COOK with a fresh twist and the Sharp edge

Chef Gracie shows how at IFEX 2024

Out-of-the-box air frying—with ample space for long food items? 

Plus a Plant-Based Liempo Meal?

And Air-Fried Pizza for real?

It was yes-yes-yum to all these and more at the recent food and ingredients extravaganza known as International Food Exhibition Philippines (IFEX) 2024, via a Cooking Demo led by COOK Magazine, the long-running monthly culinary magazine in the Philippines. IFEX Kitchen has been a dedicated show feature that allows for the exchange of food and industry ideas and insights in an interactive and fun environment. 

As the OG Pinoy culinary lifestyle publication for food enthusiasts since 2000, COOK offered an enticing and informative culinary session at the IFEX Kitchen. The demo was deliciously aligned with the IFEX theme of “It’s a Salu-Salo,” and this year’s focus on the multifaceted food choices under FAST Catch: where “products render Functional, Authentic, Sustainable elements, and some Twist in the way we prepare and think about certain eats,” reflecting what IFEX emphasized as the growing global consumer shift toward more nutritious, organic, ethical, and standardized products and practices.

Top-billed by multi-faceted restaurateur, Executive Chef, and COOK magazine writer Chef Gracie Chua, the COOK demo featured collaborations with partners such as Sharp, Galinco, and WaffleWaffle, and support from co-media partners BusinessMirror and The Philippines Graphic. 

Chef Gracie’s Air-fried Pizza, along with her Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers, were made possible with Sharp’s original Japan technology exemplified by the Sharp Long Air Fryer. Offering out-of-the-box options with its exceptional capacity that fits long dishes like barbeques and roast fish, the Sharp Long Air Fryer can cook up to five liters, and offers express cooking of toast, sandwiches, pastries, and fries with minimal use of oil.

World-class Filipino food company Galinco, maker of the popular Chips Delight cookies, also offers innovative easy-to-prepare pre-mixes. At the IFEX Kitchen, Chef Gracie maximized the versatility of the Sharp Long Air Fryer, along with the authentic Pinoy flavor of the traditional and native Bibingka, with Galinco’s Sarap Pinoy Bibingka (Filipino Native Cake) Ready Mix. The afternoon cooking demo’s lineup also included a Plant-Based Liempo Meal and Air-fried Pizza. 

COOK Magazine capped the culinary experience by raffling off food packages from Galinco, WaffleWaffle, and other top Filipino food and ingredient brands — Mila Molina-Lumactao