Pilar Silvera wins N4HK cook off competition
Published:Thursday | December 8, 2022 | 12:31 AM
Twelve-year-old Pilar Silvera, a student of Campion College, was recently declared the winner of the inaugural Nestlé for Healthier Kids Cook Off.
The 8-episode series was launched by Nestlé Jamaica Limited earlier this year to commemorate International Chefs Day (ICD) on October 20. The 30-minute TV series debuted on October 16 ahead of the ICD celebrations to highlight and develop talented kids who have culinary skills, celebrate the culinary landscape for International Chefs Day, and educate consumers about the Nestlé for Healthier Kids programme (N4HK).
The show was hosted by renowned executive chef, Brian Lumley, featuring four young chefs, Shiloh Harris, Pilar Silvera, Summer Smith, and Logan Oliver, who went head-to-head each week in a battle for points, bragging rights and a first-place cash price of $300,000.
Silvera proved to be a force to be reckoned with as she dominated the lead each week in the Nestlé Kitchen. Food took the opportunity of looking deeper into the life of this budding chef and her drive throughout the series.
According to Silvera, who only recently learnt how to cook over the summer, “What I enjoy about cooking is the process of preparing a dish because with each dish you prepare, you learn more about the flavours that go with each other, and you understand some of the mistakes that you make along the way. I also love the result as 100% of the time when I cook it’s because I am hungry.” She continued, “I don’t think I got my love of cooking from someone because I rarely cook. It was over the summer when I first started to cook and then I realised that I was actually good at it,” she stated.
A confessed seafood lover, Silvera shared that her reason for entering the competition was purely out of just loving the idea of a challenge. But also that she loved it. “My time in the competition was really nice because of the experience and the people that I met,” she said.
Admitting that she had on blinders and only focused on herself during her time in the competition, she said, “I don’t think any of the contestants were that close to me to the point where they inserted any fear in me, so I wasn’t focusing on anyone but myself. I was there mainly for the enjoyment and the experience.”
Silvera shared that the best part of the competition for her was the feedback she received when she prepared the soup dish. “I realised that everyone loved the flavours, and the presentation, and that made me feel really good.” That feedback fuelled her throughout the rest of the competition. According to her, “I was proud of myself for the outcome of the meals and even if I found a challenge hard, I put in a lot of effort just to make the outcome flawless. I made it my best ability to stay consistent so that I would win,” she concluded.