From tank to table: UOG’s aquaculture tilapia makes its culinary debut at Maila Ta Fan Chesa

The UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant team joins Micronesian Chefs' Association President Peter Duenas at the Maila Ta Fan Chesa event in September at the Hyatt Regency Guam. Pictured with Duenas are Kyle Mandapat, associate director for communications and community engagement; Fran Castro, associate director for operations and development; and Austin Shelton, Ph.D., director.

The Maila Ta Fan Chesa event features locally sourced ingredients, including aquaculture-raised tilapia from the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant. This year’s event was held at the Hyatt Regency Guam and organized by the Micronesian Chefs Association in partnership with the American Culinary Federation and, for the first time, the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant.

The Maila Ta Fan Chesa event showcases locally sourced ingredients such as calamansi, lemmai, mansanita, donne’ peppers, and aquaculture-raised tilapia from the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant. The annual event was held at the Hyatt Regency Guam.

Ever had surf and turf with a twist, featuring tilapia raised right here through the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant’s aquaculture program? That was on the table at this year’s Maila Ta Fan Chesa, where sustainability and food security weren’t just topics of discussion — they were part of the menu.

The event took place at the Hyatt Regency Guam, where the Micronesian Chefs Association, in partnership with the American Culinary Federation and for the first time, the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant, hosted Maila Ta Fan Chesa as part of the island’s Sustainable September festivities.

Kyle Mandapat, UOG CIS & Sea Grant’s director for communications and community engagement, said the collaboration perfectly captured the spirit of Sustainable September. “It’s wonderful to be a part of a huge event like this, but most especially one that has history,” Mandapat said.

“This year we were able to come on board as sponsor and partner, mainly to help showcase the awesomeness of aquaculture fish,” he added. The teams featured tilapia grown in UOG CIS & Sea Grant’s aquaponics backyard system — a model of what local food security could look like, according to Mandapat.

UOG CIS & Sea Grant’s aquaculture team promotes recirculating aquaponics, a sustainable method that integrates fish, plants, and microorganisms in a balanced ecosystem.

Aside from UOG’s tilapia, this year, professional and student chefs transformed locally sourced ingredients — including mansanita, lemmai, donne pepper, coconuts and other tropical fruits and vegetables — into inventive dishes and even cocktails.

Chef Zion Manibusan, a senior from John F. Kennedy High School and culinary student at Guam Community College said his team created a dish using tilapia and chicken, paired with bananas, dinanche, and titiyas — a nod to both tradition and innovation.

Manibusan shared that while being a chef is challenging, it’s also deeply rewarding. He enjoys learning new skills and hopes to use his passion to support the island’s farmers — a value he grew up with, as his family’s restaurant sources ingredients from local flea markets and vendors.

“This is a really great competition using the local ingredients, it helps out our local farmers as well as everyone else. I get to get a lot of experience and learn from all the other chefs here,” Manibusan said.

At another station, Chef James Tamngug and the Tsubaki Tower team prepped dishes using cucumber. “This helps the local farmers,” Tamngug shared. “That’s why at Tsubaki, we are getting most of our local ingredients from the local farmers.”

According to Mandapat, the partnership for Maila Tan Fan Chesa highlights a growing movement across the island toward self-sufficiency, food security, and sustainable dining.

“We are here to tell people that this stuff is possible. We can grow our own food. We don’t need to import all the time. We can relieve some of the stress from our reefs by growing our own fish and using the nutrients to grow our own vegetables,” Mandapat said.

UOG CIS & Sea Grant’s partnership for Maila Tan Fan Chesa contributes to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including Life Below Water (Goal 14), Life on Land (Goal 15), Zero Hunger (Goal 2), and Decent Work and Economic Growth (Goal 8).