Barilla Pasta Championship Asia 2025 Crowns Chef Aaron Gulinao As Grand Champion

From eight nations came eight champions, but it was Chef Aaron Joseph Gulinao whose Filipino-inspired pasta captured the judges’ attention at this year’s Barilla Asia finals.

The Grand Final of the Barilla Pasta Championship Asia 2025 concluded this past week at the Sunway University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and saw Chef Aaron Joseph Gulinao of the Philippines take home the top prize. The final saw the national winners of China, Japan, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore go head to head in a hotly contested bid for the first-place €3,000 prize, as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to Parma, Italy, the home of Barilla.

Each chef brought their A-game to the table as they worked to interpret Barilla’s signature pasta into dishes that spoke volumes of their backgrounds and inspirations. Chef Aaron’s winning dish was Spaghetti in Alaminos Longganisa Ragu with Smoked Kesong Puti, a dish that takes the classic carbonara recipe and enlivens it with a Filipino twist. It was a creation inspired by his wife’s affinity for Alaminos Longganisa, a Filipino pork sausage from Alaminos, Pangasinan.

To cater to local preferences, Chef Aaron swapped out the pork in the sausage for beef instead, pairing it delectably with a smoked kesong puti mousse, a cheese from his hometown in Bulacan. Garnished with calamansi zest and crispy chicharon in true Pinoy fashion, the dish took Italian tradition and married it to wholesome Filipino flavours, making for a dish that impressed the judges, as well as all those gathered round our table.

Speaking on his win, Chef Aaron said: “Winning the title of Barilla Pasta Champion has been a great honour and a dream come true. I am deeply proud and truly grateful that the judges appreciated my take on Italian cuisine, inspired by Filipino flavours that are very close to my heart. This recognition inspires me to keep pushing boundaries and to explore the endless possibilities of pasta and Italian cuisine. I cannot wait to deepen my knowledge in Parma, learn from some of the best chefs in the world, and bring those experiences back to my own kitchen.”

Chef Jung Chul Lee of South Korea clinched the runner-up spot with his deceptively simple but flawlessly executed Spaghetti con la Bottarga. Featuring a sauce made from a blend of three complex stocks—chicken, fish, and ham—the wonderfully balanced three-stock emulsion worked to bring out the natural flavours of the bottarga, injecting new life into this traditional dish. Chef Felix Chong of Singapore followed closely behind to round out the podium, his dish an elaborate arrangement in the style of a mini omakase that showcased the pasta’s range of textures and expressions.

At the prize-giving ceremony, Barilla surprised the room with an unexpected announcement: all eight competitors would be flown to Parma as well. The gesture drew smiles all around, as each chef will now have the chance to rub shoulders with renowned Italian culinary figures and immerse themselves in the tradition-rich gastronomic culture that so illumines Barilla’s heritage. A wholesome conclusion to the finals, it underlined the brand’s commitment to nurturing talent across the region, and maintaining strong, lasting relationships with every chef who took part.