Modern tinolang manok wins DSWD-6 cook-off

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By Jennifer P. Rendon

Cooking the traditional Filipino comfort food tinolang manok with a twist helped a mother-and-daughter tandem from Anini-y, Antique, win this year’s regional finals of the Walang Gutom Kusinero Cook-Off Challenge.

Diena Benbinuto, 56, and her assistant cook and daughter, Berna Mae Benbinuto, bested four other finalists from across Western Visayas during the contest held April 16 at Sotogrande Hotel Iloilo in Pavia, Iloilo.

Diena said her modern take on tinolang manok stood out because she used the tinola broth to cook the brown rice.

She also minced malunggay and pepper leaves and mixed them with annatto oil.

She said she also used sugar in cooking the green papaya.

“I tried several ways and procedures of cooking my modern tinolang manok before I perfected it,” she said in the vernacular.

Diena said she began cooking when she was 15 years old.

She was hired to cook for school activities in Anini-y and also worked for a carinderia.

Following her win, Diena and her daughter received a cash prize and will represent Western Visayas in the national finals of the Walang Gutom Kusinero Cook-Off Challenge.

The regional contest was part of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s 2026 Innovations Division Caravan in Western Visayas.

The cook-off challenge is now in its second year and forms part of the government’s intensified efforts to combat hunger and promote food security.

The activity supports the implementation of the Walang Gutom Program, a flagship initiative established under Executive Order No. 44.

The program aims to reduce involuntary hunger among low-income households by helping ensure access to affordable, safe and nutritious food.

Finalist teams were tasked with preparing nutritious, cost-effective and culturally relevant meals using ingredients accessible through the program’s food redemption system.

The competition was anchored on the theme of healthiness, taste, affordability and innovation.

It also underscored the importance of maximizing locally available resources while applying lessons from the program’s Nutrition Education Sessions, now called 3K Sessions, or Kalusugan, Kakayahan, at Kabuhayan.

Other finalists included beneficiaries from Miag-ao, Iloilo, who showcased Ilonggo culinary traditions through indigenous ingredients such as batwan.

Representatives from Batad, Iloilo, highlighted simple and accessible cooking using locally available ingredients through their “creamy laing sa batwan with kalabasa crispies.”

A couple from Bugasong, Antique, presented “ginataang tulingan sa alupidan,” an entry that reflected resilience and adaptability shaped by their lived experiences.

Spouses from San Remigio, Antique, introduced an innovative variation of the traditional pinaksiw na bangus.

The Walang Gutom Kusinero Cook-Off Challenge serves as a platform to promote nutrition awareness, resource-efficient food preparation and community empowerment.

It also aims to strengthen partnerships with local government units and other stakeholders in advancing sustainable, community-based food and nutrition initiatives.

The activity also supports the goals of the Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028, particularly in improving food security and access to nutritious food among vulnerable sectors.