Award-winning Oat Recipes from Mexico

 

The Prairie Oat Growers Association of Canada (POGA) is proud to announce the winners of the 7th Annual Oat Recipe Contest. The announcement took place on the eve of Canada Day in a virtual awards ceremony streamed on social media on Thursday, June 30, 2021.  

The contest celebrates the health benefits and versatility of oats. Any Mexican citizen, be they a curious home cook or a professional chef, can take part in the contest. This year, for the first time, the contest featured five distinct categories, including traditional Mexican cuisine, vegetarian, gluten-free, creative recipes and youth.  Once again, Mexican cooks enthusiastically responded to the contest challenge submitting 143 recipes (the highest number of submissions to date), creatively incorporating oats into a variety of dishes. 

The 2021 contest awarded Mexican cooks in five categories. 

This year’s 13 winners are:

Category 1: Inspired by traditional Mexican Cuisine 

– First place: Oat Tlacoyo with Nopal by Alexa Freyere Godoy

– Second place: Oat Garnachitas by Dulce María Vásquez SanJuan

– Third place: Oatmeal Pancakes and Grasshoppers by Francisca Poblano Morales. 

Category 2: Vegetarian

– First place: Oatmeal, spinach and banana sopes by Patricia Dolores Mogas Gonzalez

– Second place: Tropical creamy ceviche by Ana Montserrat Campuzano Estrada

– Third place: Oatmeal and lentil biscuits with cheese and spinach by Andrea Carolina Rivera Zavala

Category 3: Gluten-free

– First place: “Divorced” oatmeal and aubergine balls by Flora Colotl Ixmatlaua

– Second place: Oatmeal Flan by Jesus Fernando Cebreros Mexia

– Third place: Oat Crepe Poblano Style Maria Engracia Cabañas Montoya

Category 4: Creative

– First place: Sweet Potato and Oat Gnocchi with Coriander Pesto and Candied Mushrooms by Adriana Gabriela Perez Ruiz

– Second place: Casserole bread with Oaxacan chocolate and banana by Eduardo Domínguez Maldonado

– Third place: Oatmeal and honey entremets by Mariela Sánchez Romero

Youth Category

– First place: Oatmeal cacao and matcha pie by Tabatha Ordaz Guzmán

The recipes were judged by a panel consisting of a member of the POGA team, the Mexican Diabetes Federation (la Federación Mexicana de Diabetes), and the Canadian Embassy in Mexico. The panel selected the winning recipes for their presentation, nutritional value and creativity. 

The ceremony was opened by H.E. Graeme C. Clark, Canadian Ambassador to Mexico for the second consecutive year. In addition to noting the similar values that Mexicans and Canadians share in terms of nutrition, he expressed his enthusiasm at the quality and innovation of the recipes proposed and how impressed he was by the way the winners integrated Canadian oats in recipes inspired by traditional Mexican cuisine. 

At the ceremony, POGA President Jenneth Johanson shared: “We are pleased to see the enthusiasm the new youth category has generated. Canadian and Mexican youth share a passion for food and we want our countries to be finding many new ways to cooperate for generations to come”.

In addition to the awards and cash prizes, the 13 winners will have their recipes professionally photographed and promoted on the Avena Canadiense website, www.avenacanada.com, Youtube with1,200 followers and Facebook page with 300,000 followers. As in the past years, the recipes will also be compiled into a recipe booklet, which will be promoted at various events, including cooking classes in celebration of World Diabetes Day on November 14.

Barely a week after the virtual awards ceremony streamed live via Facebook, the video has achieved over 6,800 views, over 8,200 engagements and reached nearly 50,000 people proving how much Canadian oats is loved. Emerging Ag is proud to have coordinated the organisation of such an outstanding event and looks forward to seeing more people around the world inspired to create their own delicious oat recipes.