The winning team: Master mixologist and restaurateur, Enzo Lim and Chef Claude Tayag. CONTRIBUTED
WASHINGTON, DC – Chef Claude Tayag’s bringhe and Enzo Lim’s special cocktail bagged the People’s Choice Award at the 8th Annual Embassy Chef Challenge on May 25.
The Philippines’ offering bested the entries of 17 other Embassies in the People’s Choice category whose results were compiled through social media and hard copy ballot voting.
“The Filipino people won it. We have conquered the world with our cuisine,” said Tayag at the event held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. The chefs throw down was organized by Events DC and Cultural Tourism DC.
Chef Claude Tayag’s Bringhe paired with Enzo Lim’s special cocktail wins the People’s Choice Award in the 8th Annual Embassy Chef Challenge. CONTRIBUTED
“See the trending here in the US. Philippine cuisine has crept into the mainstream. They know about adobo, pancit, and lumpia. A lot of people around the world have what I call a ‘Filipino cuisine connection’. I really think it is our decade,” Tayag added.
Master mixologist and restaurateur Enzo Lim, whose special cocktail was described as “bold in its use of tropical flavors and locally inspired by way of ginger zest and kalamansi,” shared Chef Claude’s excitement about the Philippines’ inaugural participation in the Challenge.
“This is the first time we joined, and I am glad that I’m a part of it. It is a great way to learn about the cuisines of other countries and obviously, to showcase ours, which I think we did,” Lim said.
Chef Craig Greenridge, representing the Embassy of Barbados, took home the Judges’ Choice Award.
Embassy Chefs from 18 countries pose for a group photo before the awarding ceremony of the 2016 Embassy Chef Challenge at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on May 25. CONTRIBUTED
“Winning the People’s Choice Award is a nod to the world-class quality of our cuisine, its strong appeal to international palates, and of course, to the talent of Chef Claude and Enzo. With this achievement, we hope to bring our culinary diplomacy to even greater heights,” said Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.
“Flavors of the Philippines,” a joint project of the Philippine Embassy, Philippine Trade and Investment Center and Office of the Agriculture Attaché in Washington D.C., is supported by the US-Philippines Society, Philippine Airlines, Seafood City Supermarket and 13 Degrees North.