Last year, Miriam College bagged the Umami Bowl and reigned supreme at the 3rd Umami Culinary Challenge where over 300 student-competitors vied for the much coveted awards.   This year, the 4th AJINOMOTO® Umami Culinary Challenge (UCC) promises to be more exciting with 450 students set to outdo each other’s culinary skills.  I can’t wait to see what UMAMI DISHES this year’s competitors will whip up!

450 HRM and Nutrition students from 43 universities and colleges in Metro Manila and nearby provinces are set to showcase their culinary skills and mastery of the umami taste at the AJINOMOTO® Umami Culinary Challenge (UCC) 2013. The whole day event will be held on February 2, 2013 at Hall 2 of the SMX Convention Center.

Now on its fourth year, Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation has established UCC as the first of its kind, interschool, multi-category culinary competition that focuses on umami, the 5^th basic taste alongside sweet, sour, bitter and salty. UCC is growing bigger each year. “We want more aspiring chefs to discover how deep understanding of umami effectively develop their skills to attain culinary excellence.” says Chef Russell Bautista, Project Head of UCC.

Contestants will be engaged in five (5) competition categories: 1) Umami Bento Meal, 2) Healthy Asian Umami Dish, 3) Best Filipino Umami Dish, 4) My own Umami Creation and 5) Umami Potter. Criteria for selecting the winning dishes are intensity of umami taste, culinary technique and creativity, dish preparation, plate presentation and Eat Well, Live Well.® Cooking, which refers to the integration of culinary skills and nutrition knowledge to create a delicious and nourishing umami dish.

Culinary luminaries like Chef Seiji Kamura (Executive Chef Mana Clinary Fusion), Chef Joey Herrera (ISCAHM Chef), Chef Ed Quimson (Chef Patron M Catering & Fine Foods), Chef Eugene Raymundo (Food stylist, part owner of Five Cows Restaurant and Kitch Café), Chef Babes Austria (Executive Chef, Taal Vista Hotel Tagaytay), to name a few, will serve as competition judges.

Foodies and other guests will enjoy seminars on food safety and food processing, umami cooking demonstrations, interactive booths from sponsors and other exciting activities. UCC also welcomes caterers and meat processors as the event is staged in partnership with the Food Caterers Association of the Philippines (FCAP) and the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS). The AJINOMOTO® Umami Culinary Challenge 2013 is presented by Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation and sponsored by La Germania, Solane, Whirlpool/Fujidenzo and Masflex.

*Press Release from Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation