Spuds and Dairy Culinary Cup Crowns First Champs

It was a culinary battle for the ages, as Potatoes USA and Real California Milk brought together some of the best chefs and culinary students in the country to whip up outstanding Potato and Dairy creations for the first ever Spuds and Dairy Culinary Cup!

The cooking competition, presented by Potatoes USA and the California Milk Advisory Board (Real California Milk), was held last Friday, September 6, 2019 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall. The event was hosted by radio DJ Chico Garcia and mommy blogger/influencer Michelle Aventajado.

The exciting competition featured 10 teams made up of one professional chef and one culinary student. Each team had to draw from one of the five meal categories: Appetizer, Brunch, Main, Dessert and Bar Food and prepare a potato dish and a dairy dish.

Chef Rosebud Benitez planning their potato and dairy recipes with her
mentee Christian Cabacungan of PACE Academy.

The teams were given 30 minutes for grocery shopping and a budget of Php 5,000. They had 1 hour and 30 minutes to prep, cook and plate their dishes.

Chef Kit Carpio guides his teammate Grace Baban of Global Culinary and Hospitality Academy




To make things even more challenging, only the students could do all the prepping, mixing, cooking and plating. The chefs were not allowed to touch the ingredients nor prepare any of the food. They could only guide, give tips and taste the food.

Chef Robby Goco checks how much cooking time is left as his partner, Miko Manzano of the Lyceum of the Philippines, hurries to make the finishing touches.




At the end of the cook-off, the winner of the Best U.S. Potato Dish was the team of Chef Victor Barangan and Ria Garcia (student of Enderun Colleges). Their winning dish was Potato Royale with Potato Foam, Potato Tuile and Scotch Egg (Breakfast / Brunch Category). They each brought home a whopping Php 100,000.00 cash prize!

Best U.S. Potato Dish, Potato Royale with Potato Foam, Potato Tuile and Scotch Egg







For the Best California Dairy Dish, Chef James Antolin and Erik Roy San Luis (student of Center for Culinary Arts Manila) were declared winners for their Mozzarella Wrapped Salmon with Smoked Cheese, Infused Citrus Sauce, Grilled Vegetable Salad, Ricotta-Almond Crumbs and Potato Tuille (Bar Food Category). They won an all-expense paid trip to the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, California for an immersion program!

Best California Dairy Dish, Mozzarella Wrapped Salmon with Smoked Cheese, Infused Citrus Sauce, Grilled Vegetable Salad, Ricotta-Almond Crumbs and Potato Tuille

From left: Chef Victor Barangan, Ria Garcia, Erik Roy San Luis and Chef James Antolin



The board of judges were composed of Mr. Ryan Bedford - Agricultural Attaché of USDA; Mr. Rey Co - President of Hightower, Inc.; Chef Sau Del Rosario - President of Culinarya Pampanga; Ms. Nina Daza-Puyat - Lifestyle Columnist of Manila Bulletin, Editor of Appetite Magazine and cookbook author; and Chef Myrna Segismundo - Chairperson of the National Food Showdown.

The event was such a success that I have a feeling they’re doing it again next year! Kudos to Potatoes USA and Real California Milk!





Here are photos of some of the super tasty food prepared during the competition:

Dairy Dish of Chef Rosebud and Christian (Main Category) Three Cheese Cordon Blue with Pilaf Rice

Potato Dish of Chef Kit and Grace (Dessert Category) Kaiserschmarrn - Torn Potato Pancake with Berry Compote and Potato Vanilla Ice Cream

Potato Dish of Chef Robby and Miko (Appetizer Category) Potato Shrimp Beignet



I must say, competitions like this bring out the chef in me. For days, I’ve been thinking of dishes to prepare that has both potatoes and dairy! And I’ve decided to make a true-blue Pinoy fave! Watch out for it in my next blog post!

Want to create your own potato and dairy dishes? Visit the Potatoes USA Philippines or the Real California Milk Philippines Facebook pages to learn more about U.S. potatoes and California dairy.

Follow Real California Milk on Instagram @realcaliforniamilkphl.

#spudsanddairyculinarycup #potatoesusa #realcaliforniamilk

See you at the first ever 2019 Spuds and Dairy Culinary Cup

When it comes to potatoes never discriminate! Mashed, roasted, fried, or stewed, its easy to create a delicious dish from our favorite spuds! 

Same goes with dairy. There's milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, butter. The list is endless!

I am excited to find out that Potatoes USA and Real California Milk have partnered to bring us the first ever. 2019 Spuds and Dairy Culinary Cup! The best of the best in the local culinary world will gather to make the most creative and delicious potato and dairy dishes. That is quite a treat! 

The 2019 Spuds and Dairy Culinary Cup will be held on Friday, September 6, 2019 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall from 1:00PM--4:00PM. Admission is free! 

The exciting competition pits teams made of a professional chef and a top culinary student together to come up with their best potatoes and dairy dishes. Teams will be provided all the necessary tools and equipment, but would have to shop for their own ingredients. A wide array of U.S. potato and California dairy products will be made available to all the contestants.

The chef will not be permitted to cook, but can only plan, mentor and oversee dish development with his partner student. Execution will all be in the hands of the culinary student. Teams will need to load up on their creative juices as categories and special ingredients will be revealed just before the competition.

The board of judges will be comprised of renowned chefs and culinary experts from Potatoes USA and the California Milk Advisory Board.

Prizes for the winning team are quite an inspiration. The pair who wins Best Potato Dish will each walk away with a cool Php 100,000 cash prize. Meanwhile, the winners of the Best Dairy Dish will hop on a plane for an all-expense paid trip to the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, California for a three-day immersion program.

Here are the 10 pairs participating in the cook-off:

 Visit the Potatoes USA Philippines or the Real California Milk Philippines Facebook pages  for competition details and to learn more about U.S. potatoes and California dairy.

Follow Real California Milk Philippines on Instagram @realcaliforniamilkph

#spudsanddairyculinarycup2019 #potatoesusa #realcaliforniamilk