La Consolacion tops Gardenia’s Next Big Sandwich Hit

MANILA, Philippines - After the audition rounds, gruelling qualifying rounds at their schools, demanding challenges at Mercato Centrale in Bonifacio Global City, and the final cook-off, the team from La Consolacion College-Manila, composed of Kristina Francesca Jordan and Janmel Lolong, was declared the grand champion of the “Next Big Sandwich Hit,’’ an inter-school sandwich-making and business idea generation competition organized by premier bread company Gardenia Bakeries Philippines Inc. (GBPI), held at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City recently. 

The La Consolacion team bested nine other groups from top universities and colleges in Metro Manila in the heart-pounding finale of the competition that served as one of the highlights of Gardenia’s Happy Bread Day event.

“We really did not expect to win, especially after we saw a couple of schools bag the major awards, which have a significant impact on the teams’ total scores. As soon as our names were called, it took quite a moment for everything to sink in, and then we realized it was all true,” said Jordan and Lolong while holding the symbolic champion’s check and plaques amid the commotion and excitement at the venue.

First-runner up award went to the Far Eastern University and second runner-up award to Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). They won P70,000 and P35,000 in cash prizes, respectively.

Prior to the announcement of winners, special prizes were awarded for the People’s Choice, Audience Choice and Sponsor’s Choice awards. The People’s Choice winner was the team with the highest webisode likes and shares in Facebook and YouTube. The Audience Choice award went to the team with the highest votes on on-ground crowd tasting during Happy Bread Day, while the Sponsor’s Choice winner was chosen among the teams who creatively used the sponsor’s product as an ingredient in their dish.  

The University of Sto. Tomas team bannered by Jenna Buenaventura and Rio Fontanillas bagged the first two awards, while the PUP team composed of Arnel Lontac and Dianne Colleen Edillor prevailed in the last.

The atmosphere was authentically euphoric as thousands flocked to the event to witness the finale of the sandwich competition. Those who would want to know more about Gardenia were given a trip down memory lane at the Gardenia Museum while some relaxed at Pandesal Café

Others even had a sweet time at the Flavored Bread Station. People were also eager to help as they participated in the I Shared Bread campaign where every G-lock donated is equivalent to three loaves that will be donated to three beneficiaries.

G-Lock is the unique and innovative color-coded clip that assures the freshness of Gardenia loaves. A total of 3,791 G-Locks were collected and posted on the G-Lock Wall — equivalent to 11,373 loaves of bread to be donated to White Cross in San Juan, Metro Manila, Don Bosco Boys’ Home and Training Center in Cebu, and the Bohol quake victims.

“Aside from skills, quality and hygiene, we looked at the uniqueness of their creations. Our problem was that many of the students made really out-of-the-box concoctions. It was really hard; deciding on the winners was really close,” said Chef Gigi Angkaw, one of the judges. This explained why it took some time for the hosts to announce the winner but it was worth the wait.