Our country’s tourism industry has been on the upswing for the past decade and many issues related to it have been and will always be discussed by those who are part of it, and even by those who are on the outside looking in. But we in the Industry feel the need for a periodic forum to discuss any and all issues related to this highly competitive and financially rewarding occupation.
Vic Alcuaz, president of Narra Hospitality Inc.; Anabelle Ochoa-Moreno, chairperson of the Tourism Industry Board Foundation Inc. (TIBFI); Adolf Aran, chief executive officer of Dine Philippines and a few other kindred spirits and I decided to put together a monthly “Meet The Tourism Press Forum” and invite leading industry personalities to talk about burning issues that may make for interesting discussion among members of the industry.
The first edition reeled off not too long ago and, with recent news that Filipino cuisine has made its mark in the US East Coast by landing in the pages of the New York Times, Alcuaz, who is chairman of the forum, thought it best to tackle the issue on the future of Filipino cuisine as a tourism draw.
Hosted by the Midas Hotel, the luncheon get-together, participated in by print and TV media and leading food bloggers, had as guests four of the leading chefs in the country today: Cebuano Chef Myke Tatung Sarthou who runs his own highly successful restaurant in Quezon City called ALAB; Center for Culinary Arts’ executive director Chef Sau del Rosario who, having had extensive training in Paris, is known for his exquisite “Filipino cuisine with a French accent”; long-time New York restaurateur Chef Amy Besa is known for her fascination with and love for ube, which is why she put up her Purple Yam restaurant in New York, a branch of which she opened this year in her family’s ancestral house in Malate; and Just Jonesing Blog owner Chef JJ Yulo, known for his advocacy on “educational, entertaining, slightly irreverent and always fun” appreciation of culinary fare.
These experts deftly tackled the barrage of questions from the media representatives. The first big question on the table was – “What is Filipino food?” Chef Amy says it is epitomized by adobo and Cordillera heirloom rice, while Chef Tatung says whatever is indigenous to the region is Filipino food. Chef Sau says it is a multidimensional cuisine that could often lead to an identity crisis, and Chef JJ claims that, to come up with “real Filipino food,” we must first unify the cuisine of the different regions in the country and come up with a single taste.
Having heard such diverse replies from these experts, I realized that, indeed, the complex nature of Filipino cuisine, coming from different regions with varying cultural influences, makes it difficult for anyone to put a singular tag or label to it. In fact, the late Doreen Fernandez who has written many books on Filipino cuisine cites “indigenization” as a common practice, i.e., borrowing recipes from other countries but using our indigenous ingredients, with these recipes eventually passed on as Filipino.
Chef Amy pointed out some interesting peculiarities that further highlighted our uniqueness as a people. Our countrymen are very visual with their food; they want to see everything they’re going to eat. That’s why when they go to a buffet restaurant, they take back to their tables the soup, main course and dessert at the same time because they want to plan for space for all of it in their stomach. Another thing that is peculiar to our “compatriots” – they love to share food from each other’s plates, something that foreigners find repulsive.
We are an archipelago and have a very long coastline, which should mean easy access to fresh seafood. However, that is not the case. Fresh seafood is hard to come by and is expensive for the average Filipino. Chef Amy ended her “dissertation” with a significant disclosure: the common denominator of typical culinary fare from all regions in the country is “in your face” sourness. Notice that most recipes of traditional viands from all regions in the country include vinegar, kalamansi and pineapple.
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There were many other interesting questions raised by the audience but the wrap-up question was the most significant: “How do we market Filipino cuisine?” Chef Tatung says our government must extend support to our farmers, specifically the distribution system the way Thailand gave support to their agriculture industry. Chef Sau has a more romantic approach –”Love our food and promote it with our hearts.” Chef JJ wants it simple: “Cook typical Filipino dishes and make the foreigners try them.” Chef Amy wants our cuisine to be part of the culinary school curriculum so that the younger generation will have a deeper understanding of what Filipino food really is, and will be easier for them to influence their foreign contacts to try it.
We, in the audience, agreed that the government should have a national business plan to promote Filipino cuisine, the first item of which should be to improve the lives of our farmers. Then, our countrymen should embrace our true identity as a people. Only after that can we effectively promote this complex grouping of diverse culinary delights that we collectively know as Filipino food.
As if in sync with the discussion at the forum, the City Garden Hotel Makati recently announced its new menu, courtesy of executive chef Mario Bassig. This was introduced during a food tasting event at its Le Jardin restaurant, hosted by director of Sales and Marketing Shyline Bernardo.
YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE:
What’s the difference between a bachelor and a married man?
A bachelor comes home, sees what’s in the fridge and goes to bed. A married man comes home, sees what’s on the bed and goes to the fridge.
For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com