29 August 2013 - This year’s Pistahan festival witnessed an appetizing activity in addition to its traditional program that showcased Filipino talent: the Qualifying Round of the Kulinarya: A Filipino Culinary Showdown.  Held last August 11 at the Terrace of the Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco, Filipino-American chefs and food enthusiasts  competed for a chance to show off their culinary talents and move up to the championship round.

Kathy de Leon won first place in the Amateur Division for her version of the Filipino favorite, Kare-Kare.  Her winning dish was made of short ribs in addition to the main ingredient, ox tail.  It was also served with quinoa to provide a healthier alternative to rice. 

For the Professional Division, the first place was given to Salvi Siat.  Ms. Siat is currently an assistant chef at Inay Fililpino Kitchen.  Her winning dish is the popular Sisig, made even more scrumptious with diced mangoes, tomatoes and chili, and served on top of home fries.   

The panel of judges for the competition was composed of renowned Filipino- American Chefs such as Thomas Weibull, 2012’s Kulinarya Champion, Dominic Ainza, Michael Santos and Tim Luym, and food blogger Joanne Boston Kwan Hull. 

Kathy de Leon and Salvi Siat will be competing against other finalists from Los Angeles and Hawaii in the championship round.  The Kulinarya finals will be on November 23 at the City View of the Metreon, 135 Fourth Street, San Francisco, California. 

Be sure to check out www.kulinaryashowdown.com, like their facebook page www.facebook.com/KulinaryaSF, and follow them on twitter @Kulinarya for more details.  END