News
Cooking competition in Colombia
August 21, 2023
USAPEEC, under the sponsorship of the Kansas Soybean Commission, recently conducted the finale of the 9th edition of the “Reto Gourmet” competition at the Gato Dumas Cooking School in Bogotá and at Sinu University in Cartagena.
The event's goals were to increase the presence of U.S. poultry products on restaurant menus throughout Colombia and to generate awareness among chefs from hotels, restaurants, and food service operators about the flavor, price, and quality of U.S. poultry products, including turkey, duck, and chicken.
During the first phase of the competition, there were 1,760 registered participants; of these, 274 completed the full application process. During July, 30 participants were selected to participate in the final round, with 10 participants chosen for Cartagena and 20 for Bogotá.
The selection criteria for the competition were based on the participants' recipes, which required the use of mandatory ingredients (U.S. turkey, duck, or chicken meat), as well as evaluating the professional profile, originality, creativity, and innovative use of the cuts in the proposed dishes.
In Bogotá, chef Nayara Fernandez (pictured) won with her dish, “Pato Volcánico,” which is duck magret made on volcanic stone and served with pomegranate, raspberry, and peach syrup sauce, accompanied by creamy pumpkin with chachafruto, topped with foie gras truffle, all served on a bed of carantanta.
In Cartagena, chef Miguel Moreno (pictured) won with his dish, “Parpeo.” He used chicken, duck, and turkey in three different presentations: snack, main dish, and dessert.
The winning chefs in Bogotá and Cartagena willtravel to the Culinary Educational Mission in the U.S.in December. The chefs will get to explore various U.S. culinary marketplaces including grocery stores and top-notch restaurants.