Student chefs from Autlán de Navarro swept top awards at the Sabor a Jalisco cooking competition held last weekend at the Ajijic Malecón, taking first place for best overall performance and special recognition to Ruben Padilla as outstanding team captain.
“The competition was stiff. All the teams put out delicious dishes,” commented head judge Arturo de la Torre, a well-known Guadalajara foodie blogger and proprietor of Reddy Sandwiches. Spectators who enjoyed samples coming from each kitchen seemed to be equally impressed.
The contest was organized by Jalisco’s Instituto de Formación para el Trabajo (Ideft), a vocational training system. Teams representing Ideft culinary schools in eight localities prepared innovative dishes in the Cocina de Creación phase taking place on Saturday and the traditional regional recipes for Sunday’s Cocina de Rescate segment.
Judges scored the contestants on the flavor, texture, originality and presentation of their dishes as well as professional management of kitchen facilities. The “taste of Jalisco” theme was designed to encourage the trainee chefs to maximize the use of local ingredients and conserve regional gastronomic patrimony.
Both the Autlán team and second-place winners from Arandas qualified to move up to the national level competition next month in Chihuahua.