KDU MY Challenge 2013 Culinary Art Finals @ B.I.G. Publika

Being a lifestyle blogger who also blogs about food, I find that it's always good to expose myself to the culinary arts in order for me to have a better understanding when writing food reviews. Earlier this month on the 5th July, I was invited to witness the KDU MY Challenge 2013 Culinary Art Finals which took place at B.I.G. Ben's Independent Grocer in Publika.



Some of you might not know what this KDU MY Challenge is all about so here's a brief explanation: MY Challenge is the brainchild of KDU Education Group and is supported by Paramount Corporation Berhad. It is a mega interschool talent competition orchestrated to challenge students in a multitude of events, one that will test their participation, leadership as well as teamwork. It is not an event designed to identify winners only but also a competition that hopes to inspire students and also unleash hidden talents. Hence, the main objective of this competition is to provide a platform for all secondary schools students within Klang Valley to showcase their talents in the field of performing arts and creative design.



Students who managed to enter the KDU MY Challenge 2013 Culinary Art finals are:-

Mariss Noordin & Nurhazila Zakaria from SMK Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh
Nurul Atirah Shahardin & Nur Syahira Abd Ghafar from SMK Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh
Lee Ning & Tan Jia Yann from SMJK Katholik
Tan Vinn Kee & Lee Kar Yee from SM Sri KDU
Marsya Adriana & Law Zhi Yee from SM Sri KDU
Muhammad Rafik Hakimi Ahamad & Ahmad Zahid Saidil Moksalin from SMK La Salle
Siti Nabilah Hani Jamaluddin & SMK Seri Bintang Selatan from SMK Seri Bintang Selatan
Brian Ee How Mun & Foong Sioh Kee from SM Sri Sempurna



Sixteen aspiring chefs from secondary school forming eight teams competing to be the top KDU MY Challenge culinary champion. Each team has been given RM50 each to do their grocery shopping at B.I.G. Ben's Independent Grocer. They are required to prepare dishes based on a recipe provided by Chef Bruce Lim.



Four teams has already finished with their cooking at the first set of the finals upon my arrival and I could only witness the next four teams on the second set. Each team were given 30 minutes to complete their dish to be judge by the chef lecturers from KDU and also one celebrity chef, Bruce Lim.



I was quite amazed with the skills and also technique used by these young chefs when preparing their dishes. I am sure that they have been through some really good training and also given some useful knowledge in culinary art.



I don't even know what's a butcher knot is when I was in secondary school let alone knowing how to tie one.



Poking into the meat with a bamboo skewers just to make sure the inner part of the chicken is well cooked.



2 minutes before the time stoppage, the young chefs finalizing the last touch on their dishes with sauce and garnish. They were also required to clear and clean up their work stations.



With the very little time and amount of works to be done, all of them managed to finish their dishes in time. Each time did 2 similar dishes but only can choose 1 to be judged. Below are the dishes that are prepared by them. Main ingredient of this four dishes were chicken.





All four dishes will be placed on the judging table, the judges will taste it and then write down the scores.



The dishes are judges based on Taste & Quality, Level of Difficulty, Creative Presentation and Cleanliness & Hygiene.


Chef Bruce Lim said in his interview that all the students have well performed of culinary art and skills that most of the youngsters today do not even have. He was honored to have been invited to be a judge at the KDU MY Challenge culinary event and hoping to inspire these students in any way that he can.


The other dishes were to be displayed for the KDU MY Challenge photography category to be taken photo by participants as one of their assignment in their challenge. Finally the moment that everyone has been waiting for. The winners for the KDU MY Challenge 2013 Culinary Art Finals!


Bronze award went to Lee Ning & Tan Jia Yann from SMJK Katholik. They walked away with the prize money of RM200.


Silver award won by Brian Ee How Mun & Foong Sioh Kee from SM Sri Sempurna. They walked away with prize money of RM300.


And the champion for KDU MY Challenge 2013 Culinary Art went to Mariss Noordin & Nurhazila Zakaria from SMK Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh. They both walked away with the prize money of RM500. They never expect to win this challenge and were contemplating before joining this challenge with the amount of culinary arts which they had previously.


A group photo of the winners, judges and KDU Culinary Art students.

AFC Chef Bruce Lim
Chef Bruce Lim is Filipino-Chinese and was born and raised in America. A regular face on the Asian Food Channel, he stars in two AFC Original Productions, Tablescapes, where he travels through the Philippines exploring and teaching about traditional Filipino cuisine and The Boss, which showcases his take on modern Filipino dishes. Chef Bruce also took up the role as a celebrity chef judge on AFC’s first-ever originally produced television cooking competition, E&O Search For AFC’s Next Celebrity Chef. Bubbly and conversant in nature, Chef Bruce has distinguished himself from other Filipino chefs by immersing himself in various communities thus removing the elite image of chefs. With him, he brings along the message that food is universal and should be shared by everyone. When not in the kitchen, Chef Bruce enjoys playing online games and kickboxing.

For more info about KDU MY Challenge 2013, visit their website at mychallenge.kdu.edu.my


.: Peace Out :.

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