Phnom Penh – Seven (7) Filipino children in Cambodia battled to come up with the tastiest and most creative-looking “turon” on 24 August 2019 at the Philippine Embassy. Before the cook-off, Ms. Ethel G. Verano, a cooking enthusiast and wife of the Embassy’s Communications Officer, demonstrated to the children the basic procedures in making this favorite Filipino snack.

Organized by Sentro Rizal Phnom Penh (SRPP) of the Philippine Embassy organized this cooking demonstration and competition as part of the Embassy’s celebration of Buwan ng Wika.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Myca Fischer, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the Embassy, said that food, like language, is a means to express and communicate oneself. She then proceeded to teach the Pinoy kids, many of whom were students of the Filipino language class in SRPP, some Filipino words related to “turon”, such as “masarap”, “malutong”, and “pambalot”.

Turon is made of banana, enhanced with slices of jackfruit, in a “lumpia” wrapper and coated with sugar. The contestants were encouraged to exercise their creativity by putting chocolate syrup, candy sprinkles, condensed milk, ground cinnamon, and sesame seeds in addition to the main ingredients.

The parents of the contestants were pleased to observe the seriousness with which their children learned how to cook the turon.

Vice Consul Frances Cleofas and Ms. Verano judged the seven entries based on taste, presentation, creativity, and cleanliness.

13-year old Vaughn Pasay emerged the winner, earning for himself a cookbook on Philippine bread and pastries and a cash prize. END