Famous chefs to gather in Albay food festival

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s famous chefs will converge in Albay on April 27 to 29 in a creative showdown with local culinary masters designed   to concoct their own versions of the province’s popular and favorite cuisines.

The showdown will give Albay’s culinary tourism a more defined and expanded role in tourism development. It will be held at the Peñaranda Park in front of the Provincial Capitol, as a component event of the month-long 2015 Daragang Magayon Festival.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said the event supports the Department of Tourism’s Flavors of the Philippines campaign, and further enhances Albay’s local food favorites that will benefit the local restaurant industry.

“Food is not just an appendix of the tourism industry; it is a legitimate tourism industry in itself that provides the best gastronomic experiential adventure for tourists, local or foreign,” Salceda said.

“Albay’s cuisines are very Pacific and the most Asian in nature. The use of gata (coconut milk), sili, pili and the perfect addition of taro (gabi) leaves and the abundance of camote make it one of the most flavorful culinary experiences one can get anywhere in the Philippines,” he added.

Albay is the largest pili nut producer and second largest camote producer in the country. Taro leaves are principal ingredients of the now famous ethnic culinary specialty, pinangat.

Among those to participate in the food festival are chefs Gene Gonzales and son Gino, Boy Logro and Rolando Laudico with wife Jackie, who will team up with top Albay chefs for a series of exhibitions.

The culinary experts will explore their creativity in coming up with their versions of Albay’s favorite cuisines, both traditional and fusion.

The event will be featured as an out-of-town destination of Madrid Fusion Manila, and dubbed Albay: The Coco Spice Tour. It will be a first-ever edition of the globally popular Madrid Fusion in the Philippines.