Lessons in food waste

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

- CHIT U. JUAN

It's my second time to be a judge at the NFS or National Food Showdown in Lipa this year. Though I am certainly not a cook or a chef, organizer and founder Myrna Segismundo made a few categories where my experience could probably help - coffee and a new topic close to my heart, food waste.

I readily said yes to Myrna as she plans these showdowns a year in advance and chefs and judges commit to several cities or schools where these are held: Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod and Lipa (Myrna's hometown). Students from around the country compete in the place closest to them geographically and they usually are in courses dealing with hospitality such as hotel and restaurant management, culinary and related fields.

The chef/judges are a veritable "who's who" in the culinary world, like Madame Glenda Barretto, Beth Romualdez, Thomas Wenger, Robbie Goco, Sau del Rosario and Penk Ching. Special interest experts like Nana Ozaeta, Nina Diaz Puyat and Manny Torrejon also commit to check on the student entries, with the hope that these youth will compose our future group of chefs and culinary luminaries.