Over 300 aspiring chefs from 52 schools and universities competed in the 2017 Ajinomoto® Umami Culinary Challenge (UCC) at the    Philippine Trade and Training Center (Manila). This event was the culmination of the national roadshow that began last August 2016 in Cagayan de Oro and October 2016 at Cebu City.

Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, who are both Ajinomoto endorsers, also graced the event to provide encouragement for all the student-competitors and kicked-off the event’s highly anticipated awarding ceremony.

The Grand Prize winners for the Ajinomoto® UCC’s National Culinary Showdown came from VIZMIN: University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines from Cagayan de Oro for the Best Filipino Umami Dish Category and University of St. La Salle – Bacolod for the My Own Umami Creation Category. Each school received PhP 15,000.00 in cash, medals and certificates. For the Luzon culinary competitions the big winners were Perpetual Help College –Manila, Chiang Kai Shek College and Polytechnic University of the Philippines. The Umami Bowl Award and PhP 50,000-worth of kitchen appliances were bagged by St. Dominic College of Asia for receiving the highest accumulated score in major categories.

The Ajinomoto® UCC is an annual inter-school culinary competition that started in the year 2009. This event provides a training ground for future chefs and nutrition professionals to enhance their cooking skills and nutrition awareness. It is part of Ajinomoto’s “Eat Well, Live Well.®” advocacy to promote the benefit of umami taste in preparing deliciously nourishing recipes. The panel of judges is composed of Food and Nutrition luminaries invited to offer valuable insights to student-competitors on how to apply culinary skills and nutrition knowledge in the creation of nourishing umami dishes. This event is presented by AJINOMOTO PHILIPPINES CORPORATION in partnership with La Germania, Solane, Masflex, Fujidenzo and Anvil Publishing, Inc.