Great Dole Cook-Off

My love for eating caused me to start this food blog and hopefully start learning how to cook too. My cooking skills though are limited only to frying, sautéing and boiling. I can prepare simple meals with the help of cooking books and online recipes. Just recently, I attended an event in that does not only teach me valuable lessons about cooking, but also lessons on food and its nutrition, Magsaysay Institute for Hospitality and Culinary Arts or MIHCA is the hosted the place for the event.

The Great Dole Cook Off is a launch of the Dole Philippines Tomato Sauce. Dole, being the world’s largest producer and marketer of highly fresh fruits and vegetables and packaged foods, has committed itself to further health and nutrition in their wide array of quality products such as canned pineapple solids, canned mixed fruits, canned beverages and packaged fruit snacks. 

I was a bit late and when I arrived it was almost the second half of the program. The event was divided into 2-segments, cooking demonstration and cook-off between the bloggers. Chef Jeremy Favia demonstrated two easy-to-cook culinary delights with Dole’s new line of tomato sauces. 

 I was surprised that there are other dishes that delight into tomato sauces other than pasta. Chef Jeremy did not only give tips on cooking pasta and sautéing spices but also the nutrition of the ingredients of the dishes. The two dishes are very easy to prepare and cook. Chef Jeremy demonstrated how to use tomato sauce in pasta and even in fish thru these two dishes he prepared, Cherry Tomato and Eggplant Ragu Penne and Dory Braised in Tomato Sauce.

DOLE Tomato Sauce is naturally rich in lycopene, Vit A, Vit C and is a good source of Vit K which promotes good eyesight, builds resistance to infection and healthy blood functions. The sun-riped cooked tomatoes found in the flavorful sauce have up to five times more of the antioxidant Lycopene than fresh tomatoes. I know always think of these every time there’s tomato sauce on my food. Haha!

After the cooking demo, the bloggers were challenged to demonstrate their cooking skills in the cook-off competition. They are to imitate the first dish and make it the finest dish among the others. 

Among the 5 blogger contestants, Enzo’s dish favored the judges’ taste buds and won! Congrats Enzo!

It was indeed a healthy and informative night, not to mention delicious event, for bloggers.