Mövenpick Cebu, ultimate “Chef Wars” champion at National Food Showdown
Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu brought prestige and honor to the Visayas region as its team became champion of the “Chef Wars” grand finals, the main event at the recently concluded National Food Showdown in Manila.
The Philippines’ grand culinary competition is the gathering of finalists from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, who have won in the regionals for their respective cooking specialization. Out of all the categories, the “Chef Wars” is the highlight and most awaited face-off at the National Food Showdown. Comparable to some culinary competitions on TV, it is a live cooking event where chefs create unique dishes out of the ingredients disclosed to them as part of the competition guidelines.
Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu’s team for the “Chef Wars” is composed of junior chefs Marvin Ampoloquio, Jason Nellas and Reymuel Albacite. They went to Manila with little time to prepare for the final battle, but managed to prepare an impressive menu that’s unique and achievable within the onehour limit, using chicken as the main ingredient.
Their final menu presentation featured “Turmeric Enhanced Chicken Consome, Smoked Eggplant Tortellini, Chicken Oyster, Beef Marrow, Poultry Glazed Sponge,” “Breaded Poultry Quenelles, Kare-Kare Sauce, Steamed Pumpkin Flower with Pumpkin Mashed and Alugbati Leaf” and “Poached Chicken in Coconut Oil enhanced with Spices, Emulsified Liver Sauce, Sweet Potato Mash and Leaf, Confit Vegetables and Papaya Blossom.”
“The team combined both culinary skills and a playful mix of local flavors and ingredients— to achieve balance between composition and technique,” shared the hotel’s executive chef Jean Louis Leon, who also flew to Manila to support the team. “Each dish had a modern and local touch.”
After the presentation and sampling, the judges declared the team champion and presented them with the “Ultimate Chef Warriors” trophy.
“Team effort is the name of the game, and I’m just so proud of how they pulled off such great work, especially since all of them are first-timers in the finals,” added Jean Louis. “This is really a huge honor as the judges are authorities in the Philippine food and beverage industry, from seasoned professionals to celebrity chefs.”
“We came here without any expectations. It’s already an honor and privilege to represent our brand and the Visayas region. We consider this a learning experience, imperative to our team’s growth and exposure. Winning the national title is cherry on top. We’re beyond grateful and happy to bring home the bacon.”