(Photo by Jonathan Pincas/Flickr)
MANILA – A month-long festival featuring the best of Philippines’ gastronomic offerings ranging from culinary tours, food trucks, bar crawls, concerts, to agricultural fairs, weekend gourmet markets and bazaars will make up Flavors of the Philippines 2016.
Flavors of the Philippines, which will be held simultaneously in different malls, restaurants and venues across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, will happen alongside the upcoming Madrid Fusion Manila 2016 next month.
The event will be organized by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and its marketing arm, Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) as an “appetizer” to the main course.
Among the highlights of this year’s Flavors of the Philippines include a Tapas Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of the Philippines on March 21, showcasing a selection of Spanish designs dedicated to the world of food and Market Tours in Old Manila by Smokey Tours from April 1 to 30.
There will also be one-day culinary heritage tour to various destinations in Cavite, Malolos, Pampanga, Malabon, Antipolo-Angono, and Laguna-Quezon by Food Holidays and Soccsksargen or SOX Food and Fashion event, “Treasures of SOX: A Food, Travel, and Trade Expo” on April 11 to 14 at the Glorietta Activity Center.
Among the kick-off events for Flavors of the Philippines is the recently concluded Paella Gigante which featured a 10-foot diameter paella valenciana that boasts of 100 kilos of rice, 13 liters of olive oil, and 265 kilos of mix chicken, chorizo, shrimp, prawns, squid, and mussels.
The giant paella, which was cooked by nine of the country’s top chefs and restaurateurs over charcoal and firewood took place last March 12 (Saturday) in Greenbelt Park, Makati City.
Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr., for his part, described Flavors as “the delightful run-up to the grand gastronomical event in Asia.”
“It will take us to every corner of the archipelago for gustatory discoveries – for treasures handed down from generation to generation, for fusion dishes that encapsulate the identity of the Filipino,” he added.
He further said that this event is meant to cement the Philippines as one of Asia’s center of food and gastronomy.