Tuguegarao City (May 15) - Local cooks from the province of Quirino bested other contenders in the just concluded regional recipe development contest conducted by the National Nutrition Council Region 2 at Kainang Pilipino, here.

The six official contenders, who made it into the final list from the 18 applicants, showcased their best recipes out of vegetables, which are inexpensive.

Ms. Jonnabeth De Vera of Quirino province, which showcased its "Clams with Watercress" menu was adjudged as the champion.

Watercress is a leafy vegetable abundant in the said province and northern Cagayan, which can be bought at P10 per bundle. The whole menu costs only less than 54 pesos, good for six servings.

Santiago City Green Ladies Organization’s malunggay shanghai landed second, while the University of Cagayan Valley’s vegetable pattie was the third placer.

Rhodora G. Maestre, Nutrition Program Coordinator, said that the winning regional recipe will be compiled in a recipe book at the national level and will be printed for distribution to the beneficiaries of the Government’s Pantawid Pamilya / Conditional Cash transfer (CCT) program by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“We need to give them a reference material on how to utilize the abundant vegetables that are available in their backyard and in the market to improve their nutritional status,” Maestre stated.

The judging was based on palatability/taste (25%),use of nutritious ingredients (25%), originality (20%), visual appeal (15%) and ease of preparation (15%).

The judges - Ma. Olivia Pascual, board member of the 1st district; Purita S. Licas, Regional Director of the Philippine Information Agency; and Restaurateur Tomasa Genovesa - said that all the recipes prepared were palatable and nutritious; however, they selected the low-cost and affordable viands, which fit the budget of poor families.

Even in the preparation of the other viands, the board of judges noted that some utensils are not usually found in the barrio kitchens and some ingredients are not available in the market.

“This is for the 4Ps beneficiaries, so we need only to be creative in a manner that all ingredients and utensils to be utilized in preparation of the menu should be readily available and affordable,” Pascual explained.