A Cooking Competition, Focusing on Chocolate

SINCE the Spanish colonizers introduced the cacao tree, Filipinos has never lost the love for chocolates. Since then, we infuse chocolate flavor in almost every kind of dish we have from baking to beverages, and now even on savory. Because of the Filipinos’ continuous growing love for chocolate, there is no doubt that the Philippines calls for a cooking competition, focusing on this star ingredient. Just last November 23 marked the concluding day of the first-ever cocoa cooking competition in the country. KESSLER’S, the new premium brand of raw ingredients in the Philippines, has launched its first-ever KESSLER’S Pamana: Turning Stories and Recipes to Life-long legacies, a cocoa cooking competition. More than the promotions of KESSLER’S Alkalized Cocoa Powder, the competition’s aim is to show the brand’s advocacy to provide high-quality products while helping the home bakers/ cooks and micro to small entrepreneurs improve their businesses. KESSLER’S Pamana was co-presented by HAMBURG Trading Corp, KESSLER’S Kitchen, Tecnogas Philippines, and Besterm International Corporation. The event was also sponsored by All About Baking, KitchenAid Philippines, and WhenInManila.com. The competition has kicked off last September 2 through the KESSLER’S official Facebook page and stretched up to an eliminations round on November 18 and the final cook-off last November 23 at the KESSLER’S Kitchen in Sta. Rosa Laguna. At the final cook-off, the Top 3 finalists, namely faced cooked and presented their signature cocoa dishes -- John Pineda’s Pan de San Antonio, Ralph Steven Sarmiento’s Chocolate Kalihim, and Charlene Pacis’ Ultimate Chocolate Cake. The final cook-off started at 9 in the morning, ended at 12 noon, and followed by the contestants’ presentation to the judges: Chef Chris Paredes, in-house consultant of KESSLER’S; Ms. Cara Pauline Dino, R&D Specialist of HAMBURG Trading Corp; Ms. Lenie Bermudez, president of HAMBURG Trading Corp; and Mr. Horst Kessler von Sprengeisen, chairman and founder of HAMBURG Trading Corp and the man behind KESSLER’S. The final cook-off was hosted by Gianna Kessler von Sprengeisen, VP for Marketing and PR of HAMBURG Trading Corp and daughter of the chairman and founder. Before the announcement of winners in the afternoon, the finalists attended a specialized The Kitchen Sessions by KESSLER’S Kitchen for passionate bakers/cooks and entrepreneurs. Topics tackled were Product Costing by Santiago Andaya, Branding and Marketing by Apple Allison, Product Development by Cara Pauline Dino, and Mindset Setting by Chef Chris Paredes. When the time came for the announcement of winners, hearts were pounding hard as all of the people present at the KESSLER’S Kitchen waited anxiously. Finally, lights and music danced with the people’s cheers as Ms. Gianna Kessler announced the very first KESSLER’S Pamana Grand Champion – Ralph Steven Sarmiento and his Chocolate Kalihim Recipe! John Pineda got the 1st Runner Up position while Ms. Charlene Pacis took the 2nd place. Ralph Steven Sarmiento took home a Tecnogas Gas Range with built-in oven, a 9-Speed KitchenAid Hand Mixer, Php3000 worth of various baking equipment from All About Baking, Php8000 cash and a one-year supply of KESSLER’S products. The community’s passion for the food industry is what keeps the KESSLER’S brand committed to its promises. And as it promotes this legacy to the people, the brand aims to bring out passionate home bakers’ and cooks’ best recipes and the stories behind them to become their life-long legacies. Stay tuned for next year’s bigger and grander KESSLER’S PAMANA!