KUCHING: Vanessa Grace and Velentina Ulau from SMK Bandar Sibu were among the top five teams of budding young chefs who emerged as the national winners of the 26th Maggi Secondary School Cooking Competition (MSSCC).
The duo came in fourth place with their ‘Nasi Ulam recipe with Maggie Smoked Meat’ dish.
Camelia Ivana and Irdina Sofiya from SM Sains Rembau, Negeri Sembilan won the first prize; Nabihah Auni and Nur Ain Syazwani from SMK Pandan, Kuantan, Pahang (second prize); Alya Qaseh and Qurratul Ain from SMK Pengerang Utama, Johor (third prize), and Aleya Alesya and Damia Batrisyia from SMJK Notre Dame Convent, Melaka (fifth prize).
The winners won RM5,000, RM4,000, RM3,000, RM2,000, and RM1,000 respectively.
Introduced in 1997, the culinary platform aims to cultivate an interest in cooking among secondary school students while raising the awareness of the long-term effects of eating well on health.
The campaign is a strategic collaboration between Maggi and the Ministry of Education (MoE), which has since witnessed the participation of over 341,000 students across 10,000 schools in Malaysia.
Nestle (Malaysia) Berhad, Maggie business executive officer Geetha Balakrishna said over the past two decades, the competition has gained tremendous support and commendable student participation as many recognise the importance of cultivating talents in cooking and gaining knowledge about nutrition in diet from a young age.
“Cooking is indeed a valuable life skill for the young generation to acquire, as they will also learn about the planning process, effective time management skills and organisational skills among others,” she said.
With the concerted effort from the MoE and secondary schools across Malaysia, she said the competition is aimed at creating an equal society where young boys and girls are encouraged to pursue their interest and passion in cooking, while opening up greater opportunities for these young talents who may eventually dabble in the Malaysian culinary arena as a career.
Brand Ambassador for Maggie CukupRasa, Datin Paduka Eina Azman, also shared her personal experiences on and insights into self-awareness and ways towards building confidence as one of the learning modules in the competition.
“Naturally, many young schoolgoers are unsure of their future path. Self-awareness is a crucial first step, followed by cultivating self-confidence and eventually staying on course to achieve one’s ambition and dreams.
“More often than not, the young ones have their first culinary experience at home where they start to develop an interest in cooking through their parents. Parents and teachers play a significant role in inspiring and motivating students in developing their passion and skills for cooking. I must highlight that cooking also forms an important learning and bonding time that’s both unique and exciting,” she said.
Themed ‘You & Maggi, A Balanced Bowl is a Serving of Love’, this year’s competition garnered entries from more than 2,000 students aged between 13 and 15 years from 500 schools nationwide.
They showcased their cooking talents and demonstrated the right nutritional choices with the Malaysian healthy plate or quarter-quarter half concepts towards building healthier eating habits.
The winners were selected based on a series of evaluations, particularly on the creative use of ingredients, cooking skills, presentation and culinary inspirations via their submitted videos.
This year’s competition also included an educational segment on plant-based meal solutions which has generated more public interest and acceptance in recent years, due to their salutary impact on health and wellbeing.
Throughout the competition, guidance from various professionals and culinary experts were provided to the participants via several learning modules, including Maggi chefs and nutritionists.
