The Department of Tourism (DOT) is supporting the bid of Iloilo City to be designated as the “Creative City of Gastronomy“ by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“We are giving our full support to Iloilo for this initiative. We believe that it is high time for the city to join the prestigious UNESCO-recognized cities, especially now that we are exploring strategies to hasten the revival of the sector,” Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said on Saturday, July 17.
Puyat described Iloilo as a “gastronomic hotspot” that offers two of the country’s well-loved dishes--the La Paz Batchoy and Pancit Molo.
According to the DOT, the Creative City tag will help boost tourism, and "create environments that foster innovation and creativity as key drivers for a more sustainable and inclusive development."
The City of Gastronomy project is part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network covering the fields of Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Literature, Media Arts, Music, and Gastronomy.
Currently, the UNESCO project has listed a total of 36 Cities of Gastronomy all over the world. If selected, Iloilo will be the first Philippine city to make it to the list.
To support Iloilo’s bid, the DOT regional office in Western Visayas extended its assistance to the Megaworld Museums and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for a three-pronged program focusing on Ilonggo heirloom dishes dubbed “Timplada: The Art of Ilonggo Cuisine.”
The program will include a series of virtual educational programs from August to December to provide a more profound knowledge of Ilonggo ingredients and cooking.
The Department said that they will also be holding an exhibition that will tell Ilonggo food stories through the eyes of 10 Iloilo-based artists and in collaboration with ten local food establishments. The art pieces will be showcased at the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) starting August 21.
An Ilonggo food map will also be drawn and printed for both local and international audiences to highlight the food trail.
“This initiative from our regional office is a big boost to promote culinary as a tourism product. We are hoping that through the activities lined up for this bid, we will get the nod of the UN organization,” Puyat said.