Culinary Clash: City College Students Join a Culinary Competition
City College Culinary Arts & Hospitality studies department partnered with Intercontinental San Francisco to host their 15th annual Culinary Clash.
Culinary Clash is a career-building opportunity for young culinary artists to expand their experience and gain exposure to different environments within the culinary world.
This year's competitors are Ed Castorena, Maliah Chin, Logan McGovern, Sonal Ruparel, Jake McCambridge and Quis White.
The first and second nights of competition took place on March 1 and 8, and the last night will occur on March 15. Once the last night is completed, the judges' reviews will be combined and analyzed. The winning team will take the $1,500 prize money and scholarship.
The judges on the first night were Maelynn Le, Eddy Hernandez, Chris Johnson, Jordan Kivelstadt, Chelsea Davis and Kiyoka Valdes.
Chefs Background
Ed Castorena, born and raised in San Francisco's Outer Mission, brings heat to the Culinary Clash. Castorena has been cooking for as long as he can remember. The inspiration that has motivated him to pursue a career in the culinary arts is his mother, who is an essential part of Castorena’s cooking career.
Maliah Chin, also a San Francisco native, has taken a journey to pursue culinary arts. Chin pursued a degree in computer science at San Francisco State. However, she expressed not seeing a “future” in that career path.
Food had always been a central part of her life, while volunteering at food banks and kitchens, Chin realized how much she loves cooking for people. For her, food is not only a way to nourish the body, but a way to connect and meet others.
Chin and Castorena aren't just cooking to serve food. They are cooking to represent their families and culture. Peruvian and Filipino flavor profiles are a crucial part of their identities and a major source of inspiration for them as chefs.
Castorena and Chin spent 5 months preparing a menu to showcase their talents, presenting a blend of Peruvian and Filipino cultures they hold dear.
The process of creating the meals didn't start in the kitchen, but in the library. Chin and Castorena did extensive research. They looked at different flavor profiles and menus and gained knowledge on the history of meals and how to prepare them.
The curation of their menu was influenced by “some of our most memorable, and a mix of foods we all really love,” Chin said.
Maliah Chin and Ed Castorena preparing their dishes (Photos courtesy of the Culinary Arts and Hospitality department)
Menu Overview
The three-course meal consisted of a rich blend of Filipino and Peruvian cuisine. The dinner started off with hamachi ceviche, calamansi coconut leche de tigre, kinilaw pickled garnish, radish pearls, and herb oil. This starter was paired with a sparkling wine produced by Jordan Kivelstadt’s Cellars.
The flavors of the hamachi ceviche with the calamansi coconut leche de tigre blended well together. It was a mixture of fresh, rich flavors. The coconut leche de tigre gave an earthy, creamy flavor and texture to the meal. The kinilaw pickled garish added a tart finish to the hamachi.
The wine complemented the hamachi ceviche. It added a sweet component and blended well with all of the fresh, savory, and sour flavors that this dish presented.
The entree included a pan-seared marinated duck, yucca parsnip puree, stuffed greens, aji amarillo duck jus, and it was paired with Kivelstadt Cellars Zinfandel.
“For the duck, we wanted it to be a nostalgic dish with Filipino and Peruvian flavors,” said Castorena.
The final dish was what Chin expressed as the “meeting point between Latin and Filipino culture.” Castorena and Chin concluded their menu with a kabocha flan, with kumquat sauce, hazelnuts, kiwi, and salted shortbread crumble. They wanted to add a seasonal touch to the flan.
“It really looked like a party,” Chin said.
After hours of dedication and utilizing culinary skills, Chin and Casterrena reflected on the night. Castorena said that he felt “stressed and tired.”
“It felt like when you run for a really long time, and you see the end product. It was really interesting… We had a lot of fun and challenges… It felt rewarding,” Chin expressed.
“It was very challenging, but again, the support we had through the school helped us. We were able to create something beautiful. I'm really proud,” Castorena said.
Culinary Clash was an experience for Castorena and Chin to show their shared effort and present meals that symbolize their dedication, and what Chin and Castorena describe as “the labour of our love.”
