By Ging Reyes, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau Chief
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San Francisco, CA. - Chefs, cooks, foodies – anyone and everyone who loved Filipino food showed up during the first round of “Kulinarya,” the Filipino culinary showdown sponsored by the Philippine Department of Tourism office in San Francisco.

Twelve professional and amateur cooks from Northern California, who shared a passion for cooking Filipino dishes, battled it out Saturday at the Metreon in San Francisco.

The panel of judges had to choose three amateur and professional finalists, based on creativity, presentation and taste.

I was among the panel of judges, which included Thomas Weibull, Executive Chef of Swell, Kelly Degala, Chef of the Academy Café at the California Academy of Sciences, Cindy Mendoza of San Francisco’s Asian Culinary Forum, Lennie DiCarlo of XRoads Philippine Sea Salts, Jun Belen, a food blogger and Mrs. Teresita Paynor.

It was tough contest but we had to choose the winners in the amateur division.

19-year old Nathan Camba of San Jose cooked an old favorite – Escabecheng Lapu-lapu, but gave it a modern twist, adding prawns and giving it a spicier kick.

Clemente Escopete or Uncle Clem, a retired engineer, impressed us with his Bicolano version of Beef Calderetta.

Fil-Am educator Aileen Suzara’s take on the classic kare-kare was a standout.  The dish was nestled in banana hearts and accompanied by crisp, organically-grown vegetables.  “For me, it was really putting emphasis on the gulay within the kare-kare that kinda stood out.  I also want to use all the parts of the bananas, so I used the heart to hold the main dish, to cradle it, I also made sure all ingredients were very fresh and locally grown,” Suzara said.

We were stuffed by the time we got to judging the pros.

But that didn’t stop us from enjoying Edgar Grajo’s sea bass Escabeche, a summery version that could work as a salad or main course.  Grajo shared that his secret ingredient was rice wine vinegar.  “Simple lang, yung rice vinegar, yun lang naman ang nagpasarap, pagkatapos, yung melange of different vegetables. not only that, hindi mo na igigisa, madaling gawin ito kahit na sa bahay,” said Grajo.

Also irresistible was Kristela Mendoza’s Pork Sisig.  I thought the  combination of pork ears, liver, onions and spices was almost perfect.  Mendoza said, “we started cooking the sisig this morning, and a little bit of it last night. I was happy that they really enjoyed something we make for ourselves at home.”

Finally, Chef Cocoy Ventura’s Lamb Shank Calderetta was too rich and flavorful to be ignored.  His dish is a favorite at Mina’s, a fine dining restaurant in Las Vegas, where Ventura works.

Bringing Filipino cuisine into mainstream America is still a challenge for these chefs, though.  Ventura explained, “It’s challenging. We still have to break through that wall. We need more people, more businesses that would open such doors.”  Mendoza adds, “I will always encourage Philippine cuisine into mainstream American culture. Now that may mean that we don’t always call it adobo, we don’t always call it sisig, but we are introducing it slowly into that culture.”

The final round of Kulinarya will be held in October, in celebration of Filipino-American history month.

Winners in each category will get a round trip ticket to the Philippines and a tour of culinary destinations.  I look forward to this final round.

As one of the judges in the first round of the culinary throwdown, I was treated to a variety of flavors, to classic favorites and timeless recipes given a modern twist.  More than a competition, it was a celebration of Filipino cuisine.

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