MANILA—The country’s best authentic regional cuisines are compiled in one handy culinary travel guidebook which, according to tourism officials, will entice travelers to embark on a gastronomic journey around the country.
Aptly called “Food Holidays Philippines”, the 200-page guidebook, which allows tourists and foodies alike to be better acquainted with Philippine heirloom recipes and their destinations, was launched earlier this week.
Publisher Clang Garcia of Colors Integrated Travel Media Inc. said she came up with the idea of creating the guidebook upon browsing through bookstores and realizing that there weren’t many books about culinary travel.
In what seemed like an epiphany, Garcia said that she began travelling all over the Philippines and talking to fellow tourism champions from both the public and private sector to spearhead a book that highlights culinary treasures including the country’s rich agriculture products, guided itineraries for culinary day tours, overnight food trips, among others.
Garcia described the launch of the guidebook as a “timely” event since the Philippines plays host to the second edition of Madrid Fusion Manila this year which opened the table to a wider discussion of what Filipino food is all about.
“It is a dream come true to share with you a product of extensive research into the cooking and dining traditions from the major islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, encapsulated in one publication”, she said.
She also expressed hope into the possibility of holding a series of road shows in United States and Canada to bring Filipino cuisine into a global scale sometime from August to September this year.
The launch of the guidebook comes back to back with the launch of “Eat Your History”, a culinary heritage tour of Cavite, Malolos, Pampanga, Malabon, Antipolo-Ango, and Laguna-Quezon.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) lauded the travel media company’s efforts to highlight the country’s diverse culinary offerings.
DOT Region IV-A director Rebecca Villanueva-Labit pointed out that what completes the satisfaction of every visitor and tourist is “what goes in the mouth to the stomach.”
“If you’re a traveler and you go to hotels and beaches, they almost always look the same but two things that really impact visitors are people and food,” she said, noting it as a borrowed phrase from Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.
DOT Assistant Secretary Arturo Boncato Jr. for his part noted for Filipinos, the book will serve as a reference which can be used to update their knowledge on cuisines and scenarios.
“Food is a universal language — it’s an art form. The more beautiful we make the dish, the more proud we are of destination, culture and heritage,” Boncato said.
Food Holidays Philippines was launched in the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite on Monday.
Copies of the book will be sold during this week’s Madrid Fusion Manila 2016 and will be available in bookstores beginning next month.