World Culinary Championship at Food Expo: Singapore Team Wins Overall Title

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

The "2014 International Food Expo" concluded today, and the most anticipated World Culinary Championship saw Southern Taiwan's Golden Delight Alliance and Singapore's Chinese Cuisine Team battle for four hours. In the end, Singapore's Chinese Cuisine Team claimed the 2014 World Culinary Championship title, while Southern Taiwan's Golden Delight Alliance won the Golden Tripod Award by a narrow margin.


▲ Singapore's Chinese Cuisine Team won the 2014 World Culinary Championship title. (Photo / Provided by the organizer)

The finals began with the mystery box challenge, where the mystery main ingredients drawn were cherry duck, duck breast, bone-in leg of duck, and duck eggs. According to the rules, participants had to immediately design their menus within 30 minutes and complete all dishes within four hours, including two cold appetizers (one meat, one vegetable), one hot soup (designated soup: Chicken, Pork Tripe, and Turtle), one hot seafood dish (dual-flavor), one hot poultry or livestock dish, one hot vegetable dish, and one sweet and one savory dessert (one meat, one vegetable), with the designated soup being Wolfberry and Black Fungus Soup, among six dishes in total. Each dish, aside from the competition-mandated main ingredient, also had to incorporate the mystery ingredient.

The Singapore Chinese Cuisine Team, which won the 2014 Taiwan World Culinary Invitational Championship, had previously claimed the overall title in both 2005 and 2007. Team captain Teo Wee Cheng said that what he was most satisfied with this time was the "Ancient-Style Chicken," which required the most effort. It featured pan-seared and braised duck breast layered with wheat starch to mimic the texture of Dongpo pork. For the dessert category, the pastry chef, who only tried black fungus juice at the venue the day before and found it somewhat rich, decided to modify the designated sweet soup—Wolfberry and Black Fungus Soup—by adding purple plum to elevate the flavor. What impressed the judges the most was the designated soup "Chicken, Pork Tripe, and Turtle," where they selected medicinal herbs from the ingredients and presented it using the cooking style and flavors of Southeast Asian Bak Kut Teh.

 
▲ Singapore Team’s "Ancient-Style Chicken," made by pan-searing and braising duck breast, layering it with wheat starch to mimic Dongpo pork; Southern Taiwan Golden Delight Alliance Team’s "Golden Delight Honey-Melted Heart Drunk." (Photo / Provided by the organizer)

Judges noted that Southern Taiwan's Golden Delight Alliance Team, which won the Golden Tripod Award by a narrow margin of 0.4 points, performed significantly better than their rivals in dishes such as Duck Meat and Taro Pastry and Dual-Color Dumplings. However, they lost points for the designated soup "Chicken, Pork Tripe, and Turtle," which had a broth that was too light and failed to highlight the dish’s characteristics, as well as overcooked beef in the livestock hot dish, leading to their regretful loss.


▲ Although Southern Taiwan's Golden Delight Alliance Team narrowly missed the overall championship, they still earned recognition with the Golden Tripod Gold Award. (Photo / Provided by the organizer)