Judging at Unang Hirit Cook Off

Yesterday, I judged a cook off in GMA 7's Unang Hirit with fellow food bloggers and chefs. Yes, it was definitely a great breakfast! 

The cook off was between two all-male teams: Chef Nino Logarta and Chef Jonah Trinidad of Pino Kitchen Studio (Team 1) vs. Chef Joey Herrera and Chef Francis Tarin of Loop Creative Dining (Team 2). They were then judged by an all female panel of chefs and food bloggers: Lori of Dessert Comes First, Dahlia of Energy Lounge, Chef Rosebud of Quickfire and Smarla of Everyday Sweet Notes. :)

For the first round, both teams were tasked to make a soup. We were first served with Team 2's light pink salmon sitting on top of a curry coconut broth with noodles. This was indeed very spicy and I enjoyed the richness of the soup. It needed a bit of salt though but the salmon was cooked to perfection. It was so tender, I was tempted to finish it all by myself during the break. Of course I was trying to be proper so I didn't. :P 

The chefs of Pino Kitchen Studio cooked up a miso soup that had such flavor depth. At first sip it tasted clear and clean, then salty, then the flavors of the vegetables then the prawns became evident. It's like traveling from one taste to another. It's amazing! Yuum! Round 1 went to Team 1. 

Team 1 (left): Yakiniku Platter
Team 2 (right): Wagyu Beef Yakiniku 

After waiting for around 30-45 minutes, our segment in Unang Hirit was back on air. The next part was a Yakiniku Challenge. The chefs of Loop Creative Dining originally wanted to cook the wagyu beef right in front us but they weren't advised to do so to avoid any unwanted incidents on air. Awww. :( Anyway, they served the classic beef Yakiniku but they used Wagyu beef so it tasted so delicious like bacon. Yuuum! 

Team 1, on the other hand, prepared an artistically designed Yakiniku Platter which included grilled beef, pork, squid, prawns, mushrooms, pineapples and bell peppers. The dish had so many elements that everyone in the panel felt so ecstatic whenever they would find another ingredient, "They also have squid! Try it!" The great thing about it is that all of the ingredients had their own unique flavors which harmonized and contributed to the overall greatness of this dish. Team 1 also bagged round 2! 

So congratulations to the chefs of Pino Kitchen Studio, Chef Nino and Chef Jonah for winning the cook off that morning. I seriously want to eat in their restaurant now. Yuum! Of course Chef Joey and Chef Francis of Loop Creative Dining fought a good fight. I've been wanting to go to Loop since it was featured in other blogs. Overall, I feel so blessed to have 4 chefs cook my breakfast that morning. Yuum! 

Of course, the show wouldn't have been possible without the GMA 7 staff, especially Gladice who contacted all of us to be part of the show. Thank you! 

Chef Tristan

Thank you also to the 3 hosts of the cook off from GMA 7. They all did such a great job! 

The experience wouldn't be complete without the all female panelists. It was a comfort to meet Lori and Dahlia again. I love them! I'm also grateful that I met the friendly Chef Rosebud of Quickfire. I enjoyed the off air dialogues with all of them. :)

I also want to thank all four chefs, Chef Nino, Chef Jonah, Chef Joey and Chef Francis for waking up so early and cooking outside their kitchens just to serve us the most amazing food for breakfast. Definitely a great way to start the day! I can't wait to visit your restaurants soon to have some more of your cooking. Yuuum! 

Finally, I want to thank all of my friends, family members (even those in other countries and provinces) and my dear Everyday Sweet Notes readers for making this possible. :) It's certainly an experience I owe to my dear readers. Thank you. :)

If you missed out on the show, here's a rough recording of the segment taken at home. My mom missed the start of the 2nd half of the segment though. Sorry! Hope you enjoy the video though. :)

*pictures 1 and 10 courtesy of Lori Baltazar
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~It's the little sweet notes everyday that matter~