Pulmuone USA, maker of Nassau tofu products, has announced that it has awarded three student winners $10,000 in scholarships. Tofu Innovation Challenge, which it developed in partnership with CIA Consulting, a division of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA).
Hosted at the CIA’s New York campus, the competition was designed to showcase the versatility of tofu and plant-based foods and provided CIA students with an opportunity to To win scholarship funds toward their tuition.
“Our finalists’ dishes prove that plant-based eating can be synonymous with fine dining”
Pullmuon said eight students were selected for the challenge out of 60 applicants, who then spent two months experimenting with tofu and other plant-based ingredients while perfecting the recipes. The panel of judges included CIA chef instructor Aaron Foglita and Nassau representatives, who evaluated the final dishes based on creativity, presentation, taste and accessibility of the recipe.
The judges ultimately chose three dishes as winners:
- Tofu Mandu Wrapped with Cabbage and Kale – Seow Yu, 1st place
- Tomato Mapo Tofu Pasta – Ye Ji Hong, 2nd place
- Tofu Flan Stuffed Toast – Jelly Ruiz, 3rd place
“We are so impressed with the innovative dishes these talented student chefs have created,” said Ellen Kim, director of brand strategy and marketing communications at Pulmuone. “They did a wonderful job making tofu the star of the plate and illustrating how accessible and delicious plant-based eating can be.
“CIA is a foundation of culinary education, so it’s an honor to collaborate with them to not only highlight the many ways to use tofu but also give the next generation of young chefs and culinary professionals a taste of how plant-based cuisine can be enhanced.”
Teaching chefs
According to Pulmuone, which is a subsidiary of South Korean food company Pulmuone Co., the Tofu Innovation Challenge represents the latest collaboration in its long history with the CIA. In 2022, the company also sponsored the CIA’s Global Plant-Forward Culinary Summit in Napa, California, which featured culinary demonstrations, tastings and informational sessions.
These initiatives are part of a commitment to educate chefs and the food service sector about the creative potential of plant-based foods, states Pulmuone.
Expanded strategy
“This competition encouraged our students to expand and flex their cooking techniques, demonstrating how easy and versatile tofu is to work in the kitchen,” said CIA Chef Instructor, George Shannon. “Our finalists’ dishes prove that plant-based eating can be synonymous with good food as well as everyday cooking at home, and we’re proud of the creativity our students have shown.”
Recipes from eight Tofu Innovation Challenge finalists can be found here.