By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
THE second regional Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Chef Olympics took place at the Professional Electronics Institute in Jaro, Iloilo City last August 24, 2019, as part of their weeklong anniversary.
With the kitchen smell of umami and the likes, there was no doubt as to the skills and how adept in their crafts these BJMP food service assistants were.
The participants, coming from 37 jails around Panay, combined into 10 competing teams.
The Chef Olympics was divided into three categories – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – with each course having a different winner.
The competition had a three-hour cooking time to finish all three courses.
In an interview, BJMP Assistant Regional Director for Administration, Superintendent Gilbert Peremne, said, “The purpose of this Chef Olympics is to come up with recipes that are affordable yet nutritious in a daily budget of 70 pesos per head. These recipes that they are making right now will be passed to the national quarters’ list of recipes.”
The six judges who graced the event were Ma. Theresa Garganera, a Nutritionist of the Iloilo City Health Office; Noema Castromayor, a faculty member of the University of San Agustin; Cris Hipolito, a TESDA Cookery Instructor; Girl Ley Cabailo-Arroyo, a Nutritionist of DSWD-6; Andrey Ross Decen, head trainer of the Institute of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management; and Jail Supt. Felixberto Jagorin Jr., a Registered Nurse from WVSU and currently the Director of Welfare and Development from the BJMP National Headquarters.