The Paella Cook Off at SM City Bacolod

Flavors of the Philippines:

The Paella Cook Off at SM City Bacolod

Madrid Fusion Manila recently invaded the City of Smiles for this year’s “Visit the Philippines Year 2015” celebration.

The highly-anticipated event called Flavors of The Philippines: The Paella Cook Off was held at SM City Bacolod last April 19, 2015. In attendance were professional chefs, food enthusiasts, various companies from the food and beverage industry, media personalities as well as members of the Negrense Blogging Society.

The said “cook off” (a wordplay on the term “face off” which means a match fight or a confrontation) featured two top chefs namely Chef Natalio David Lopez and Chef Uwe Markowsky, showing their skills in cooking the Paella, a much-loved Spanish dish across the world.

Chef Uwe Markowsky with his Lance cooking their Paella Valenciana

First to take the stage was Chef David from Spain who is also the owner of the TXACHO and Kome Kome restaurants. The chef cooked Paella Negra, a unique twist of Paella that, as the name implies, has a black color. Chef David used Boba rice, broth and squid ink to achieve the interesting texture and taste. While cooking his version of the Paella in front of the audience, he explained that the rice should not be mixed in order to preserve the “film.” Afterwards, the cook asked some helpers to distribute a pre-cooked Paella Negra for the audience so they can have a free taste.

Next to take the spotlight was Germany’s Chef Uwe, now a chief master instructor at the Bacolod Culinary Academy. For his turn, he cooked Paella Valenciana, which is considered by many as the “original” version of the famous recipe. He used white rice, vegetables, white beans, lemon, seafoods, and some seasonings. Of course, he used chicken and rabbit meat for his take on the dish. Unlike Chef David, who did some pre-cooking before the show, Chef Uwe took the different route and cooked everything from scratch from sauteing the ingredients up to boiling the rice. Speaking of which, basmati rice was Chef Uwe’s pick for the Paella Valenciana.

It was obvious that these two chefs are two of the best in the art of cooking. Everyone present developed a renewed loved for Paella, especially after the chance to taste a sample of this Spanish favorite.

Chef Uwe Markowsky’s Paella Valenciana

Paella Negra made by Chef Natalio David Lopez

Obviously, all the attendees also went home with the desire to try cooking the dish in their own homes.

Thanks to the two male chefs who both did a fantastic job sharing valuable tips and tricks in making a great-tasting Paellla!

Negros Bloggers and The Skyscrapers group having fun at SM City Bacolod Paella Cook Off.