The AJINOMOTO® Umami Culinary Challenge 2013 (UCC 2013)

The fourth year and fifth implementation of the AJINOMOTO® Umami Culinary Challenge welcomes thousands of visitors and 450 student-competitors at the SMX Convention Center. 43 universities and colleges in Metro Manila and nearby provinces showcased their mastery of achieving umami taste in their culinary creations to vie for the coveted Umami Bowl Award.

Competitors try their hand at Eat Well, Live Well.® Cooking to create healthy and tasty dishes

 In each of the five (5) competition categories, HRM and Nutrition students were given an hour to prepare and cook their dishes. Judges decided based on intensity of umami taste, culinary technique and creativity, dish preparation and plate presentation. One of the major criteria of this competition is Eat Well, Live Well.® Cooking. This criterion refers to the integration of culinary skills and nutrition knowledge to create a delicious and nourishing umami dish.

Apart from the culinary competitions, foodies and other guests enjoy exhibit booths from sponsors and participated in catering and meat processing seminars. Ms. Kathryn Bernardo, the new AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning endorser, also made a special appearance to congratulate all the participants for a job well done.

The event finale is the awarding of winners, which names Arellano University – Jose Abad Santos as the Umami Bowl Champion for garnering the highest average score and excelling in the competition categories.

Arellano University – Jose Abad Santos wins the Umami Bowl Award for the Ajinomoto® Umami Culinary Challenge 2013

The AJINOMOTO® Umami Culinary Challenge 2013 is presented by Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation, in partnership with the Food Caterer’s Association of the Philippines and sponsored by La Germania, Solane, Whirlpool/Fujidenzo, Sweetlink, Masflex and Anvil Publishing.

Food Demonstration with Selected media friends: 

During the food demonstration with the media. Chef McRhyan Rodrigo explains the value of Umami on our dishes.

  Select media friends gather to witness the umami-licious dishes being prepared by Chef Rodrigo

 Lucky for me! I was given the opportunity by Joyce Mendoza to plate the 2nd dish!!

Plating during the food demonstration with the media at the 4th Ajinomoto Umami Culinary Challenge 2013

 Finished product!!

 Chef Jajie (that's me!) with the finished product.