Ajinomoto Young Chef Thailand Competition Winners Announced Thailand’s first less-sodium food creation contest to highlight the talents of new generation chefs who are health-conscious and motivated to build a sustainable society

        Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd., organized the Ajinomoto Young Chef Thailand competition to recruit the next generation of food scientists and influential chefs to join the Thai food industry. The activity received great feedback and interest from students across the country. The company aimed to provide students with the opportunity to practice their skills and gain experience in the field of food science, which is crucial for people’s health and consumption habits, by encouraging them to leverage the art and science of umami to create delicious recipes that incorporate salt reduction techniques under the concept of ‘Delicious Salt Reduction’. In addition, the students were urged to become powerful forces in fostering value and a positive attitude in cooking to achieve delicious food and nutritional benefits for health.

         The final competition event was presided over by Ms. Carolina Sanches, Director of Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd., who gave one of the key messages: “The competition that takes place today is in line with our mission of solving societal issues related to food and health by bringing about long-lasting change that positively enhances people’s lives. With our new mission of ‘Leading in the Creation of Well-Being,’ we would like to promote health and wellness as we are moving forward.”

         In the final round, the top 8 teams engaged in a heated competition that featured all-encompassing sodium-reduction strategies and creative dishes that were delicious and appetizing. Chef Nuti “Tuck” Hutasingh, an expert in food innovation and food science; Professor Varanya Techasukthavorn, a dietitian lecturer and nutritionist with a focus on dietetics; and Mr. Chaiyapat Ongsri, Director of Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd., served as the judges for the awards. Three menu categories, including soup or curry, stir-fried, and deep-fried were employed to identify the winning dishes in the competition. The results are as follows:

The winning dish of the soup or curry: Seafood ravioli in coconut sauce by the Carrot Size Cube from Dusit Thani College

The winning dish of the stir-fried: Spicy pork neck salad by the Rakya Kha Mai Tai from Mahidol University

The winning dish of the deep-fried: Deep-fried seabass topped with sweet and spicy chili sauce by the Less is more from Chulalongkorn University.

The Top Winner Young Chef Thailand Award was presented the Carrot Size Cube team from Dusit Thani College and The Top Engagement on Social Media (Popular Vote), which is a special award went to the Less is More team from Chulalongkorn University.

In this activity, Ajinomoto awarded over 500,000 Baht in scholarships and products for further food and nutrition activities by the winners.

          At the end of the awards ceremony, Mr. Ichiro Sakakura, President of Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd., gave a closing speech with part of the key messages: “Ajinomoto Young Chef Thailand is the beginning of the engagement between ‘Ajinomoto Company’ and ‘Young Culinary Students’ in Thailand for the promotion of well-being. Inspirations and passions in your generation have a big power to create a better society. I do believe that you will be an important force in creating health and well-being for Thai society in the near future.”

         At the Ajinomoto Group, we aim to contribute to the well-being of all human beings, our society, and our planet with the power of Amino Acids as our key expertise, following our corporate slogan “Eat Well, Live Well”: Eat well with better nutrition, Live well with a better environment. We invest in initiatives promoting sustainable good health in individuals, communities, and society. Follow the company's activities on its Facebook fan page at Ajinomoto Home Cooking and website: www.ajinomoto.co.th.