Triple J donated the secret ingredient of the day which was beef.
The five chefs who stepped up to the challenge to compete for the title were Jin Woo Lee, Benjamin Babauta, Melquiades De Ramos, Rommel Villaviza, and Chuzi Rios.
Kagman and Rota high schools’ culinary arts students were present to assist the chefs during the competition.
Chef Ben Babauta, who is currently working at Hyatt, describes the competition process.
“We had 20 minutes to come up with a main entrée. We had to use the secret ingredient which turned out to be rib eye, chicken, fish, mango, hot pepper, and coconut,” says Babauta.
“For my dish I made grilled coconut meat and grilled rib eye, mango and hot pepper salsa with fried sweet potato chips, and coconut shavings as garnish — in 20 minutes.”
The dishes were judged on their taste, presentation, and difficulty.
In the end, Melquiades De Ramos came out victorious in the competition.
When asked how he felt upon receiving first place, the champion replied, “Very happy but at first I was really nervous.”
De Ramos tells Variety that he has been working in culinary arts for the past 10 years and is a chef at Fiesta Resort.
Lee came in second while Villaviza received third place.
Rose Smith, director and founder of Empty Vessel Ministry Foundation, says they have already set a date for the next competition: July 7, 2012.
