Mouth-watering finals for the four-nation culinary challenge
LG SolarDOM’s 2008 cooking contest crowns Mustapaha from UAE and Saifi with Rooskhosh from Iran for top honours
The LG SolarDOM Regional Cooking Competition saw a close finish on the evening of Sunday, November 23rd, as culinary champions from four countries – UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Iran – competed to take the crown of the third edition of the LG SolarDOM Regional Cooking Competition.
The finals of this year’s LG Regional SolarDOM Cooking Competition took place in Dubai’s Al Murooj Rotana Hotel. The six-month-old hunt for the cooking champions concluded as 15 finalists from the UAE (both Dubai and Abu Dhabi rounds), KSA, Iran and South Africa rounds engaged their skills in creating the best culinary masterpieces during a two-hour session. The event was judged by Chef Patrick Lannes, Chef Directeur Maitre Cuisiner De France, who encouraged the finalists in their quest for the top spot.
Also judging was Mr. H.S. Paik, President of LG Electronics Gulf who commented on the event saying: “Although this is my first year attending this event, I can clearly see the time and efforts that were invested by contestants to prove themselves worthy of the title. This indeed is a celebration of both taste and perfection.”
After a gruelling competition where contestants were required to create a mix of starters, main course and dessert from scratch within 60 minutes using the LG SolarDOM lightwave oven, the decision was finally made.
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Magda Mustapha from UAE won the first prize in the individual round, while Haifa Mokhtar from KSA and Petri Uys from South Africa emerged as first and second runners-up respectively. Judges awarded Masoumeh Saifi and Shokouh Rooskhosh from Iran as first place winners in the team category, while Abeer Janabi and Haifa Mufeeda from KSA came in second place.
Another interesting twist was the highlight of this year’s proceedings. The company announced that the MEA Champions Magda Mustapha and team Masoumeh Saifi with Shokouh Rooskhosh will go on to battle it out with international winners in a keen contest supervised by BBC’s celebrity chef Ainsley Harriot in December.
“To add a bit of spice to the competition, the winners of the regional competition will get their chance at going international and competing against worldwide rivals at the International LG SolarDOM Cooking Competitions that is due to take place next month,” added Mr. Paik. “So I advise our winners to prepare their scoops and sharpen their knives because the kitchen is just about to get hot.”
A high-profile panel of judges selected winners on the basis of cooking style and presentation. LG also generously offered a host of exciting prizes to both participants as well as spectators. In the Team category, winners received US$3,000 in cash while runners-up received US$2,000. Individual category winners got US$2,000, first runner-up US$1,500 and the second runner-up US$1,000.
The next-generation LG SolarDOM is the world’s first counter-top light-wave oven to combine both conventional oven and microwave oven technologies. The oven outsmarts conventional cooking appliances in terms of design as well; an acknowledgment confirmed by the iF Design Award, one of the world's most pre-eminent design achievements.
