BAGUIO CITY—Three young chefs of the city’s only exclusive club stamped their class in the recent National Food Showdown and earned the right to represent the country in an international competition in Singapore this year.
Crispian Dave Pettoco, Phobe Pocais and Jayson Cacheco will represent the country in Singapore, competing against the best in the world culinary industry, said Anthony de Leon, general manager of the Baguio Country Club and president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio.
The three won in the professional category of the national food showdown representing Luzon, as they bested culinary professionals from other parts of the country.
De Leon said the competitors will vie against chefs from Japan, China, Singapore, France and other European countries, who already signified their intention to join the prestigious competition.
Pettoco said that in Singapore, the three BCC chefs will highlight Filipino dishes.
“We want to lift up the Filipino dishes, but we have to wait for the advice of the organizers on what ingredients to capitalize on, as that would determine what dishes they will be showcasing in the international tilt,” he stressed.
“One thing is for sure, we want to feature Filipino dishes,” Cacheco added.
During the national competition from July 20 to 21 at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City where they vied against representatives from the Visayas and Mindanao, the BCC chefs worked hand-in-hand on an appetizer, main course and dessert, using egg as the primary ingredient of their dishes.
For the appetizer, Pocais said she prepared a foam with egg yolk. She did this by sucking the content of the egg and changed it into chocolate, which came as a surprise when the egg cracked.
For the main course, Cachero said he did an herbed dish with egg, a “champorado crocket” accompanied by chocolate. He topped it with Mexico’s national sauce “Mole” to add flavor.
Pettoco, who did the desert, gave the native “palitaw” rice cake a twist by using “yema” (sweet egg yolk) as filling, noting that “palitaw” is no longer appreciated so much anymore.
“I made use of glutinous rice, mixed with egg white, and placed yema as filling. I also assembled an egg shape and used the egg white as merengue, which is French in nature, and I used the chocolate to make a nest with ‘sabayon’ sauce using egg and ‘latik’ (sweet coconut milk) and topped with local fruits like strawberry and mango.”
“I wanted to lift the Filipino dessert. When it comes to egg and chocolate, one can make a variety of desserts including egg-base custard, leche flan, braso de Mercedes, but decided on making ‘yema’,” he added.
While they did not have the chance to practice well before they competition, Pocais said their experience at Baguio Country Club came handy.
“We had the dedication and the passion to do whatever it takes. We had teamwork and mostly prayers as the team representing Luzon to be able to get the bacon home,” she said.
Their coaches Carlito Sagun, Richard Edison Soriano and Gemma Milagros Padsico also did a good job helping them win the competition, Pocais added.
Pettoco, 23, has been with the Country Club for two years “• his first job after graduating at the University of Baguio.
Pocais, 22, joined the resort in 2013 after likewise graduating from UB, while Cachero, who finished his studies from the University of the Cordilleras, joined Country Club in 2012.
