Pastry chef cooks up a storm with some old family favorites

A Filipina chef who lives in the United States served up some dishes from her homeland and beat off three competitors to claim the title of champion in a recent episode of the popular American cooking show Chopped.

Joyce Anne Bucad, 34, who is an assistant pastry chef at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, competed in the show’s Doughnut Dash episode on June 19 and earned a prize of US$10,000, GMA News reported.

Each episode of the show features four chefs who compete against each other by preparing and presenting a full three-course meal for the judges. One chef is eliminated in each of the three rounds until a victor is declared.

“It was very competitive as I was competing with three other driven chefs, who have competed in other major cooking competitions in the US. All of us wanted the title ‘Chopped Champion’,” Bucad said.

Bucad said her cooking is heavily influenced by the Filipino food that she grew up eating and cooking. She said that she still cooks Filipino food for her family despite living in the US.

“I draw on my childhood favorites and my most cherished food memories to create my unique flavor profile,” she said.