THOMASIAN culinary students bagged the highest gold award and seven other medals in the 15th Philippine Culinary Cup (PCC), the country’s most prestigious international culinary competition sanctioned by the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (Worldchefs).
Leading the delegation were Earl Joshua Lipata and Anthony John Sincero, fourth-year hospitality management majors specializing in culinary entrepreneurship.
They clinched the highest gold in the Young Chefs category with their prawn confit appetizer and truffle-stuffed chicken breast main course.
The PCC, held from Aug. 6 to 9 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, is the only Worldchefs-endorsed continental culinary competition in the country, bringing together local and foreign chefs under the scrutiny of internationally accredited judges.
Lipata and Sincero described the competition as “far more intense” than classroom laboratories, with the challenge of working in high-end, unfamiliar kitchens while being observed by global culinary experts.
“In UST CTHM, we’re not just taught how to cook; rather, we are pushed to our limits and honed to uphold the industry’s highest standards,” Sincero said. “Our dishes were a reflection of ourselves, our hard work, and our dedication to our craft.”
Their appetizer featured prawn confit with pineapple brûlée, chipotle-bell pepper aioli, cucumber-lemon foam, and honeycomb charcoal tuile, while their main course paired truffle-stuffed chicken breast with maple pumpkin purée, truffle-leek fondue, and sautéed vegetables.
Lipata said their month-long training included early morning market runs, marathon kitchen shifts, and adjustments to recipes.
Other medalists included Amie Nazareno and Sean Sunga, who bagged silver in the Young Chefs category with their pistachio-crusted chicken roulade and crab tartare, while Adrian Zapata won silver in Poultry for his apricot and pistachio-stuffed ballotine.
Ariana Ysabel Pascual also secured silver in Creative Breakfast with her miso-glazed poached salmon aburi.
In Filipino Cuisine, Alexis Señoron and Patrick Perez took silver for their modern piyalam istah, as Alan Jefri Macaraeg and Joab Tan earned bronze with a three-course menu showcasing Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao cuisine.
In the Pastry category, Atasha Bettina Delgado won bronze for Felicisima, a Yakan-inspired wedding cake adorned with woven patterns, orchids, okir carvings, and a vinta sailboat, which she dedicated to her late grandmother.
The delegation, composed mostly of senior culinary entrepreneurship majors and assisted by junior apprentices, trained for a month under faculty coaches and alumni mentors led by Asst. Prof. Reinald Andaya, CTHM’s culinary competition coordinator.
“They are actually competing with professional chefs already,” Andaya said. “So it’s a good thing that even our students, even though they haven’t finished their studies yet, ready na sila.”
Organized by the Le Toque Blanche Philippines Chefs Association, the PCC is considered one of Asia’s top competitions. David Nigel C. Cortes and Rev E. Dela Cruz
