URC Flourish Pilipinas Baking Academy and Bake-off Competition Mechanics

Mechanics:

This competition is open to all eligible Filipino Citizens who are 18 years of age as of January 2013 who meet the requirements stated herein.  All employees and relatives up to the second degree of affinity and consanguinity of URC Flour, its subsidiaries, affiliates, agencies and sponsors are automatically disqualified from entering this contest.

There will be three awards in two categories:

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES

FOR OWNERS AND EMPLOYEES OF BAKERIES and BAKESHOPS, INDEPENDENT BAKERS, BAKING INSTRUCTORS AND PROFESSIONALS

1. GLOBE AWARD –  This category is open for all recipes using hard flour (URC’s Globe or Blend 100 Flour).

2. SAMPAGUITA AWARD – This category is for all recipes using soft flour (URC’s Sampaguita Soft Flour).

NON- PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY

FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN CULINARY, BAKING, FOOD TECHNOLOGY AND HOTEL AND RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT COURSES:

1. DAISY AWARD – This category is for all recipes using cake flour (URC’s Daisy Cake Flour).

HOW TO JOIN THE CONTEST

All Contestants must fill out an entry form which can be accessed through the Recipe Contest tab in the URC Flour/Flourish Pilipinas Facebook page. It can also be downloaded from the  URC Flour website.

All finalists must agree to participate in a bake-off in the following designated areas:

                GMA                                       Manila                   June 15

                LUZON                                    Baguio                  July 6

                VISAYAS                                 Cebu                    July 27

                MINDANAO                              Davao                   August 10

Where applicable, URC Flour shall provide the transportation, food and accommodations of qualified finalists in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. URC Flour shall cover only the transportation, food and accommodations of a qualified finalist in a URC designated hotel.

JUDGING CRITERIA

All entries must meet the requirements of the Recipe category entered. Recipes not meeting contest criteria will be disqualified. Entries must be the original recipe of the entrant.

Judging will be done by a panel consisting of a representative of URC Flour Technical Group and two other food professionals designated by URC Flour using the criteria outlined below:

                Taste                                                                                               20%

                Appearance,creativity and plating                                                         15%

                Use of local and indigenous ingredients                                                 10%

                Extent of use of URC flours in required category                                    30%

                (Globe / Blend 100, Sampaguita, and Daisy)

                Extent of use of eligible products                                                        25%

                (See list below for corresponding points)

                TOTAL                                                                                           100%

Eligible Products and Points Assigned (5 points each):

Bakewell Siliconized Paper,  Saf Yeast, McCormick Flavors and Colors/ Suchero Sugar, Corman, Brim, and Tulip Chocolate

Judges will disqualify previously published recipes such as but not limited to those in cookbooks, magazines, from food companies, food blogs or recipe website and winners in cooking contests.

Contestants are required to certify on the information, or belief, that their recipes are their original creation and have not been published or publicized and have not won a cooking or baking contest. All submitted recipes automatically become the property of URC Flour.

Judges reserve the right to disqualify an entry that does not meet contest criteria. Decisions of the board of judges are final in all matters pertaining to this Contest.

Deadline of Submission of Entries:

                                Entries from GMA  and Luzon                                            April 30, 2013

                                Entries from Visayas, Mindanao                                     May  31, 2013

All recipes/ entries must include a 4R (4” x 6”) color photograph of the finished product. All recipes/ entries must be submitted to the Flourish Pilipinas Facebook Page or emailed to Kayla Andrea at operations@dtc.com.ph. 

All recipes shall be screened and tested by the URC Technical Group which shall determine the finalists who will compete in each area. 

BAKE-OFF

For each area, there will be two (2) finalists for Globe Award, two (2) finalists for Sampaguita Award, and two (2) finalists for Daisy Award.

All finalists will be required to participate in the area-wide bake-off.

                GMA                                       Manila                  June 15

                LUZON                                    Baguio                 July 6

                VISAYAS                                 Cebu                  July 27

                MINDANAO                             Davao                 August 10

ALL STUDENT FINALISTS  must agree to demonstrate his/her recipe entry to the URC Technical Team in a separate session in his/her school or home prior to the actual Bake-Off.

Each student finalist will be given ONE THOUSAND PESOS (P1,000) to cover the cost of this demonstration.

SELECTION OF WINNERS

There will be one (1) winner per category in each area : Globe, Sampaguita, and Daisy.

Venue of the bake-off will be determined by URC Flour Division.

