Fil-Am chef shares inspiration behind his winning dish sisig on US cooking show ‘Chopped’

A Filipino-American chef emerged victorious and was named champion of Food Network’s cooking competition “Chopped.” His winning dish? The good ol’ pork sisig.

In an interview with GMA Pinoy TV, Denevin Miranda said his dish was heavily inspired by his Asian culture and heritage.

“In Filipino cooking, there’s so much pork. There was the sisig and it was gonna be a challenge to impart those kinds of flavors. I thought I could pull it off with the time I had and it was a good call.”

Working as head chef at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, Denevin said he did his best to add Filipino taste to his dishes.

“[Filipino food] resonated with people of any culture and their palates because it’s so mixed in terms of cuisine. That’s really why I love showcasing a lot of Filipino food,” he said.

Denevin, who is trained on French and European cuisine, also applies his skills to Asian dishes.

“It’s a great way to build dishes. The marriage of those things, I think creates the very interesting dishes and recipes,” he added.

“I’m happy to become an ambassador of Filipino food, that’s why I did make a conscious effort to involve my cultural experiences in that ‘Chopped’ episode,” he added.

According to Denevin, his Filipina grandmother played a big part on his love for cooking and food.

“She grew her own vegetables. She couldn’t find any of the Filipino vegetables in the United States so she just grew it herself,” he said.

“It’s something that’s just so special so those are kind of the earlier memories I have of my love of food,” he continued. “Cooking was definitely inspired by my grandmother.”

Denevin was named “Chopped” champion during the sixth episode of the contest’s 48th season. – Franchesca Viernes/RC, GMA News

Watch more stories of Filipinos abroad on “Global Pinoy Unlimited” on GMA Pinoy TV. Subscribe now to watch this overseas. Visit www.gmapinoytv.com/subscribe for more details.