RECIPES
Training the champs
Me (fourth from left) with the St. Therese -- MTC
Culinary Team and famous food personalities in
Manila, Myrna Segismundo (left), Jill Sandique
(right), Micky Fenix (2nd from right). The team is
composed of Vincent Uy, Earl Auric Grate,
Troy Cachero, Rommel Salarda, Jim Bobis and
Benedict Benedicto.
* Joining in a culinary competition always starts with students who have the passion for excellence, repeating every exercise over and over again
If you cannot stand the heat, get out of the kitchen! Do you want to be a National Champion? These are what I normally say to students who want to be chefs. Working in the kitchen demands a lot of passion and hard work.
Being the Culinary Competitions Consultant for St. Therese - MTC Colleges for almost three years brought me to countless trips to Manila. I was privileged to go to Brunei as part of the Philippine Team in the ASEAN Skills Competition 2006.
With hard work and a lot of God-given talent, the St. Therese Culinary Team yielded four National Champion titles in two years, making the school one of the toughest to beat. Even Manila schools have a hard time surpassing the standards set by the students.
Joining in a culinary competition always starts with students who have the passion for excellence, repeating every exercise over and over again. Researching the recipes are not enough; you have to analyze the profile of the contest and who are the prospective judges. This is a very subjective contest.
During competitions, one has to invest in the best equipment available. One can go to the extent of flying expensive China wares and kitchen utensils that will surely put the winning form in every entry. I remember in 2005, we spent P10,000 for three floral arrangements done by a famous floral designer in Makati. Sure enough, the flowers earned the amazement of the judges and spectators.
Every point counts. We wanted to win with a big margin. We don't want to win by .75 points if we could go away with 10 points or more. No one could contest our winning students; they truly made the effort to train from 14 -- 16 hours every day. They deserve to bring home the bacon.
At last another National Champion was added to the Wall of Fame of St. Therese -- MTC Colleges. In the last contest, the team was declared the Over All Winner garnering three gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze with trophies. They are proof of the hard work of every St. Therese student.
The Food Showdown 2007 had a very high standard when it comes to medal rating. It has a percentage bracket in every medal.
Six out of seven categories, the St. Therese Culinary Team was declared the highest ranking participant even though they got some bronze.