It was a huge privilege to have been invited to the DC Embassy Chef Challenge 2018. I was very thrilled to attend, Chef Felipe Milanes was representing Panama’s Embassy woohoo!

Sharing a cocktail with the lovely Lisa Comento

It was fantastic also to say hello to other media colleagues, such as the amazing Lisa Comento, and of course, all the embassies showcased their cuisine, many of which I’ve never had the opportunity to try before!

The way a mood is set at events is so important to me and more when I know it’s going to be packed and people are going to cut off in front of you in the line (or “not knowing” where the line starts), yet this event had one of the best ambiances I’ve been to, everyone looked so happy; guess, chefs and their teams as well.

The winner of the evening, Sisig by the Embassy of the Phillipines

I was very lucky I didn’t have to do a line until after 8pm and it was on the South American embassies section, the great thing is that there was plenty of wine and cocktails available so I was able to sip while waiting for them tasty bites.

Delicious desserts! My favorite was the one on the right by Mauritius, a chocolate mousse-pudding with crispy chocolate on top and a caramelized banana compote in the bottom. Also Belgium did an amazing white chocolate, raspberry and basil dessert. On the top left it’s Morocco’s chocolate mouse.

My favorite dishes that evening were: Mauritius Seafood Bisque (and obviously, their dessert, so good!), Haiti’s mutton dish, it was so good and one of my favorite chefs of the evening! The ladies at Côte d’Ivoire were killing it too, and their pineapple ginger cocktail was very refreshing. Chef Felipe’s Guacho (smoked pork stew) was pretty tasty, it was fancier than what my mum and my grandma cooks, but the comfort flavor was there and it had chicharron, so yes, bonus! Extra aji chombo (Panamanian hot pepper sauce) for me please!

Ghana’s Lamb with Jollof Rice was pretty delicious, so was Georgia’s Chanakhi (Lamb & Eggplant Stew), and the short ribs from Iraq so well seasoned, give me all these meats any day! It’s worth to mention Colombia and Peru for their variety of food options. The embassies did a terrific job at showcasing their cuisines and culture through the arrangement of their tables and chefs outfits, Morocco won best Chefs outfits, their table was .

I had a fantastic time and hope I can get this opportunity again the next year to eat around the world from Washington DC, all in one night with great music, dancing, and lovely people who love all the foods and cultures as much as I do!

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Below is the Press Release after the winners were announced at the DC Embassy Chef Challenge 2018

Washington, D.C. (May 18, 2018)—Attendees of the Tenth Anniversary Events DC Embassy Chef Challenge presented by TCMA gathered to travel the world with their taste buds, sampling bites and beverages from 28 participating nations. Embassy chefs showcased the unique flavors of their home countries in a culinary showdown. Chefs competed to win the coveted Peopleâ€s Choice Award presented by Events DC, chosen by guests†votes, as well as the Judges†Choice presented by TCMA, selected by a panel of influential members of the diplomatic, cultural and culinary communities.

The winner of the evening, Sisig by the Embassy of the Phillipines

Chef Abigail “Abie” Sincioco-Mateo representing the Embassy of the Philippines was selected as the Peopleâ€s Choice Champion and well as the Judges†Choice Champion for her plate of Pork Sisig. Both second-place prizes were given to the Embassy of Ghana Chef, Francis Otoo, for his Lamb Jollof Rice. Chef Jouvens Jean from the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti took home the third-place prize in the Judges†Choice category for his Kabrit Kreyol served with Haitian Cinnamon Water. In the Peopleâ€s Choice category, third-place was awarded to the Embassy of Colombia Chef, Alex Salgado, for his Coconut Shrimp with Pancetta and Heart of Palm Ceviche.

The judging panel consisted of:

• Andy Shallal, Busboys & Poets
• Major Garrett & Arden Farhi, CBS News
• Lauren Bernstein, The Culinary Diplomacy Project
• Chef Tim Ma, Kyirisan
• Nycci Nellis, The List Are You On It
• Executive Chef Xavier Deshayes, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
• Daniel Nasaw, The Wall Street Journal
• Maura Judkis, The Washington Post
• Chef Cynthia Verna, 2017 Peopleâ€s Choice Champion representing the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti
• Chef Moja Fedal, 2017 Judgeâ€s Choice Champion representing the Embassy of Morocco

Two new awards were handed out this year as well. The Best Beverage presented by Pepsi was awarded to the Embassy of Barbados for their Drunken Bajan Lemonade developed by mixologist Philip Antoine and Chef Creig Greenidge. The Best Dressed Embassy presented by Macyâ€s was earned by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco with a colorful display that wowed guests.

