Top Filipino chef crowned at 2nd annual Kulinarya showdown

Albert Rivera

Billed as a Filipino culinary showdown, the 2nd annual “Kulinarya” was held last Saturday, January 21st, at Carnelian-By-The-Bay, a charming two-story restaurant right behind a San Francisco landmark, the Ferry Building. And during this balmy day, with the sun out, and just a touch of cold in the air, the organizers couldn’t have picked a better day. People streamed to the venue, packing the restaurant to the rafters. The main dining room was transformed to three mini kitchenettes where the contestants prepared their menu; while in front of them a gallery looked with interest at the proceedings. Each of the contestants seemed to have a whole “barangay” cheering for them.

The word kulinarya is a Filipino term that translates to “culinary” or “cuisine”. Kulinarya, the event had its auspicious beginnings as part of a cultural tourism program launched by the Department of Tourism last year. It is a half-day event meant to showcase Filipino food products, and cuisine as interpreted by the best of Filipino amateur and professional chefs. The main feature of this year’s event, as was last year’s, was a cooking competition among six finalists—three from the amateur division and three from the professional division–chosen from a Semi-Final Competition held last October, 2011, in Milpitas, California.

The title of Filipino Top Chef, professional division, was won by Albert Rivera, who got his culinary skills from his grandfather and sharpened them in formal schooling at a community college in Contra Costa County. He started his culinary career as an intern at Plouf in San Francisco. He continued to hone his craft and kitchen at various restaurants including Shinsen in Hercules and, after a brief sabbatical to spend time with his wife and two young sons, Va de Vi, named one of San Francisco Chronicle’s Top 100 restaurants. Rivera now works as Sous Chef at the sophisticated Metro Lafayette. For his accomplishment, Rivera won a round trip ticket to Manila including hotel stay and a culinary tour to different cities and provinces in the Philippines.

The amateur division was won by Gloria Ramos who got her introduction to cooking from her grandmother’s kusinero (cook) while summer vacationing in Tarlac. When Ramos is not busy creating her own interpretation of classic Filipino dishes, she indulges her passion in writing and the arts. Ramos, too, won a travel package to the Philippines and culinary tour.

Joys Sanchez

This year, Kulinarya added a third contest, the PILI NUT Cookoff. The pili nut is vastly grown in the Bicol region, south of Manila. Participants were asked to concoct dishes using the pili nut as the focal if not the main ingredient. Arlene Nunez won this contest, and a travel package to the Philippine province of Bicol.

Judging was done by a panel composed of food writers and bloggers Joanne Boston, Lynne Bennett, and Rose Ravasco, Asian Culinary Forum president and San Francisco Professional Food Society past president Nanncy Freeman, and Chicago-based private chef and TV show host Ron Bilaro.

The evening’s proceedings was capably emceed by the arena voice of the Golden State Warriors Franco Finn, who brought his high energy announcing to the Carnelian-by-the-Bay and livened up the festivities.

While the contest was going on at one side of Carnelian-By-The-Bay, the other half was transformed into mini-food stalls from a dozen or so Filipino owned restaurants and bakeshops that sold samplings of their food with proceeds going to victims of typhoon Sendong. The food sold out before the contest was over.

Kulinarya was organized by the San Francisco General Consulate headed by Consul General Marciano A. Paynor, Jr., Mrs. Teresita Paynor, Department of Tourism Director, Rene delos Santos, Consul Reginald Bernabe, Trade Commissioners Josephine Romero and Michael Ignacio, consular and tourism staff. Al Perez, Executive Director of Philippine American Arts and Exposition collaborated with organizers in making a rousing success of this year’s Kulinarya.