ON ITS third year, the Davao Culinary Cup will introduce a new category, Flower Arrangement, making the competition an avenue for students and professionals to be well-rounded in the field.
Celebrated florist extraordinaire Antonio Adriatico, Jr., Raflora Enterprises creative director, sits with the students training for flower arrangement this year. More than just an icon, he also influenced them the role of flowers in the dining space.
Adriatico said, “It is my belief that good floral design uplifts the human spirit and can serve as inspiration to create beauty in our lives. Creativity and knowledge should make it possible that flowers can be bought and enjoyed by as many people as possible”.
And Davao Region, being home to a lot of unique type of flora and fauna, serves as a good spot to flourish this skill. The city itself is home to flower farms that markets throughout the country.
The esteemed competition will bring together the best-performing students from culinary schools in Mindanao on August 23 to 25, 2018 at the SM Lanang Premier. The event will be simultaneously held with the World Food Expo (Wofex).
The Davao Culinary Cup is organized by the LTB Philippines Chefs Association, together with the Pastry Alliance of the Philippines and PEPTarsus, Inc. It is the only culinary competition accredited by the Philippine Culinary Cup.
LTB Davao Chapter president Salome San Jose who continuously plan on developing the food industry as well as the academe here, said that it’s still a long shot honing the aspiring students to be the experts that they need to be but as she pushes to organize the Davao Culinary Cup, they are reaching their dreams to be at par with the international counterparts fast.
“If we continue doing this, we put fuel to their competency. Through it, we power their motivation to always practice to be the better ones. And soon enough, we [in Davao, Mindanao] will see the upgrade in the industry,” she added.
For 2018, the culinary cup prepared five categories designed for novice and experts alike. Each will be based on a set of criteria to be overseen by an esteemed jury of international and Filipino WACS (World Accredited Chefs) accredited judges. The categories are Culinary, Pastry, Table Setting, Bartending and the newest addition, Flower Arrangement.