The University of St. La Salle-Bacolod culinary students won as overall champion in the 2nd MassKanamit culinary showdown at SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City Oct. 17.
La Consolacion College-Bacolod won in the Sweet Revenge category for pastries, while the VMA Global College bagged the top slot in the Food and Beverage category.
Delegates from the Asian College of Dumaguete, on the other hand, won in the Kucina Moderna Kulinarya category.
More than 300 students from 18 culinary and hospitality management schools across Negros Island, including in the cities of Bacolod, Kabankalan, San Carlos, and Dumaguete, participated in this year’s cookfest, hosted by the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation (BYF).
This second staging was in cooperation with the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Negros Occidental’s 8th Sabor Bisaya, and the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Educators of the Philippines’ 15th National Food Showdown, the BYF said Oct. 18.
“This year’s MassKanamit Festival was bigger with more competition categories than last year’s, and a larger number of participants,” Ana Tison, chairperson of the BYF Food Committee, said in a statement.
The event aims to highlight Bacolod’s rich gastronomic culture, as well as innovations on local and traditional dishes, with focus on food sustainability and environmental protection.
Renowned celebrity chefs Robby Goco, Myrna Segismundo, cookbook author Nina Daza-Puyat, cheese master Olive Puentespina, Virginia de Guzman, celebrity chef pioneer Glenda Barretto, Cheong Yan See, Niño Angelo Comsti, Raul Ramos, Cristina Legarda, F&B consultant Beth Romualdez, and Kalel Chan served as judges, along with Bacolod-born chefs Tom Bascon, Fern Aracama, Jomi Gaston, Sunshine Puey, and Tonyboy Escalante.
With more and more students raising the bar in pastry competitions, like during the MassKanamit Festival, Segismundo said she sees Bacolod’s potential of becoming the country’s Pastries Capital.
“Sweet is always a very welcome flavor that bites even well for the locals,” Segismundo said. “With all the pastries, cakes, and desserts that you have here, you should be promoting yourself as the Pastry Capital of the Philippines. It’s obvious to link sugar to Bacolod, being Sugarlandia’s capital.” ||
