Emborg, the number one brand for chilled cheese in the Philippines, celebrated Filipino home cooks at the Emborg Cheesarap Cook-off Challenge, held at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City on 13th July. The event highlighted Emborg’s support for local culinary talent and its commitment to providing a diverse selection of high-quality dairy products from Europe transforming Filipino meals into a joyful celebration of flavors and togetherness.
“The Philippines has a rich culinary history, and many of our home cooks have created wonderful versions of beloved classics. We hope that through the Emborg Cheesarap Cook-off Challenge, we can encourage everyone to ignite their passion, get inspired, and fall in love with cooking all over again,” says Gerson Garcia, Emborg’s country manager in the Philippines.
Emborg celebrates Filipino culinary ingenuity
Emborg challenged Filipino home cooks to showcase their most unique and original Filipino culinary creations on social media using Emborg Shredded Cheeses. Thirty winners were chosen each week in June and awarded cash prizes. Each week’s three best home cooks were selected to compete live at the Emborg Cheesarap Cook-off Challenge.
Twelve passionate cooks from diverse regions across the Philippines, including Batangas, Bulacan, Rizal, Sorsogon, Laguna, Marikina, and Parañaque, competed in three teams, each guided by a distinguished mentor: renowned food creators Jujumao, Abi Marquez, and Foodie Fred. Under the expert guidance of these mentors, the teams showcased their creativity and skills by crafting various everyday Filipino dishes. They elevated the flavors and excitement of their creations using Emborg’s high-quality dairy products, spanning across a wide variety of cheeses, creams, butter, milk and fresh frozen fruits and vegetables.
The competition consisted of three rounds, each focusing on a specific course: appetizers, main course, and dessert. Esteemed judges included Erwan Heussaff, a renowned food content creator and creative director of FEATR; Nik Michael Imran, a Malaysian-Australian culinary icon known from MasterChef Malaysia; and Hans Madlos, a Filipino food scientist and culinary innovator with over a decade of industry experience.
quality European dairy products to Filipinos. In photo, from left: Emborg Head of Marketing, Asia & Oceania Julia Rybalchenko; Malaysian- Australian Culinary Icon Michael Imran; Creative Director of FEATR Erwan Heussaff; Filipino Food Scientist and Culinary Innovator Hans Madlos; and Country Manager Emborg Philippines Gerson Garcia
Cooking live on stage before a large audience was challenging enough, but the teams faced an extra test with each round’s Mystery Box. This further tested teams’ creativity and skills as the mystery box contained a mix of surprise ingredients and Emborg products. The home cooks had to quickly craft delicious dishes from these ingredients, aiming to impress the judges on taste, originality, presentation, and teamwork.
In the appetizers round the teams prepared two dishes: baked tahong and Pinoy nachos. The home cooks used a variety of Emborg Shredded Cheeses, including Mozzarella, Parmesan, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and 3 Cheese Bake, to enhance both dishes. The cheeses contributed with own unique qualities to the dishes such as depth, saltiness, meltiness, stretchiness, sharp flavor, and creaminess. In a stroke of creativity, teams added Emborg Black Lumpia Fish Caviar to the Baked Tahong, elevating it to a more gourmet level.
The challenge continued with teams preparing their unique versions of caldereta – Baked Lasagna version, Baked Spaghetti and Penne versions for the main course. The home cooks used a selection of Emborg shredded cheeses, cooking cream, milk, and butter. The dairy products worked together to create a smooth, creamy texture and a balanced flavor profile that enhanced the richness of caldereta.
Lastly, in the dessert round, the teams created traditional mango refrigerated cakes using Emborg Cream Cheese, Whipping Cream, and Mascarpone. Emborg’s products gave the dish volume, stability, and a richer flavor.
Emborg Cheesarap Cook-off Challenge culminated with Team Jujumao as the grand champion. Team Abi was awarded first runner-up, while Team Fred was second runner-up. Foodie Fred was also given the Best Mentor award.
Members of Team Jujumao received coffee machines worth P11,800 and a bundle of Emborg products worth P5,000. Meanwhile, the members of Teams Abi and Fred received air fryers worth P6,500 and a bundle of Emborg products worth P5,000.
Emborg inspires Filipinos to find joy in home cooking
Emborg Cheesarap Cook-off challenge underscored the joy and creativity of home cooking, making it a memorable celebration of Filipino culinary traditions. Besides watching teams test their creativity in the kitchen, the audience enjoyed interactive activities that added to the day’s excitement. Emborg offered visitors free samples of various cheeses, helping Filipinos explore the vast world of cheese beyond of well known Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Parmesan, and bringing these diverse flavors to their tables.
The cook-off challenge reflects Emborg’s commitment to providing quality European dairy products to Filipinos. It also highlights the brand’s mission to inspire everyone to transform their everyday Filipino ulam dishes into mouthwatering creations for family and friends, celebrating the rich culinary heritage of the Philippines.