Once again, a Filipino chef showed the world the awesomeness of Filipino cuisine.
In the Sep 22 episode of the American reality show slash cooking contest Chopped, Filipino chef Josh Arcilla was the only one left standing after three grueling rounds in the kitchen.
Arcilla is a graduate of the Center for Culinary Arts (CCA) Manila, one of the best culinary schools in the Philippines. He is now a corporate line chef in the U.S.
The four contestants were tasked to create an appetizer out of pork secreto, asparagus, kefir, truffle flavored potato chips; an entree with black sea bass, yuca, flat runner beans, blueberry grappa; and a dessert with knafeh, passion fruit, pistachio paste, brown bread in a can.
Arcilla made “Filipino-style Sea Bass with Runner Bean Salad” for his entreé, which earned satisfied looks and praises from judges Geoffrey Zakarian, Amanda Freitag and Giorgio Rapicavoli.
“The presentation is really beautiful in this dish and it works well when you eat it, get a little bit of everything in every bite,” Rapicavoli, a two-time Chopped winner, said of Arcilla’s dish.
Arcilla pointed out that his cooking is greatly influenced by his grandmother.
“Me being a home cook, I said, ‘grandma I want to open a restaurant’… she was the only person in my family who was always with me, right there beside me,” he told the judges.
Watch part of the episode here as streamed live by Arcilla on his facebook page:
