MY FIRST FUN-COOKING COMPETITION USING TABASCO!

Today was my very first fun cooking competition . . .it was my first cooking competition period.  It was fun!  Thank you Taste Setter-Tabasco for the experience!

April 24, 2018 was the Taste Setter event of Tabasco held at the Magsaysay Institute Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts.  It was a two part event – a demo during the morning and a cook-off after lunch.  The demonstration was very interesting in terms of usage of the different Tabasco sauces available in the market and the rising food trends in the market.  Demonstration was made by Chef Ron who was candid and open to queries coming from all attendees.

With all the sauces introduced, the dishes simply showed the flavor effect of each sauce – flavor effect in terms of it as part of a marinated and seasoning in a dish, not just heat but also flavor.  You can choose from the Tabasco Original Red sauce, Tabasco Green Sauce, Tabasco Chipotle Sauce, Tabasco Habanero sauce and Tabasco Garlic Sauce – each has a distinct flavor and heat that you can play with your dishes and drinks to give it a new dimension.

Well this is about my cooking competition experience, so here goes.

I was somehow, the last one to start since I have no group to join and I was on my own to begin with.  There were five (5) groups already formed and discussing what they will prepare while I have to play catch-up for we were given an hour to prepare a dish and a drink using only the ingredients available and Tabasco sauce.  Mine was dessert and beverage.

I made the simplest dish that I could think of and that was a crepe with a matching drink based on some ingredients I planned to use in the crepe.  This was a fun competition to begin with.  Fun because it was just an application of what knowledge was imparted earlier and how playful can you get with flavors; competition because there was a trophy at stake. Hehehehe!

Thankful for the assistance that Richard Lacorte and some of the staff of MIHCA, because they became my arms and legs in getting some of the stuff that I need since everybody got what they need already and I have to make use of what was still available.  It was fun to cook again and let my brains work for that matter.  Imagine cooking for one plate only, no excess ingredients (less waste) and with what is available in terms of tools.  Challenge, yes!  Challenge accepted.

I was able to deliver without tasting what I made (stupid right?) but it was all for fun and simply enjoying the moment.  I named my dessert as Crepe Bites and my drink as Summer Kick (ingredients and procedure in my next post).  I know not what my ranking but I was happy to deliver something that has flavor and some texture in the dish that they were not expected to find. They like the caramel taste that I was able to produce in my sauce plus the added texture I gave my crepe sauce.  I like the kick that my drink has (love your creation).   True that I got kicked with the thickness of my crepe, still I got to analyze it now and know how to serve it better the next time.  For now, all that matters is the fun of making a dish.  Another take I got from this experience is the fact that I need to try things out first before presenting it to the public (test kitchen is a must!)

Again thank you TBDC for the invite and Taste Setter-Tabasco for the event!  I had fun and hope to join you again in your next Taste Setter event.