One of the highlights of the BonPen Festival was their culinary activity which was dubbed as Kulinarya BonPen, featuring the meat of the Guinea Fowl (Bengala) and the Goat's meat.  The aim of this culinary event is to showcase other alternative meats for cooking and they have chosen the Bengala and Goat meat which are now commonly raised in the district of the Bondoc Peninsula.  The local government wanted the Bondoc Peninsula to be known also for these meat products and different dishes out of it.


Different culinary schools and agencies participated in this competition.  Of course, they have divided the competition into two categories, one is for the amateurs and the other one is for the professionals.  For both the amateur and the professional they have three members in each team and they have a specific span of time to finish their chosen dishes.  Of course, prizes await for the winners and the prestige to be known as the first champion of the Kulinarya BonPen.  I'm not really sure if the BonPen Festival organizers will sure the winning recipe as the official dish of the BonPen Festival.


Of course, an event would not be complete without a celebrity chef and for this event, they have invited Chef Tristan who we commonly see in commercials endorsing food products.  His quite more appealing in person.  Chef Tristan made a simple cooking demonstration of the goat meat which made most of the ladies go loco.    


Since we, bloggers, are invited they choose five among us to be their judges for the Kulinarya BonPen.  Unfortunately I was not chosen but fortunately because some of the remaining bloggers get a chance to roam around first and get a chance to know some part of the history of the place but of course, we did enjoy first the cooking event.  I did get some great shots of foods as well.  Seeing those dishes makes me crave to taste more of it.  This makes my tummy really full.  They are all mouthwatering! Most of us got our picks and bet of who will win and luckily my bet wins and bagged the first prize.  The dish got a distinct taste and an exquisite plating.  I'm not much of a cook but I can say what my tongue can taste and my eyes can see.  It's like a dish made in some of the great cooking shows.

The winning dish

It's a great experience and hopefully next year I would be invited again and perhaps by that time I get a chance to judge them.

I’m so delighted that I was able to attend one of the cooking demo of the SM Hypermarket Master Chef Marathon at SM Clark, Pampanga. Good thing that it’s just near. Aside from us bloggers who were invited to cover the event, HRM students from different colleges in Angeles City were also invited to watch and learn in the said event. Everyone was very eager to know and taste the recipe that is going to be cooked by one of the Chef.


The guest chef during that time was Chief John Paulo Sia, one of the known chefs in the metro. Chef Sia has worked for C2 Classic Cuisine, the Linden Suites and he has also set up his own catering business and is now the corporate sous chef for Unilever Foodsolutions. He has also been into a cooking show in one of the local TV Network.

When Chef Sia started his demo, most of us were so eager to see and know what he will be cooking for that day. He even asked anyone who would like to be part of the cooking demo as his assistant, more likely of a sous chef for a certain dish. One fortunate and brave guy took the apron and stand beside Chef Sia.



Chef Sia created two menu for the day but he has noticed that there so many students and spectators he decided to add one more to the list. The cuisines are Menudo Tapa's Version, Beef Adobo, and Beef and Mushroom in Oyster Sauce (I forgot what Chef Sia named this one). All of the ingredients came from SM Hypermarket so it would be much easier to look for the ingredients and of course to cook it as well. One of the main ingredients is the products of Knorr.


Some of the students were able to taste Chef Sia’s cuisines and as I see it they were all nodding their heads, perhaps they were agreeing with the great taste of the menu. Of course they are not the only ones who tasted the food but me and the rest of bloggers as well. The good part is that the three dishes were laid to us. Great! My favorite was the Beef and Mushroom in Oyster Sauce. The taste is very much enticing.



It was really great tasting those foods, wish to get a taste of the other chefs as well.

By the way this cooking event is part of the 10th Anniversary of SM Hypermarket.