Game Industry Giants Battle in Culinary Showdown: Charity Wins Big!

At the intersection of gaming and gastronomy, the inaugural Charity Cook-Off was a highlight of the gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show 2025. Held on October 13 in Bangkok, this event featured 10 game industry professionals demonstrating their culinary prowess. The fiery Chef Willment Leong, known for his role on Hell’s Kitchen Thailand, was the judge of the event.

This culinary competition was broadcast live to raise funds for two charitable organizations: the international group Doctors Without Borders and the local Bangkok Community Help Foundation.

Creativity was encouraged with extra points awarded for incorporating elements related to video games into the dishes. My own entry included adorable, edible Pokémon characters and a salad inspired by the world of Mario.

Here are all the participants who took part:

• Adorapixel – Gordon Van Dyke
• Powell Group – Jay Powell
• Raw Fury – Johan Toresson
• Miniclip – Govind Cacciatore
• Wired Production – Leo Zullo
• Joystick Venture – Ivan Carrillo
• IGN – Daniel Robson
• PlayPark – Jham (Sattra Viriyacharoentham)
• AGP – Lili Zang
• Poki – Romy Halfweeg

Agora Gaming Partners and gamescom asia’s organizer Koelnmesse hosted the event at Dusit Thani College. This venue is known for its professional-grade kitchen which has featured in popular cooking shows like Netflix’s The Maverick Academy. The college provided volunteer assistants to help; my assistant Tia was incredibly helpful, ensuring that I neither burned nor cut anything critical.

As someone who usually reviews video games, it was exhilarating to switch roles and be judged on my culinary skills. Cooking in a high-pressure environment with cameras everywhere and a strict time limit in an unfamiliar kitchen was a memorable challenge. Although I didn’t win—the salmon was slightly undercooked—I was proud of my green curry cream sauce attempt, which I plan to refine at home.

A highlights reel will be available soon, but for now, you can view the entire livestream here.