WATCH: Filipino Food Month celebration in Metropolitan Theater
MANILA, Philippines — April is Filipino Food Month, and the Department of Agriculture (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 2022 in the historic Metropolitan Theater with the theme “Pagkaing Pilipino, Susi sa Pag-unlad at Pagbabago.”
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, and agri-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 of Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement shared that the celebration of Filipino Food Month also aims to position the Philippine culinary scene farther in the 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.
The event was attended by officials from various government agencies, local government units, private sector, and heads of lead agencies.
The stage performances were memorable, with impressive local artists who are embracing the traditional Filipino music with their own takes on such classic songs.
Premiere soprano Lara Maigue sang "Sa Kabukiran," while Arman Ferrer gave his rendition of "Bahay Kubo." Sindak Philippines dance group performed "Maglalatik."
KainCon Filipino Food Conference is a sub-event under the national celebration of Filipino Food Month, in partnership with the PCHM, which envisions 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.
Meanwhile, "KainCon: Filipino Food Conference" is a series of online talks that brings together Filipino farmers, culinary historians, chefs and gastronomic experts from the local food industry to discuss how we can influence local food cultivation and establish preservation initiatives that can transform the eating landscape.
Another segment of the month-long celebration is the Cinema Culinarya Film Festival (CCFF), which aims to champion well-crafted short films that showcase tasteful narratives, culinary practices and traditions in hopes of strengthening the Filipino food identity and honoring its rich heritage. There will be public screening of the films in competition on April 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29; and short film talkbacks on April 6, 13, 20 and 27. More details are on the Facebook page of NCCA.
On April 22 and 23, there will be an event in Capiz with "Manindahan ‘Ta" – a street market and "Kaon Na (let’s eat)," a rolling "karinderya" showcasing Capisnon traditional food, while on April 22 and 23, there will be food expo, cooking demonstration, film screening, and exhibit in Cagayan de Oro. On April 29 and 30 in Palawan, there will be a cultural show, symposium, food fest, and the closing ceremony of the month-long celebration. — Photo and video by Deejae Dumlao
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