THREE of the six groups were chosen as finalists in the 1st Tanduay Rum Festival Culinaria and Mixology during the screening held at Planta Centro Bacolod hotel in Bacolod City Sunday, August 11, 2019.
Chefs Don Colmenares, Benedict John Uy and Sammy Nuarbe were the panel of judges during the screening.
Those who made it in the screening was the group KusinAta representing the indigenous community in Don Salvador Benedicto. They cooked the braised black pig liempo in rum and cola sauce with mashed sweet potato and butter glazed vegetables.
The second finalist was the group Anne Bistro who cooked Pugita, an octopus mixed with dark rum and other local ingredients, matched with sweet potato foam, crispy paprika and rum glaze.
The last one to qualify was the group who cooked T5 drunken shrimp stuffed squid with sweet potato puree and savory peanut sauce.
The three chef judges encouraged the three groups to invent, develop and explore more in making their recipes and entries with their own concoctions of all kinds of rum.
Charmaine Pahate, managing director of Eggshell Worldwide, Inc., spearheaded the event.
The finalists will come back for the final round. The weeklong 1st Rum Festival is slated in Bacolod City on August 17 to 24, 2019.