PRIZE STRUCTURE:

All twelve (12) winners i.e., three (3) winners per area will receive the following prizes:

Globe             -      P10,000 in cash, 1 Kitchen Aid K45 Mixer, Medal and Supply of Participating Products

Sampaguita     -      P10,000 in cash, 1 Kitchen Aid K45 Mixer, Medal and Supply of Participating Products

Daisy              -      P10,000 in cash, 1 Kitchen Aid Hand Mixer, Medal and Supply of Participating Products

Companies and Schools represented by the winners shall also receive a trophy.

All recipes/ entries must be submitted to the Flourish Pilipinas Facebook Page  or emailed to Kayla Andrea at operations@dtc.com.ph  ON OR BEFORE April 30, 2013 (For Entries from GMA  and Luzon) and ON OR BEFORE May 31, 2013 (For Visayas, Mindanao). For more information, contact Kayla at 02-892-5842 or visit the Flourish Pilipinas Facebook Page.

Per FDA Permit # 0324 Series of 2013

Flourish Pilipinas: Bake It Fun In The Philippines Campaign for Local Flour-Based Delicacies Recognition

Celebrating, Nurturing, and Preserving Philippine Flour-Based Delicacies

Manila, Philippines – March 13, 2013 – Food conglomerate Universal Robina Corporation- Flour Division and the Department of Tourism’s Tourism Promotions Board prove once again that when government and the private sector collaborate, great things can happen!

With the recent signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) supporting food tourism, both parties have formally launched Flourish Pilipinas, a campaign that recognizes and celebrates Filipino flour-based delicacies either through time-tested traditions or bold innovations.

Flourish Pilipinas encourages chefs, restaurateurs, bakeshop owners and operators, food technicians, culinary students, and other food professionals to integrate locally available ingredients to their flour-based products such as: Pizza ala Bagnet, Lechon Quiche, Kesong Puti Malunggay Buns, Yema Ube Pastel, Halo Halo Cake, Durian Raisin Cookies and other mouth-watering delicacies.

Supported by Bakewell, Brim, Corman Butter, Kitchen Aid, McCormick, Saf Yeast, Suchero, Tulip Chocolate, US Wheat Associates and Yummy Magazine, this campaign has two major projects: the Baking Competition and the Baking Academy:

BAKING COMPETITION

A nationwide baking competition with three main categories will be conducted: 

The Professional Categories that are open to professional pastry chefs, bakery and bakeshop owners and pastry instructors include:

• Globe Award– For Recipes using hard flour (URC’s Globe or Blend 100 Flour)
• Sampaguita Award - For Recipes using soft flour (URC’s Sampaguita Flour)

The Student Category is open to students enrolled in courses for hotel and restaurant management, food technology or the culinary and pastry arts.

• Daisy Award - For Recipes using cake flour (URC’s Daisy Flour)

How to Join The Contest

Contestants must fill out an entry form which can be accessed through the recipe contest tab in the URC Flour/Flourish Pilipinas Facebook Page. It can also be downloaded from the URC Website.

Entries can be submitted to the Flourish Pilipinas Facebook Page or emailed to Kayla Andrea at operations@dtc.com.ph.

All entries submitted will automatically become the property of Universal Robina Flour Division.

Deadline for submission of entries are as follows:

• For GMA and Luzon – April 30, 2013
• For Cebu and Davao – May 31, 2013

Baking Competition Finals

Should a contestant’s entry be chosen as a finalist –entry, he or she must agree to participate in a bake-off in the following areas:

• GMA - June 15
• Baguio – July 6
• Cebu - July 27
• Davao - August 10

Prizes

Winners shall each receive P10,000 in cash, Kitchen Aid Mixers and other prizes from sponsors.

Calendar

Winning entries will be featured in a 2014 URC Calendar.

BAKING ACADEMY

A nationwide baking academy will also be conducted among selected bakery owners, pastry chefs and students in the following areas:

• GMA - June 15
• Baguio – July 6
• Cebu - July 27
• Davao - August 10

These academies will feature exciting lectures and demos from top pastry chefs on the latest baking trends and innovations.

For more information, interested parties may visit the Flourish Pilipinas Fan Page or email Kayla Andrea at operations@dtc.com.ph or call Kayla at (02) 892 -58-42 / (02) 813-49-30 or text 0916-483-8333

SumoSam opens in SM Manila

i was lucky to have a free week mid-March and i was even luckier to be invited to the launch of SumoSam in SM Manila. i think it's my first time to dine in SumoSam, and as a first-timer, i am not disappointed. although i am very sensitive towards seafood (i am very allergic to it, i react within minutes), they fortunately have a wide-array of foods to choose from.

