Crowds unfazed by Taste’s new venue

The new venue of the 19th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden seemed to have worked in its favor, with a record-breaking number of people showing up for the first day of the festival at the Garapan Fishing Base.

Considered one of the most anticipated festivals in the CNMI, the Taste of the Marianas was uprooted from its usual venue at the American Memorial Park and had its inaugural run at the Garapan Fishing Base, with hordes of residents and tourists taking part in the celebration of the different food cultures on Saipan.

Last Saturday’s Taste also featured a hotdog eating competition that was handily won by Raymond Emul.

Hosted by Docomo Pacific, the competition required contestants to eat five 10-inch hotdogs in buns within five minutes, a feat that was not only challenging but also well-attended. This year, there were 10 participants: Jeffrey Dela Cruz, Clayton Izuka, Samuel and Andre Dyck, Andrew Song Song, Mel Tenorio, Moses Buekis, Jonathan Kapileo, Michael Harris, and the eventual winner, Emul.

Emul is a regular contender in the hotdog-eating contest, winning his fifth hotdog-eating contest last Saturday. He brought home $50 worth of festival tokens and a brand new phone from Docomo Pacific.

“Just keep eating,” said Emul, when asked how he pushed through the last remaining bites. Emul, like most of participants, tackled the contest by eating the buns first. During Emul’s last stretch, the 5-minute mark was called, and Emul was the closest to finishing his plate.

According to Emul, this was his fifth win. “Last year I won third place,” he said, before mentioning that he has won first place for four consecutive years before last year’s third place. “I’ve been joining this competition to try and defend my title. Now, I want to buy my wife some food.”

Buns were provided by Herman’s Bakery while Triple J Wholesale provided the hotdogs. According to Docomo Pacific general manager and vice president Dino Manning, this was the first time Docomo sponsored the competition.

“It’s fun. I hope we can continue to partner with Marianas Visitors Authority to partner with this kind of stuff,” said Manning, hinting at a possible partnership with MVA in future events.

According to MVA managing director Chris Concepcion, the Taste of the Marianas was well received.

“We are very happy with the turnout—actually overwhelmed. This was a lot more people than expected,” said Concepcion.

According to Concepcion, TOM is a launching event to celebrate May as Tourism Month in the CNMI.

“The community came out in full force to support Tourism Month and the TOM,” he added.

The unusual venue did not seem to be a problem, said Concepcion. Unlike previous years, the TOM ’17 was held at the Garapan Fishing Base as opposed to the usual American Memorial Park. According to Concepcion, the venue was still within the tourism district of Garapan and is an ideal substitute for American Memorial Park.

MVA was not able to secure a spot at the AMP due to permitting issues with the U.S. National Parks Service.

“After lengthy negotiations with NPS, in both Marianas and Guam, we decided to change the venue this year due to the many impediments we encountered with them. The Guam NPS office has not been too community friendly, which is unfortunate. Regardless, we must move forward, so we are happy with our new location for now until things begin to improve at AMP,” said Concepcion.

Despite the misunderstanding, the TOM, according to Concepcion, was a great success as it was evident that the festival was a hit with tourists.

Next week, the TOM would be hosting the kådun pika contest, a spicy Chamorro chicken dish cookoff.

“The competition showcases a very famous local food in the Marianas, so we are going to have a cookoff and see who makes the best kådun pika in the CNMI,” said Concepcion.

The following weekend showcases the barbecue ribs contest, a contest that showcases some of the best barbecue ribs recipes in the CNMI while the concluding weekend of the 2017 TOM would be the Chefs Competition that pits chefs from different hotels.