Hyatt Brings Six Chefs To Hong Kong To Compete In The Asia Pacific Final of The Good Taste Series

A testament
to Hyatt’s commitment to excellence and creativity in food and beverage, the
annual competition cultivates emerging culinary talent and celebrates cultural
diversity

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HONG KONG,
CHINA - Media OutReach - November 13, 2018 - Hyatt
Hotels & Resorts today
announced that Sebong Oh and Lily Liu will represent its Asia Pacific region in
The Good Taste Series competition in
the global final early next year. Now in its fifth edition, the annual contest
has grown from a North American initiative to a global program featuring chefs
from Hyatt hotels in Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and
Africa. Designed to cultivate emerging talent from Hyatt’s kitchens, The Good Taste Series provides anyone
from line cooks to executive sous chefs with an opportunity to showcase their
culinary flair.

 

“Hyatt
has always enjoyed the reputation of being a leader in food and beverage. Our
secret sauce to success is to foster a nurturing environment where we develop
and recognize our chefs as well as provide a stimulating platform for them to
exchange their knowledge and collaborate with one another,” said Andreas
Stalder, Senior Vice President, Food and Beverage Operations and Product
Development, Asia Pacific at Hyatt Hotels & Resorts.

 

Stalder
added, “This is the second year that we are holding The Good Taste Series in Asia Pacific. We are delighted to see the
increased excitement and engagement among our chefs. We have almost four times
as many participants this year compared to last year as well as more female
chefs. It has been inspiring to see the creativity and passion among our
up-and-coming chefs as well as how their diverse culinary styles and cultural
backgrounds have influenced the food they make.”

 

340
chefs from 68 Hyatt hotels competed for the coveted opportunity to represent
their sub-regions in this year’s Asia Pacific final of The Good Taste Series. Among which, six contestants were selected from
across Greater China, Southeast Asia, Australia, Korea, Japan and Micronesia:
Sotaro Okuda of Hyatt Regency Kyoto, Josephine Loke of Andaz Singapore, Sebong Oh
of Grand Hyatt Seoul, Jason Ho of Grand Hyatt Taipei, Lily Liu of Park Hyatt
Hangzhou and Woontae Baek of Hyatt Regency Perth.

 

The
night before the Asia Pacific final, the six chefs received a mystery black box
containing wild venison, langoustine, porcini mushroom and kohlrabi that were
to be incorporated into their dishes. In addition, they were provided with
fruits and vegetables supplied by Ecofarm, a certified organic farm in Jiangxi,
China. The chefs were then given a few hours to create a cold dish and a hot
dish.

 

The
judging panel comprised of renowned chefs from Asia Pacific including Margarita
Forés, Vicky Lau, Bruno Menard, Dave Pynt and Stefan Stiller as well as food
critics Dong Keping, Susan Jung and Myffy Rigby. The judges also offered their
expertise and provided guidance to the six finalists during the food tasting.

 

Chef
Sebong won top marks from the judges with his two creations: Steamed
langoustine with yuzu sauce, fruit jelly, beetroot tuile, roasted porcini and
broccoli puree; Bulgogi marinated venison, gochujang potato croquette,
carrot-ginger puree, Korean braised kohlrabi, pickled asparagus and lime
Yorkshire pudding. First runner-up, Chef Lily impressed the judges with her
cold dish of langoustine, crustacean jelly, parsley mayonnaise and kohlrabi and
a slow-cooked venison loin, rice mantle, porcini ravioli, oyster sauce with
vegetable.

 

“I am
thankful to have this opportunity to develop myself through this competition
with contestants from other countries”, shared Sebong Oh. “Through The Good
Taste Series, I have learned what I am capable of achieving. I look forward to
the global final where I would like to show more Asian spirit through my
creativity in my dishes.”

 

“I
think this is an excellent opportunity from Hyatt to nurture skillful chefs and
to help them grow,” said Lily Liu. “I have learned much from this competition
and believe that this will help me become a better chef.”

 

Sebong
Oh and Lily Liu will face off with four other chefs from Hyatt hotels in the
Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa in The Good Taste Series global final, which will be held in Singapore
in the first quarter of 2019.

 

The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to
Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates.

 

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation,
headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a
portfolio of 14 premier brands. As of June 30, 2018, the Company’s portfolio
included more than 750 properties in more than 55 countries across six
continents. The Company’s purpose to care for people so they can be their best
informs its business decisions and growth strategy and is intended to attract
and retain top colleagues, build relationships with guests and create value for
shareholders. The Company’s subsidiaries develop, own, operate, manage,
franchise, license or provide services to hotels, resorts, branded residences,
vacation ownership properties, and fitness and spa locations, including under
the Park Hyatt®, Miraval®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt®,
Andaz®, Hyatt Centric®, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt
House®, Hyatt Ziva™, Hyatt Zilara™, Hyatt
Residence Club® and exhale® brand names. For
more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.