Chef Marvin Agustin, yes, the actor and owner of SumoSam and other restaurants, was present in the event. we got to ask him questions the restaurant, and of course, i only remember the ones i asked him. i asked him which of the foods in the menu list can he call his own, meaning, the one he created by himself. i liked his answer, he said there was none, because the foods in the menu are planned, decided and made by a team of chefs of SumoSam, so no one can claim a food in their menu "his own". i like the hidden "there's no I in team" message in their team and how the food they serve are products of teamwork and that customers aren't actually eating some chef's ego.

we chatted quite a long while, i don't exactly remember how me being a culinary student was brought to light. well, i remember Kuya Az of Azrael's Merryland mentioning it during the conversation, but exactly when in the conversation, i have no idea. anyway, we exchanged stories of experiences in culinary school, we are products of different culinary schools, so some things are similar, some are different, but we are in the same industry nonetheless.

i asked if he actually hires interns in any of his restaurants and he said yes to my delight, just submit a resume to their Human Resources Department. although i was partly joking, i really was inquiring if they allow interns. just to let you know, i am about to start the hunt for an internship once we are summoned for internship briefing mid-April, so i am actually exploring possibilities. i mean, take a chance, right? if it's not gonna be me, there are classmates who may be interested. oh well.. anyway..

i would like to end this post by congratulating SumoSam for the successful launch in SM Manila. it was their 25th branch, if i was actually listening and remembering things correctly. they also opened another SumoSam last March 22 somewhere in Makati.

Celebrate Women's Month at SM Supermalls!

What originally started as a one-day celebration since the 8th of March in 1911, International Women's Day turned into International Women's Week in 1981, and now International Women's Month since 1987. International Women's Month is celebrated to highlight  the contributions of the women in the society and how they changed history.

Celebrating womanhood is what the month of March is all about for the country's leading mall chain, SM Supermalls. Check out the schedule of events below: 

click to view full version

Also, check out an article published at the Philippine Daily Inquirer on March 8:

Published: Philippine Daily Inquirer, 08 March 2013

Women’s Wednesday Sale at SM Supermalls

Women will not only get a pampering this month especially dedicated to them but will surely have a field day shopping with discounts and special treats from participating stores at all SM Supermalls on all Wednesdays of March.

At Watsons, all women will instantly get 10-percent off on minimum P1,500 worth of purchase. Watsons houses the best brands from top manufacturers all over the world and also carries its own competitively priced, high quality private labels and brands. It offers more than 1,000 brands ranging from medicines, cosmetics and fragrances to personal care items and general merchandise.

All lady customers at Ace Hardware, meanwhile, will pay 5-percent less on every P3,000 single receipt purchase on all regular priced items. Ace Hardware is the ultimate one-stop-shop for the latest solutions for home improvement. It boasts of 40,000 home improvement solutions on its core product ranges which include paints and sundries, electrical and plumbing, hardware and power tools, building materials and outdoor merchandising.

Our Home, the lifestyle furniture and home accessories affiliate of the SM Group, Our Home, also provides special discounts for women this March. For a minimum P15,000 purchase on all furniture, lady shoppers will get 5-percent off. They can also avail of 10-percent discount on all accessories for a minimum purchase requirement of P5,000.

Our Home offers a wide variety of items—from sofas to dining tables to curtains to picture frames—with great designs and great prices that equal great value and a great shopping experience.

The SM Store (the new name of SM Department Store) also has a treat exclusive for women shoppers. With their SM Advantage Card, the SM Store will take 10-percent off for a minimum singe receipt purchase of P3,000. The SM Store is a founding retail center where various brands of fashion, footwear, bags, accessories, toys, gadgets and other types of products can be found. 

Of course, women’s shopping will not be complete without the groceries. At SM Supermarket and SM Hypermarket, women SM Advantage Card members will get double their SMAC points when they purchase on Wednesdays.

The Philippines’ largest supermarket chain offers a world-class supermarket shopping experience—boasting a wide range of fresh produce, sourced directly from the growers, processors and integrators. It also hosts an extensive line of food products and innovative services catering to customer needs and wants.

Lastly, at SM Appliance Center, women will also get 10-percent off on selected merchandise. As a retail affiliate of the SM Group, it has established a reputation for value and quality services in the marketing of home appliances.

SM Advantage Card, the customer loyalty program of SM, rewards members with points every time they shop in SM Department Store, SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket and other SM retail establishments inside and outside SM Supermalls. The points earned can be used to redeem practically anything sold in any of those stores. Aside from reward points, SM Advantage Card also offers numerous members-only privileges such as exclusive sales, discounts and freebies inside and outside SM Malls.