Chefs duel it out in EcoArts cooking tilt

What does food have to do with the environment?

Three professional chefs and six amateur cooks sought to answer this question at the 2005 EcoArts Festival Cook-A-Rainbow Challenge that was held yesterday afternoon at the American Memorial Park Amphitheater.

And what a sumptuous and colorful array of answers they came up with, proving to the Saipan community that cooking in all its variegated styles could be a fitting backdrop to the message of environmental responsibility that is behind this year’s first EcoArts Festival.

Three professional chefs from top hotels in the CNMI and six food lovers shared their masterpieces during yesterday’s event at the park, with the added objective of not only highlighting the environment but also enabling a greater appreciation for the flavor and beauty of local foods.

Food experts from Aqua Resort Club, Dai-Ichi Hotel Saipan Beach and Pacific Islands Club battled in the professional category. Aqua Resort Club entered their own “Rainbow Mahi Mahi,” Dai-Ichi Hotel had “Local Vegetables and Local Tuna Fritter and Jellied,” while PIC prepared “Macadamia Nut Crushed Tuna on Spinach.”

In the non-professional category, the following individual entries were prepared for the competition: Ignacio S. Concepcion’s “Ike’s Beef Garden Stir Fry,” Phyllis Ain’s “A Frenzy Flavor – Island Pork Tenderloin Salad,” Jesus M. Castro’s “Sukiyaki,” Daniel Anderson’s “A Collage of Color,” Roxanne Salas’ “Anu-enu’e Eggplant,” and Noel Quitugua’s “Coconut Shrimp Kelaguen.”

Competition coordinator Tanya Camacho said all participants were required to use the colors red, yellow, green and purple in their recipes.

She said prizes at stake are: for the professional category, $600 for first place, $400 for the second place, and $200 for third place; for the non-professional category, first place will take home $300, $200 for second place, and $100 for third place winner.

The winners will be announced during tonight’s awarding and closing ceremonies at the memorial park amphitheater. The criteria for judging included originality, creative presentation, taste and use of local produce.

Judges were Department of Public Health deputy secretary Pete Untalan, NMC-CREES’ Edgar Cocker, Hotel Association of the NMI president Lynn Knight, Glimpses Guam’s Dory Abdan and Saipan Chamber of Commerce executive director Christine Parke. The official tabulator was Geraldine Demapan from the Office of the Public Auditor.

The Cook-A-Rainbow Challenge was one of the competitions of the EcoArts organized by the Division of Environmental Quality in collaboration with the CNMI Diabetes Prevention and Control Program and Northern Marianas College–Cooperative Research, Extension and Education Service.