooking and preparing food. In the end, the MIHCA – Shang ri La team bagged seven medals out of ten categories. Congratulations are in order to chefs Aurea Ocena, Mia Carla Yan, Anatolio Bleza, Avery Avon Tiu-Manaloto, Jose Mari Medrano, Michael Navarra, Leozard Labsan, Rommel Gabriel and Aguido Lindayag.
Also part of the successful delegation were team manager Paolo Guevarra, Head Coach Boy Timola and Coach Ariel Manuel of Lolo Dad’s.
Here are some of the winning dishes:
Bronze winner for Baramundi category is this dish of pan-seared baramundi with Nicoise smear, saffron ravioli with oyster foam. This dish was prepared by chefs Bleza, Ocena, Labsan and Yan.
On a higher level is the silver award garnered by chef Michael Navarra in the US organic chicken category. He created this croquette of chicken dish with foie butter, poached chicken breast in goose fat, with sweet corn flan in poached saffron meringue with warm asparagus.
Thankfully, MIHCA invited me to a thanksgiving lunch to celebrate the win of Team Philippines in HOFEX. Here’s a sampling from our sumptuous meal: tiramisu in cups!
Labelled “divine!” MIHCA really knows their food! 😀
a lot of calorie bombs but they all look soooooo good! i hope you are able to restrain yourself…. hehehehhe
restrain wasn’t in my vocabulary… the lamb curry served during lunch was gooood