SEOUL, 01 October 2014 – Filipino chef Mr. Marc Justin K. Tee won second prize among 15 contestants in the 2014 Global “Taste of Korea” Contest held at the headquarters of one of Korea’s top four TV networks, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) last month, the Philippine Embassy in Seoul reported to the Department on 12 October 2014.

Mr Tee won US$3,000 as Second Prize, following Mr. Cavit Arden of Turkey at First Prize at the end of a daylong cook-off held on 30 September 2014, which also pitted representatives from Australia, Belgium, Chile, China, Egypt, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Slovakia, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States.

This event was sponsored by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), MBC and North Jeolla Province, whose capital Jeonju is considered the center of Korean cuisine, with the aim of introducing Korean food to the international stage and to encourage people to be more interested and love Korean traditional dishes.

“I wish to congratulate Mr Tee for winning the second prize of this contest organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Cultural Bureau to promote Korean cuisine to the whole world,” said Philippine Ambassador to Korea Raul S. Hernandez. “Korean cuisine is so good, it’s not difficult to promote it. In fact, it’s already becoming the next big thing in the Korean wave of culture.”

The final round of competition was also attended by North Jeolla Province Governor Song Ha Jin, MOFA Cultural Affairs Bureau Director General Kim Dong-gi, MBC Vice President Kwon Jae Hong and other members of the diplomatic corps.

The event was the culmination of three selection rounds: the preliminaries, which took place in the capitals of the 15 countries; the semi-finals, which narrowed the field in a four-day food camp in Jeonju; and the final round which was held at the MBC’s Grand Hall on 30 September 2014.

The criteria for winning the competition were Taste (30 points), Globalization (20 points), Understanding Korean Food (30 points), Skill (10 points) and Hygiene (10 points).

The preliminary round for the Philippines gathered 28 professional and amateur chefs to show off Korean dishes cooked in traditional or fusion style on 27 June 2014 at the Culinary Institute of Lyceum of the Philippines University in the walled city of Intramuros in old Manila.