Premier Dining Destination in Manila – City of Dreams Triumphs at the 2025 Philippine Culinary Cup

City of Dreams Manila’s 2025 Philippine Culinary Cup winners. With the award-winning chefs and mixologists in photo, are Property President Geoff Andres (center) and the F&B and culinary leaders composed of: How F&B Director Chad Ogden, Asst. Director for F&B Juvel Contreras, Executive Chef Jeff Hurst, Executive Chinese Chef Danny Khoo, Executive Sous Chef Edmundo San Jose, and Head Chocolatier Tweet Obsequio, who share a common dedication to recognize and nurture world-class talent.

The team of chefs and mixologists from City of Dreams Manila who competed at the 2025 Philippine Culinary Cup (PC) bagged 11 medals in eight categories at what is considered the country’s most prestigious culinary competition. The 15th year of the event was recently held concurrently with World Food Expo (WOFEX) at the SMX Convention Center.

“Every year, our team has been consistently awarded at the Philippine Culinary Cup, a testament to the depth of their culinary artistry and mastery. We commend their passion for excellence as they help steer and inspire colleagues in positioning City of Dreams Manila as one of the sought-after dining destinations in the city,” Property President Geoff Andres remarked.

The winners in various categories are:

Gold: Mary Anne Valderrama (Café Society), Chocolate Pastry Showpiece; and Lee Chia Lok (Season 88), Taiwan Pork Bento, who also bagged Silver in the US Pork Asian Gourmet Chef Challenge.

Silver: Dominic Joshua Hembrador (Pastry) and Mary Apple Delantar (Pastry), Wedding Cakes; Paul John Zuniega (Pastry), Bread Showpiece; Allan Mabras (Pastry), Chocolate Pastry Showpiece; and Jiro Flora (Haliya), Canada Beef “Back to Basics”.

Bronze: She Chong Ngooi (Crystal Dragon), Taiwan Pork Bento Box.

In the bartending competition, CenterPlay bartenders Arvin Philip Rallos and Prince Reinner Santos were also named Champion for Flairtending and 2nd placer for Best in Cocktail categories, respectively.

The only culinary competition in the country that is endorsed by the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (WORLDCHEFS), the Philippine Culinary Cup follows standards for global competitions and gathers local and international culinary experts as competition judges. Through the years, the event has been known to provide Filipino chefs an internationally recognized platform to hone and showcase their culinary talents.

For more information on the luxury integrated resort, visit www.cityofdreamsmanila.com.