TELUS International, which is regularly recognized as a top employer and awarded for its industry-leading employee engagement activities, recently launched a recipe competition for team members across the TELUS International Philippines, Chengdu (China), and India delivery centers.
The winning recipes were featured in the first-ever TELUS International cookbook entitled “A Taste of Diversity.”
“Many of our most treasured moments involve sharing a meal with loved ones,” said Rajiv M.Dhand, Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific at TELUS International.
“Breaking bread has always been a tradition that brings people together and is the simplest, most universal expression of love and community. At a time when it is so easy to feel isolated and disconnected because of the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to create a cookbook that can be a catalyst for bonding with each other, even from a distance,” he added.
Adding to the prestige was the chance for the recipe to be chosen by an impressive line-up of seasoned culinary experts who decided on the contents of the cookbook.
The board of judges consisted of Royal Indian Curry House’s Chef Surat Rana, a veteran who has held top culinary positions with leading hotel chains and was awarded the Netizen’s Best Choice Award in 2018; Chinese Chef Sheng Tian, who has built his career as a consultant in Chinese cuisine specialized in Cantonese, Lu, Zhe and Chuan cuisines; and Filipino Chef RJ Ungco, a respected culinary expert in the Philippine food and restaurant industry who, after a celebrated run with five-star restaurants in Manila, now runs his own culinary business.
The competition kicked off with a virtual recipe writing workshop and food photography 101 session facilitated by Ungco and DiscoverMNL founder Lucky Alabado.
Over 150 team members responded to the request for original Indian, Philippine and Chinese recipes, but only 60 emerged as winners across five categories: soups, salads, appetizers, main course, and desserts.
“I was truly amazed with the creativity, talent, love, and passion the participants showed in their products. Great job, guys! Awesome job to the minds behind this project,” said Chef Ungco.
The winners in the Soups and Salads categories are as follows: Jomar Agregado, Cris Advincula, Diana Adorna, Rayzy Angeles Nufable, Neha Bhutani, Angel Tang, Karen Joy Belos, and Federico Guillergan. Winners in the Appetizer category included Ella Cecilia Edralin, Edrelynne Dela Pena, Carlo Planco, John Edmar Llasus, Darren Polante, Neneth Navarette, John Agustin Belicena, Anish Debnath, Juhi Zaidi, Pallavi Das, Huachen Xing, and Ernest James Perlas.
Winners in the Main Course category were Amy Zhang, Fiona Feng, Susie Su, Silvia Zeng, Tooy Wang, Mirei Magallona, Jayson Toledo, Joseph Ivan Gaffud, Karen Villegas, Maria Angelica Bustamante, Lance de los Angeles, Roderick Santos, Karen Tan, Justine Alano, Lindley Aurelio, Mark Esteve Pereda, Myca Santos, Ephraim Miguel Mercado, Anil Thapa, Gautam Piplani, Gourab Sarkar, Keshav Aggarwal, Amil Khan, Namrata Goel, Paras Saini, Rahul Bose, Sushant Khanka, and Vishu Luthra.
In the Desserts Category, the winners were Anmol Sarraf, Monika Jaiswal, Nawaz Nasar, Richa Sharma, Roxanne Moon, Sajal Gupta, Arian Corpuz, Aldrich Cu, Mary Jo Macorol, Michael Imbao, Joven Quitayen, and Rolly Harcia.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think my recipe might be featured in a published cookbook, especially one that has been curated by such seasoned chefs. Thank you, TELUS International for making this happy foodie’s wish come true,” said Ella Edralin, one of the winners and a TELUS International Philippines team member since 2006.
TELUS International Philippines is offering a free download of this cookbook at www.linkedin.com/company/telus-international-philippines/
Readers are invited to share their own take on these recipes with photos or videos, using the hashtag #TasteOfDiversity.
“The TELUS International Asia-Pacific A Taste of Diversity cookbook has been made by our team members with love. From family recipes passed down from generation to generation, new recipes made with ingenuity and passion, and recipes that reflect the unique culture of our team members – all these and more can be found here. The TELUS International team in Asia-Pacific takes pride in our diverse and caring culture. And that colorful diversity is reflected here, in our first-ever cookbook,” said Dhand.