QIU’s first-ever ‘The Hungry Games’ culinary contest made its debut yesterday, bringing creative cuisine and competitive heat to the elegant atmosphere of our Envee restaurant.
Six three-man teams from QIU’s staff competed for cash, prizes, and most importantly – bragging rights. The teams had to create a main course and a dessert from scratch in only 90 minutes.
Their dishes had to be good enough to meet the standards of our eagle-eyed culinary experts from the School of Hospitality – Chef Noor Asneeda Ishak, Chef Afif Naim Abd Rani, Mr Syarin Aman Ahmad Fuat, and special guest judge Chef Syed Redzuan.
Just in case the cooking wasn’t hard enough, the organisers threw in two additional challenges during the cook-off.
First, each group had to answer five questions about QIU and general knowledge. Then, they had to swap one team member with another group, which was picked at random. Come on guys, even MasterChef isn’t this tough!
But in the face of these challenges, one ensemble stood out among the rest – the team of Ms Wong Kean Mun, Ms Ng Mei Chan, and Ms Loh Yik Mun.
The culinary queens ruled the roost with a Volcano Creamy Mushroom and Grilled Chicken entree, topped with a zesty Berries Lemonade Jelly dessert.
Second place went to the team of Mohd Fazli Mat Doa, Ahmad Syazwan Abdullah, and Norazlia Erwina Abd Rahim, who served a Lemon Herb Pan Fried Chicken with Smoked Barbeque Sauce and a Zabaglione dessert.
An entree of Hawaiian Delight Chicken Skewers served with Lotus Onion, Hasselback Potato and Special Sauce netted third for the team of Dr Teh Chui Yao, Dr Lee Sin Li, and Dr Nik Noor Athirah Nik Yusof, who also served a Summer Quencher dessert.
Congratulations to our winners and kudos to the organisers for putting on a truly enjoyable event. We’ll be holding our breath for Hungry Games: Part 2!
