8 Ingredients Bento for Bento&Co 2014 Contest

26 comments

I participated in Bento&Co's 2014 Contest for fun and submitted my bento photo a few days ago, actually on the last minutes - I thought I wouldn't be able to take part in the contest as I was rather short on time, but Bento&Co extended the contest period, so I decided to participate.

This year's theme is: OUR INGREDIENTS + YOUR BENTO. We were expected to create a bento meal using only the following ingredients plus 1 ingredient of our choice:
  • Potato
  • Tomato
  • Carrot
  • Broccoli 
  • Rice 
  • Eggs
  • Chicken (or tofu for vegetarians)
  • The extra ingredient I chose: lettuce 
We also had to include a short description of the bento photo we submitted and here is mine:

Even though I love charaben, this year I decided to submit a more traditional-looking bento. I think it's something that is less intimidating to make and certainly more applicable for everyday bento. I played around with the natural vibrance of the pre-determined ingredients to create a practical, nutritious and delicious bento which can be whipped up by everyone who wants to spend just a few extra minutes in the kitchen. 

CONTENTS
Oval Bento Box:
steamed white rice, steamed purple rice (mixture of black+white rice), scrambled egg, teriyaki chicken dumplings, blanched broccoli, cherry tomatoes (red & yellow), carrot flowers (orange & purple- decorated with egg white and broccoli stems), mini carrot coins, mini broccoli stem coins and lettuce. 

Rectangular Bento Box:
chicken yakitori skewers (with carrot slices and broccoli stems), potato salad, cherry tomatoes, carrot tamagoyaki, blanched broccoli, carrot flower and lettuce.

The results were out yesterday and here are the bentos of the two grand winners, aren't they lovely :)? I love the Japan Grand Winner's bento, it's simple but it's got beautiful colour scheme, pretty arrangement and it looks yummy too. The international grand winner seemed to have spent SO MUCH time preparing the bento, and I can imagine why she won this contest. Congrats to both of them :)!


My bento managed to be in the top 10 and I am happy with the result, since I didn't partipate to win. I just wanted to motivate myself to make more bentos, since I've not been very active in bentoing lately.

The following are the bentos of the 10 finalists. I really like the first bento - another simple bento but it looks so delicious! I hope Bento&Co will also show the entries from the other contestants. I am sure there are so many good ones, especially because I read there are more than 200 participants!

Which bento do you like best? You don't have to be partial to mine because you're visiting my blog ;)! I think my one is not so bad, but I really like the two bentos I mentioned before, the one from the Japanese grand winner and the first photo of the top 10 finalist.

Anyway, hopefully I can blog a bit more in the near future. It's Friday tomorrow, so hang in there :)!

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26 comments:

  1. I am so happy you were selected. I choose your Bento without knowing it is Cooking Gallery. For me it is the most lovely. Isabelle (Lovin Bento)

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, Isabelle :)!! I saw yours and I think you also did a lovely job. Keep up the good work :)!

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  2. Congrats dear!! So happy to see urs and I actually voted urs!! Didn't know it was u until saw ur FB post today :)

    I did participate as well but just for fun :D

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    1. Thank you for always being so supportive, Karen. I love the positive vibes you're sending me :)! LOVE you Lady Bento, so much detailed work and what a shame it didn't get through :(.

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    1. Thanks for dropping by, Yenny :). Did you participate in the contest this year?

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  4. Well done you, they all look amazing.

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    1. Thanks for visiting my blog and thank you for your kinds words :).

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  5. Congratulations on winning tenth place - what an honor with so many (international) participants! I love the way you described your bento box and the way you presented it - you are such a talented person! You certainly created two fabulously pretty and delicious looking bento boxes!
    Ganz liebe Grüße, ein schönes Wochenende und nochmals herzlichen Glückwunsch zu deiner tollen Platzierung!
    Andrea

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    1. Vielen Dank für deinen Kommentar :). Eigentlich weiss ich noch nicht, ob ich den 10.Platz bekomme - man muss noch abstimmen, welche Bento er/sie am liebsten mag. Das Ergebnis bekommen wir morgen. Das ist aber eigentlich für mich egal, ob ich den letzten Plazt bekomme. Ich habe nur so zum Spaß teilgenommen :)! Der Wettbewerb ist immer ein aufregendes Ereignis für Bento Liebhaber jedes Jahr :).

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  6. Your bento looked really good but the second non-winner also caught my fancy. The weird sliced potatoes are awesome(I've made them for one of my bento a long time ago). That said, there was no alternative for eggs for vegans? That's a shame. Was everyone required to use all the ingredients, or cold they leave one or two out? It looks like in the pictures everyone used all of them.

    Sorry, I'm thinking of entering the next go-around! :)

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    1. Thank you for stopping by :). I also like the 2nd picture of the top 10 finalists. I think they all did a good job. We were supposed to include all the required ingredients plus one ingredient of our choice. It's indeed a shame that there's no alternative for egg, but you can always ask Thomas (Bento&Co's CEO) to let the vegans use different ingredient(s), I am sure he wouldn't mind - let him know and I am looking forward to seeing your creation next year :)!

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    2. Hallo :-)

      We actually let some people use Tofu and an ingredient of their choice instead of the chicken and eggs :-)

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  7. Congratulations! Top ten out of so many contestants is a great achievement, though frankly I think you deserve more! Your bento is beautiful and creative. Such an inspiration for all of us who prepare humble bentos for work!

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    1. Apologies for the late response. Thanks for the compliment, Sissi! It was a fun experience after all and it's not about winning, anyway something beautiful is so subjective anyway :). Thanks for the visit!

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  8. Wow, congratulations! Very well deserved...thanks for sharing all the pictures...I sure enjoy!
    Hope you are having a colorful week :D

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  9. You want me to choose? There is no way I could choose. They are all gorgeous! And congrats!

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  10. Your site always has the best bento photos, still always manages to amaze! It looks lime you spent ages in your bento too, it looks really intricate. I enjoyed seeing the other entries too, that one with the chef chasing the food was funny. Thanks for always posting the coolest bentos (the Elsa from Frozen one was a great idea too) :)

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    1. Lovely to see you here again, Xinmei :). I just used different types of cutters to make the little pieces, so it's not as hard as it seems. I would love to see more bentos on your blog too, keep them coming :)!

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  11. Congratulations!!! You ALWAYS make amazing bentos and I'm so happy for you!!! As always your work is delicate and detailed. Your bentos inspire many people including myself!

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  12. Really wonderful and colorful pictures! I am so glad for you that you were selected dear! Do you also give online cooking classes or have some videos of recipes? Please share here if you have, I would love to try it at home.

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