Guests ate their way through an abundant array of foods and drinks prepared by the embassy chefs representing Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Republic of Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Côte dâ€Ivoire, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Iraq, Jamaica, Republic of Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Principality of Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Republic of Moldova, Kingdom of Morocco, Nepal, Panama, Peru, the Philippines and Slovak Republic.

Events DC senior vice president and managing director of sports, entertainment and special events, Erik Moses, said of the tenth anniversary event, “This yearâ€s challenge was bigger and better than ever before. It was great to see so many embassies turn out with such pride for their native cuisine and culture. Congratulations to all the chefs who competed. Hereâ€s to another decade of friendly and delicious competition.”

Sponsors
The 2018 Event DC Embassy Chef Challenge presented by TCMA sponsors include Astral Tequila, Bundaberg, Cultural Tourism DC, Cutco, Legacy Partners Distribution, Macyâ€s, RCN Business, Social Driver, Sombra Mezcal tequila, Teahouse/Pureleaf, TYKU Sake and Voss artesian water.

Thursday, March 8, 7:30 – 10 pm, 2012 (Rest of the photos on my FB page)

I attended the fourth edition of the Embassy Chef Challenge, an annual culinary competition for world-class embassy chefs.  It was celebrated in the atrium of co-host Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

It was my first time visiting a competition of this kind and it was quite an interesting experience since all the dishes were non-vegetarian so for the most part except for Chef Nazha from the Embassy of Morocco and her lovely dessert “Milk Pastilla w/ Nuts & berries, the only dish I could eat completely!

The event was really well organized, and the attention to detail was superb with informative literature for those who were not familiar with Chef’s names, the waiters gracious and attentive and of course the ladies at the bar preparing a non-easy-on-the-vodka Cosmo!

I got the chance to see few a friends and meet and speak to some of the Chefs, when it got packed it was a bit hectic to move around and even to get to some auctions that were running in the middle tables.   I recognized Tim Carman from the Washington Post and Chef Carla Hall trying the dishes since they were part of the Judges table.  It made me realize I would never be chosen to become a Judge for this kind of competition unless it was desserts, and even then many Chefs/Cooks get a bit avant-garde with meaty ingredients so I would have to watch out haha.

I want to thank Jessica Marlatt from Cultural Tourism DC for inviting me to such a fun and cultural event that I enjoyed myself even if I couldn’t try most of the dishes!

Embassy Chef Challenge 2012 chefs:
Chef Devin E. Johnson, Embassy of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Chef Sen Sun, Embassy of the Peopleâ€s Republic of China
Chef Malknaz Maisashvili, Embassy of Georgia
Chef Viktor Merényi, Embassy of Hungary
Chef Djamel Amroune, Embassy of the Republic of Iraq
Chef Sherene N. James, Embassy of Jamaica
Chef Shogo Shimodaira, Embassy of Japan
Chef Yerlan Abdrakhmanov, Embassy of Kazakhstan
Chef Young A. Byeon Lee, Embassy of the Republic of Korea
Chef Nazha Kasraoui, Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco and 2009 Embassy Chef Challenge Winner of Judgeâ€s and Peopleâ€s Choice Award
Chef Sondre Bruvik Ellingstad, Royal Norwegian Embassy
Chef Channa Perera, Embassy of Sri Lanka
Chef Vincent Muia, Embassy of Switzerland

VIDEO: Behind the Scenes footage of Embassy Chef Challenge’s, Challenge Denmark

Video by Cultural Tourism DC

Slow Cooked Beef/potato/dried baked tomato/country style pasta (Hungary Embassy Winner)

Smoked Veal Loins (Embassy of Switzerland)

Tteokgalbi, grilled seasoned beef, and gujeolpan (Embassy of Korea)

Milk Pastille/nuts/berries (Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco)

Ceviche on top of Lobster Salad/Mango/crawfish (Embassy of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas)

Denise Nguyen & Philippe Lajaunie 

Judges welcome last judge & previous Embassy Chef Challenge 2012 winner Chef Lars Bees