It?s been years since I judged a cooking competition. I?ve had unpleasant experiences tasting mad scientist concoctions dreamed up by misguided culinary enthusiasts. But when Jose Badelles, the Marketing Communications Manager of the Hyatt City of Dreams Manila asked me to be a judge once again, I find I?m excited to do it.
Hyatt?s Good Taste Series is an annual competition aimed at finding and fostering culinary talent within the Hyatt group. The competition began in the US-based Hyatt properties and this year is being held globally. Regional contests will be held through the rest of this year and today?s winner would be going to Hong Kong in October for the chance of possibly competing in the finals next year in the US.
The expansive kitchen of the Cafe is the impressive backdrop of the five chefs nominated to compete in today?s competition. The night before, they were given a mystery basket of ingredients, the basis of the cold and hot dishes that they would be cooking today. It?s a grab bag combination of mangoes, ampalaya (bitter gourd), ube (purple yam), shrimp, duck. With these, the competitors would make one cold and one hot dish to present.
We five judges are encouraged to interact with the competitors and so I step into the thick of the action at the ?stadium?.

The ?chef-testants? hustling in what co-judge Chef JP Anglo calls ?an awesome kitchen,? his eyes aglow with admiration.

Chef Dusadee Tindoy framed in smoke wafting over two perfectly fabricated duck br...