Today, I traveled all the way from Fairview to SM City Sucat to witness the Grand Finals of SM Hypermarket’s Best Pinoy Street Food 2015. You see, I’m always on the look out for new talents in the local food industry, so I never hesitate to go to far places as long as I know it’s gonna be worth it.
First, there was the elimination round, where all 10 finalists were divided into 5 groups. Their challenge – to cook their best version of spaghetti good for 100 pax in less than 2 hrs, to be then tasted and judged by the public (me included).
Some of the teams decided to create unique recipes in the hope to stand out, while some decided to stick with the classic red and white sauces.
I was pretty impressed with the team who used pureed squash as their sauce then topped with roasted chicken. My personal pick tho, was group 4’s red and white sauce with chicken and mushrooms as I found it to be the most flavourful. In the end, it was the 2 groups who cooked the traditional style that were voted as the best by the public.
Meet the final 4!
For the final cook off, Kusina Master Chef Boy Logro decided to choose Chicken Bacon Roulade as the dish the final 4 had to make. Chef Boy prepared a sample for them to try and he also demonstrated on how to make the Bechamel sauce for the topping.
The final 4 contestants then all marched to SM Hypermarket one last time, to buy the needed ingredients for the assigned recipe.
Around less than an hour, it was then time for the 3 judges to taste all entries to determine the big winner!
And so, after a whole day packed with camaraderie, fun entertainment and exciting challenges, the judges declared Angelica Libed of Aling Mila’s Food Delivery & Catering as the Best Pinoy Street Food 2015 winner! Her prize? Her very own food stall at SM Hypermarket with FREE rent for 1 year, 50k worth of SM Advantage Card shopping points and another 50k worth of food service items to help kickstart her business. Bongga!
Congratulations again Angelica for being this year’s big winner! Congratulations also to the other equally talented cooks who made it all the way to the finals! I look forward in visiting each of you soon to help promote your specialties!
Angelica Libed – Pinoy Street Food 2015 GRAND WINNER!
Of course, congratulations as well to the dedicated organizing team for making this year’s competition another huge success!
Big thanks as well to all the sponsors headed by SM Hypermarket for their continued support to our local street vendors and small scale food business owners. We at WhenInManila.com are truly proud to be a part of this and are happy to serve as well! =)
Planning to join next year? Visit www.facebook.com/SMMarkets for updates!
