By: Hannah Heramia
Senior hotel and restaurant management students from the College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA) reaped a Diploma Award in the 12th National Food Showdown 2018 held in Elements at Centris, Quezon City from October 26-27, 2018.
It was the first time the Colegio participated in the annual competition with Shannon Kyle Punzalan and Dannah Peligrino as representatives.
After winning a medal in the Klasika Kulinarya category, Punzalan asserts that their passion was the key takeaway in the two-day competition.
From his experience, he adds: “Hindi [man] siya ganun kataas but sabi nga ng mga mentor and professors namin from our department, it's not bad for first-timers, kasi ‘yung iba nga hindi umabot sa quota and at least nagkaroon tayo ng idea on how other schools or university take [the] NFS competition seriously.”
Punzalan also narrates that the team went through various training sessions and simulations prior to NFS. “Siguro ‘yung naging challenge lang sa amin during the NFS is ‘yung time limit na one hour to create two versions of dish.”
Peligrino, on the other hand, thanked those who supported them all throughout the event. “Actually hindi ko iniisip talaga na makakakuha kami ng award, thankful din ako [dahil] nakatulong sa amin ‘yung pag-support ng Letran. ‘Yung support na binigay samin ng mga classmates namin, and ‘yung Letran Chefs,” she concludes.
The 4th-year BSHRM students were coached by Chef Dioscoro Franco Jr., one of their professors and a former chef in Malacañang Palace. Meanwhile, HRM faculty members, Assoc. Prof. Jinky Batiduan and Asst. Prof. Maria Rowena Diocares also assisted the representatives.
The NFS is an annual reunion of HRM or Culinary arts and foodservice or hospitality industry professionals open for students and professionals of the culinary industry who wanted to showcase their skills and talents.