Charlotte Gan: California Raisins Raya Rasa Sayang @ Berjaya University College of Hospitality

California Raisins has been my favourite snack since young until now. I feel truly blessed when I received the lovely invitation to attend the California Raisins Raya Rasa Sayang Event, presented by The Raisin Administrative Committee (RAC) at Berjaya University College of Hospitality, Kuala Lumpur. The event is to feature California Raisins' tasty and nutritious role for the festive Hari Raya, with RAC wishes to bring a sweet Raya to all Muslim friends.

Dried in the warm California sunshine,

raisins come by their sweetness naturally and contain a host of goodness

Themed Raya Rasa Sayang, the event is aimed at bringing out the sweet loving moods through foods in celebrating the Raya festive season. It showed that California Raisins can be nutritious and versatile to be incorporated as a key ingredient to make a tasty dish for friends and family during Raya or for any occasion.

RAC's Trade Promotions Director for Southeast Asia, Mr Richard Lieu had mentioned for most consumers, especially children, California Raisins are a healthy snack, compared with other snack foods, as raisins are naturally sweet and do not contain any added sugar. California Raisins are also a very versatile ingredient and can inspire a wide repertoire of dishes ~ from appetisers and main dishes to desserts and beverages, especially as consumers are becoming more health-conscious and more adventurous in their culinary endeavours.

Some of the lovely yet delicious recipes using California Raisins

Picture source courtesy by https://caraisins.com/browse-recipes/

More than just being an appetising delight, California Raisins are also a source of nutrition which are suitable to incorporate into meals amidst rising concerns for health issues, such as diabetes.

Some key benefits of California Raisins include:-

🍇They are all-natural
🍇They are naturally sweet and do not contain added sugar
🍇They are fat-free and cholesterol-free and naturally low in sodium
🍇They are a source of potassium ~ an important electrolyte that aids in muscle, cardiovascular and nervous system function
🍇They are a source of fibre
🍇They are a source of concentrated nutrients
🍇They contain phytonutrients that suppress the growth of oral bacteria associated with cavities and gum disease

Popular Celebrity Chef Ili Sulaiman was invited by RAC to present the cooking demo and sharing of her two scrumptious creations using California Raisins ~ "California Raisins Chicken Biryani" and "Homemade California Raisins Masala Spice Sausage Rolls".

Chef Ili Sulaiman explained that these two dishes are popular among Malaysians as their flavours are appetizing and easily titillate the palates to serve at Raya gatherings as well as for family meals.

"Raya is a time to be with the family and cook them delicious food which is both tasty and do not take too long to prepare. Both California Raisins Chicken Biryani and Homemade California Raisins Masala Spice Sausage Rolls are my family's favourite and it can be prepared ahead of time using versatile and nutritional ingredients. That reduces my time spent in kitchen and allows me to have more quality family time." explained Chef Ili.

Key ingredient of the day ~ California Raisins 🍇

1st creation prepared by Chef Ili Sulaiman ~ California Raisins Chicken Biryani

Tasting time on sampling portion ~ nice rich flavour with yummy California Raisins!

2nd creation prepared by Chef Ili Sulaiman ~ Homemade California Raisins Masala Spice Sausage Rolls

There was an exciting Bloggers' Cooking Challenge whereby the invited bloggers took part in a one-hour challenge in creating recipes using California Raisins which reflected the 8 Attributes of Nostalgic Raya Challenge, namely Love, Forgiveness, Honour, Gratitude, Blessing, Togetherness, Kindness and Respect.

Together with my team members Ivy Kam and Comel Azhar, we prepared our team dish named Black Raisins Kerabu, based on the theme Kindness. Many thanks to Ivy's unique recipe, we were able to present our humble healthy refreshing salad with kindness ingredients and black raisin goodness which is suitable for Ramadan Buka Puasa menu.

It was indeed a fun and unforgettable experience, though my team did not win, however we truly enjoyed the exciting cooking challenge, somehow I felt I was like in MasterChef TV Live Show haha..

Below is some bits and pieces video during the exciting challenge time~~

The 8 Attributes of Nostalgic Raya Cooking Challenge was beautifully portrayed by creative arts and cute little doll figures.

Lunch was prepared by the graduates of Berjaya University College of Hospitality, for all participants after the challenge task was done by all teams.