MANILA, Philippines - Practice Makes Perfect was the theme of the eighth National Food Showdown (NFS) culinary festival held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City last Sept. 23 and 24, which was attended by over 5,000 food enthusiasts from various hotels, restaurants, culinary schools, colleges and universities who vied for awards in different student and professional categories.
The Hotel Sogo team’s (from left) Pablo Lozano, Roland Juating, Michael Santos and Marco Matutino bagged three awards that made their hotel’s Food and Beverage manager Lito dela Cruz (center) very proud.
Matutino’s Grilled Salmon with Lemon Sauce, Home Style Steak, Grilled Chicken Fillet with Three Ginger Sauces and Spicy Squid on Sotanghon Nest bagged the Diploma Award in the main course category, while the same award was given to the tandem of Juating and Lozano for their Fried Vegetables and Pork Dumplings. Juating and Lozano also nabbed the Bronze Medal for their Sinigang Na Baka Sa Batuan in the Klasikakulinarya category.
‘Joining a prestigious competition like the NFS provides an opportunity for us to learn about the new and exciting trends in the food and beverage industry. We also become aware of the tastes, flavors and techniques we can apply if not replicate in the kitchen of our chain of hotels,’ said Dela Cruz.
The winning creations of the hotel’s chefs will, of course, be included in the hotel’s menu that offers guests an array of delicious and affordably-priced food and beverages in line with the Hotel Sogo philosophy, “So clean, so good.”