Celebrate winning Indian, Chinese, and Filipino recipes from 60 passionate home cooks in this new book
Whether it’s on the dining table, over meals, or in the kitchen, maybe even in a healthy cook-off, food binds us.
“Many of our most treasured moments involve sharing a meal with loved ones,” says Rajiv M. Dhand, regional vice president for Asia-Pacific at Telus International. “Breaking bread has always been a tradition that brings people together and is the simplest, most universal expression of love and community.”
Telus International, recognized as a top employer and awarded for its industry-leading employee engagement activities, recently held a recipe competition for its team members across its delivery centers in the Philippines, Chengdu (China), and India.
Central to the organization’s success is its focus on celebrating the different passions that bring joy to its team members across its global branches. Winners of the contest are featured in the first-ever Telus International diversity cookbook of winning recipes called A Taste of Diversity.
“At a time it is so easy to feel isolated and disconnected because of the restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic,” adds Rajiv. “We wanted to create a cookbook that can be a catalyst for bonding with each other, even from a distance.”
The winners’ recipes are included in the cookbook curated by an impressive lineup of seasoned culinary experts. The board of judges consisted of Royal Indian Curry House’s chef Surat Rana, Chinese chef Sheng Tian, and Filipino chef RJ Ungco.
The competition kicked off with a virtual recipe writing workshop and food photography 101 session facilitated by Ungco and DiscoverMNL founder Lucky Alabado.
Over 150 team members responded to the request for original Indian, Filipino, and Chinese recipes, but only 60 emerged victorious across the five categories namely soups, salads, appetizers, main course, and desserts.
“I was truly amazed by the creativity, talent, love, and passion the participants showed in their products,” says Ungco.
Winners in the Soups and Salads categories are Jomar Agregado, Cris Advincula, Diana Adorna, Rayzy Angeles Nufable, Neha Bhutani, Angel Tang, Karen Joy Belos, and Federico Guillergan. Winners in the Appetizer category included Ella Cecilia Edralin, Edrelynne Dela Pena, Carlo Planco, John Edmar Llasus, Darren Polante, Neneth Navarette, John Agustin Belicena, Anish Debnath, Juhi Zaidi, Pallavi Das, Huachen Xing, and Ernest James Perlas.
‘From family recipes passed down from generation to generation, new recipes made with ingenuity and passion, and recipes that reflect the unique culture of our team members, all these and more can be found here.’
Meanwhile, winners of the Main Course category are Amy Zhang, Fiona Feng, Susie Su, Silvia Zeng, Tooy Wang, Mirei Magallona, Jayson Toledo, Joseph Ivan Gaffud, Karen Villegas, Maria Angelica Bustamante, Lance de los Angeles, Roderick Santos, Karen Tan, Justine Alano, Lindley Aurelio, Mark Esteve Pereda, Myca Santos, Ephraim Miguel Mercado, Anil Thapa, Gautam Piplani, Gourab Sarkar, Keshav Aggarwal, Amil Khan, Namrata Goel, Paras Saini, Rahul Bose, Sushant Khanka, and Vishu Luthra.
Lastly, the Desserts category victors are Anmol Sarraf, Monika Jaiswal, Nawaz Nasar, Richa Sharma, Roxanne Moon, Sajal Gupta, Arian Corpuz, Aldrich Cu, Marry Jo Macorol, Michael Imbao, Joven Quitayen, and Rolly Harcia.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think my recipe might be featured in a published cookbook, especially one that has been curated by such seasoned chefs! Thank you, Telus International for making this happy foodie’s wish come true,” says Ella Edralin, one of the winners and a Telus International Philippines team member since 2006.
“A Taste of Diversity cookbook has been made by our team members with love. From family recipes passed down from generation to generation, new recipes made with ingenuity and passion, and recipes that reflect the unique culture of our team members, all these and more can be found here,” says Rajiv. “The Telus International team in Asia-Pacific takes pride in our diverse and caring culture. And that colorful diversity is reflected here, in our first-ever cookbook.”
Download the cookbook for free at linkedin.com/company/telus-international-philippines/.