A delicious lineup for Filipino food month
It's time to celebrate our cuisine
Published Apr 13, 2023 05:55 am
April is Filipino Food Month(FFM), and the Department ofAgriculture (DA), Department of Tourism (DOT), National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement (PCHM) recently led the celebration this 2023 at the historic Metropolitan Theater with the theme “Pagkaing Sariling Atin, Mahalin at Pagyamanin!”
This national celebration aims to appreciate, preserve, promote, and ensure the transmission of the vast Filipino culinary traditions and treasures to the future generation. The Filipino Food Month is also poised to support various industries, farmers, andagri communities.
By virtue of Presidential Proclamation no. 469 signed in 2018, April of every year is declared as the Filipino Food Month, or Buwan ng Kalutong Pilipino.
Chef Jam Melchor, founder of the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement, shared that the celebration of Filipino Food Month now on its fifth year is getting bigger each year since its declaration in 2018. FFM aims to position the Philippine culinary scene further inthe global dining landscape, with a vision of someday hosting tourists from across the world in a huge Filipino food festival wherein foreign nationals can enjoy the rich, diverse flavors of the Filipino cuisine. He added that by observing the FFM national celebrationeach year, a more in depth research, attention, and appreciation will be given to the Filipino food culture, culinary heritage, and gastronomy. The launch was attended by officials from various government agencies, local government units, private sector, and heads of lead agencies.
The KAINCON Filipino Food Conference held in early April put into effect aneducational campaign under the national celebration of FFM organized by the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement and the Slow Food Youth Network Philippines in cooperation with the National Commission For Culture and the Arts.
The academic research conference was hosted this year by Jose Rizal University, envisioned to showcase and promote our heritage cuisine and to strengthen its position among the younger generations to come. This ensures that the love for local is preserved and passed on through meaningful platforms that are accessible, relatable, and innovative. KAINCON now on its third year brings together Filipino farmers, culinary historians, chefs, and gastronomic experts from the local food industry to discuss how they can influence local food cultivation and establish preservation initiatives that can transform the eating landscape.
The Ang Sarap! Philippine Food Festival (to be held from April 21 to 23 at SMMegatrade Hall) is an event in partnership with the DA and the PCHM. Hailing from different regions, there will be over 50 booths to feature different Filipino flavors that represent our heritage and culture. We hope that everyone can go around and try the different specialties of each Philippine region. Taste workshops and capacity buildings for the public will be organized also during the event.
In partnership with the National Parks Development Committee, the Hapag ng Pamana: Filipino Food Month Concert (April 16at Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium), will showcase performances about the unique dishes of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. It also aims to give tribute to farmers, agricultural community, fishermen, rural workers, and indigenous peoples’ culinary traditions.
The Hapag ng Pamana (Luzon: Laoag, Ilocos Norte—April 18-19; Visayas: Samar—April 24-27; Mindanao: South Cotabato April 28-30) is a partnership project of NCCA with selected local government units that includes food expositions, cooking demonstrations, cultural shows, and other activities featuring the regional culinary heritage of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
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