Mama Sita’s 'Mga Kuwentong Pagkain' contest is now open

In the Visayas, women harvest takway—elongated, finger-thick gabi roots—and cook them slowly in coconut milk to make a tasty viand. In Iloilo, an old woman makes candies in the shape of elegant swans from green papaya rind and sprinkles them with sugar crystals. Such stories on unique and fascinating Filipino food and food making are the main theme of Mama Sita’s “Mga Kuwentong Pagkain” Contest.

 

Mama Sita’s “Mga Kuwentong Pagkain” is a nationwide contest launched last to encourage everyone to share authentic, one-of-a-kind and little known stories on Filipino cuisine and cooking. These stories correspond to Teresita “Mama Sita” Reyes’s own commitment to celebrate the cuisine and culinary heritage of the Philippines.

 

Mama Sita, herself an ingenious story teller and chronicler valued the anecdotes and accounts on food and cooking handed down to her by her mother, friends, vendors, farmers and the ordinary man-on-the-street who shared her passion for food and cooking. In her journals, she would describe in vivid detail little-known cooking procedures in her particular longhand and even drew images to make her point more clear and comprehensible.

 

Mama Sita’s “Mga Kuwentong Pagkain” Contest is open to all interested participants who wish to share their food stories in any of these three media forms: written, visual, or audio-video essays. To join, participants need to have an authentic and one-of-a-kind culinary story to tell, and the preferred media where the story can be best expressed following the given material length and format. Then, he or she can download and fill up the entry form from Mama Sita’s website.

 

The maximum entry length and format per category are as follows: Essay Writing (Length: Maximum of 2,000 words, Format: Hard copy (typed or handwritten), or soft copy (MS Word or PDF), Visual Essay (Length: Maximum of 2,000 words, Format: Hard copy (typed or handwritten), or soft copy (MS Word or PDF), and Audio-Visual Essay (Length: Maximum of 10 minutes, Format: MP4 or WAV).

 

Entries may be written in English or Filipino. In the audio-visual format, while other native dialects are encouraged, they should be accompanied with a comprehensible and appropriate subtitle to make the narrative easier to understand and evaluate. All entries will be judged according to the following criteria: Content (40%), Presentation (30%), Originality (20%) and Overall Impact (10%).

 

Entries must be submitted to MGA KUWENTONG PAGKAIN Marigold Manufacturing Corporation, 538 North South Compound, Jenny’s Avenue, Maybunga, Pasig City, Philippines or e-mailed to mgakuwentongpagkain@gmail.com together with the entry form. Deadline of submission of entries is moved from October to January 11, 2013 to accommodate more entries! In addition, all entries become the property of Marigold Manufacturing Corporation, and may be displayed, exhibited and used by the sponsor without compensating and/or notifying the owner.

 

The lone Grand Winner will receive P20, 000.00 in cash and a medal from Kusina ni Mama Sita, or may choose to be enrolled in a culinary course worth 20,000.00 plus Mama Sita gift pack and an option to take Mama Sita’s Culinary Tour following the footsteps of Mama Sita.

 

Runners-up will also get some exciting prizes. First Runner-Up winner will get P10, 000.00 in cash, a medal, and an option to take Mama Sita’s Culinary Tour plus Mama Sita’s gift pack. Second Runner-Up winner bring home P5, 000.00 in cash prize, a medal, and the option to join Mama Sita’s Culinary Tour plus Mama Sita’s gift pack. Interested participants may also see the contest posters or visit the Facebook page. Press release from Marigold Marketing Inc.