MEET THE WINNERS OF THE 2024 INSPIRED BY KIKKOMAN CHEF COMPETITION!
Check out three brilliant chefs and their innovative recipes.
Kikkoman® Soy Sauce has inspired generations of chefs and foodservice operators to add umami and savory depth to all kinds of menu items, Asian and beyond.
In that spirit, the INSPIRED BY KIKKOMAN Chef Competition challenges chefs and culinary professionals to submit cutting-edge menu ideas featuring Kikkoman® Soy Sauce. And this year, we were once again blown away by the outstanding entries we received!
From among hundreds of respondents who registered to compete, our judges selected 50 to proceed to Round 2, in which participants were invited to submit a full recipe and photo. This year’s judging panel included past contest winners, Chefs Ian Ramirez, Jackson Kalb, and Mark Rivera, as well as experts from Chefs’ Roll and Kikkoman Executive Chef Andrew Hunter. Our judges then narrowed the submissions down to 5 Finalists, whose recipes were recreated for a new fan voting component to help us crown a Grand Prize Winner, a Runner Up, and a Fan Favorite Prize winner.
The challenge was simple, but far from easy: show us your innovation, knowledge and creativity using Kikkoman® Soy Sauce (Original, Less-Sodium, or Tamari) as the central seasoning in a globally inspired entrée.
Grand Prize – Trip to Japan
Chef Brian Redzikowski’s Wild King Salmon “Rice Bowl”
Chef Brian’s Wild King Salmon “Rice Bowl” dish has sourced the best ingredients from soy sauce to mushrooms to let the simplicity of the ingredients shine. Using three different types of Kikkoman®️ Soy Sauce was the key to balance out each component to ensure nothing overpowered and everything worked in harmony.
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Runner Up – $2,500 prize
Chef Nathaniel Malone’s Miso Cured Smoked Pork Jowl with Sticky Soy and Choy Sum
Chef Nathaniel’s Miso Cured Smoked Pork Jowl with Sticky Soy Glaze and Choy Sum features goat cheese, pink oyster mushrooms, lemon ginger, honey gingko nuts, fresh mission figs, Concord grapes, tremella mushroom “pork” rinds, and espresso soy sauce powder.
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Fan Favorite – $2,500 prize
Chef Evan Gonzalez’s Mi Quang (Vietnamese Turmeric Chicken Noodle Soup)
Chef Evan starts the recipe by slowly braising a whole black silkie chicken with fresh turmeric, pineapple, tomato, and onion, seasoned with Kikkoman® 40% Less Sodium Gluten-Free Tamari Soy Sauce, fish sauce, and a sachet of garlic and spices. He makes flat rice noodles with red beet powder from the farm, served with a twice-cooked tamari confit farm egg (sous–vide yolk in low sodium tamari).
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