CONTEMPORARY VIEW OF THE PHILIPPINE CUISINE THRU THE EVOLUTION

OF THE 21st CENTURY

Philippine cuisine is at a significant cusp when new traditions rooted in heritage can align
with the future. Culinary history is the on-going saga of how tasteable change emerges as an
ingredient of cultural identity, the basis for country branding.
Philippine Homeland Cuisine is ever evolving. Global trends consistently define
gastronomic aspiration today as more than just undeniable deliciousness. By reinforcing its
image as culture-empowering, health-motivated, eco-kind and tradition-rich, Philippine cookery
emboldens its competitive qualities.

History of the Philippine and it’s Food: A timeline

19th century. Many restaurants were established in the Philippine serving Chinese food with
Spanish names, a result of both the Chinese and Spanish governorships throughout history.
20th century. The turo-turo and carinderia, both styles of filipino restaurants, became popular
both in and out of the Philippines, that served “cheap, filling dishes” that were popular among
locals. Outside the Philippines, served as a community center and a reminder of home from
aspects of food , popular culture, and a community events.
When American came to the Philippines, they brought iconic American foods, like burgers in
addition to technology like microwave and fridge.

Foundational Provocations
The story of Filipino gastronomy is one of inclusive internationality. Sugarcane first
arrived in prehistory. Tomato, cacao and coffee were introduced during colonial times. Bread,
beer and beef are inheritances from Spain, birthday cakes from the US, humba and pancit from
Chinese immigrants. In capable native hands, the foreign becomes Filipino. Gastronomy is a
badge of national and ethnic identities. It is a diplomat for Philippine culture, tourism and the
business of food.
Promoting contemporary culinary literacy is essential so every Filipino becomes an
advocate for the morphing Philippine brand. Organic indoor and outdoor farming, plant-based
proteins, as well as non-alcoholic food pairings are consumer trends likely to mainstream. Wise
national cuisines will heed pressure from health and ecology sectors. Increasingly, domestic and
foreign travelers will prefer responsibly sustained destinations with delicious and safe food. It
will not be enough for eating to be “more fun.”
Flavor Influencers
In gastronomic survey after survey, deliciousness subjective as it is consistently tops
worldwide expectations. Asians have been singled out as keen to find it in forgotten food
traditions deemed trustworthy. Localized cuisines, provincial being one means to categorize
them, are strengths of Philippine culinary heritage. They are the results of micro-environments,
geographical differences, community resourcefulness and ingenuity.

Developing small towns and municipalities into food destinations can ignite rediscovery
of recipes and cooking techniques, but most importantly heirloom vegetables, herbs, nuts,
cereals, fruits and flowers essential to antique and old-fashion cooking. Indigenous peoples’
territories are equally rich in distinct ancestral cuisines. Gastronomy in synergy with crafts and
arts can enkindle urban development as shown by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, of
which Baguio is a member.

Globalization should enflame ardor for the conservation of a country’s signature

ingredients – fresh, naturally fermented, semi-processed and processed. Forgotten edibles can be
cures and latent food trends. Many greens before World War 2 disappeared from diets because
they remained wild. Malunggay, for instance, mainstreamed once it was cultivated; purple ube
yam and pili nut, too.  Leaves of calit-calit, alibanban and pingol bato are old souring agents.

The Philippine brand’s distinguishability relies on the robustness of traditions, some older
than others. Sweetening with bee honey came ahead of using sugarcane sugar. Souring with
leaves and fruits antedates cooking with vinegar. Coconut and nipa vinegars are older than
sugarcane vinegar, which is senior to vinegars of cashew and pineapple. Food products and
beverages that won at the Manila Carnival and world expositions since the 19th century could
still bring honor to the Philippines.

Cooking demanded the best versions of earthy, dense and brazenly aromatic patis ranging
from timid to bold. Some foreign cultures celebrate the elaborate procedures by which they
measure or determine quality. In the casual Filipino kitchen, intricacies can remain unrecognized
and undervalued because informally mentored masters handle them with natural ease.

Purpose and Perception

Philippine Homeland Cuisine and Food of the Filipino Diaspora are a tandem that
spotlight today’s interpretations of authenticity and tradition. Lumpia, Philippine adobo, pancit
and with thanks to Anthony Bourdain Cebuano lechon have become internationally famous.
Pulutan, pan de sal and halo-halo entered the English language.

Although attention is focused on savor, Philippine cuisine can enrich the world’s
gastronomic heritage with nayánayá. It could be the closest native term for hospitality, a
linguistic gift from Latin meaning a hospice, a lodging for travelers and even a hospital. In the
Cebuano language spoken around central Philippines, nayánayá in the 1800s meant to feed and
entertain others, firstly, and to be a happy person, secondly. The culinary chain is an engagement
of mutual joy and a promise of well-being. Nayánayá is a timeless recipe for happiness and
benign harmony, the unique heart and soul of any branding strategy for Philippine cuisine.

1. GASTRONOMIC HERITAGE: natural, heritage and gastronomic resources: gastronomic

routes and itineraries, landscape, paths, recipes, typical dishes, culinary crafts, etc.

2. GASTRONOMIC PRODUCTS, PRODUCERS AND FOOD INDUSTRIES: quality products

with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI;
from the sea, the land, cattle-breeding, etc.), their production areas and associated tourism and
leisure activities;

3. HOSPITALITY SECTOR (catering and accommodation): quantitative and qualitative:

number of establishments types (haute kitchen and signature cuisine, traditional cuisine, popular
cuisine, tapas bars, gastro bars, etc.), geographical distribution, types, quality levels associated
with gastronomy;

4. SPECIALIST TRADE: traditional markets, street markets, local products, delicatessens, wine
cellars, etc;

5. EVENT AND ACTIVITIES TO DISSEMINATE GASTRONOMIC CULTURE: trade fairs

and market offering produce from agriculture, fishing and farming, gastronomic events,
gastronomic activity firms;

6. VENUES FOR GASTRONOMIC EDUCATION: museums and wine and food interpretations
centers, etc;

7. CENTRES FOR GASTRONOMIC RESEARCH AND TRAINING: gastromic universities,

hospitality schools, and training centers, etc;

Filipino foodways exhibit an overarching character that is at once decidedly idiosyncratic

and yet uncannily familiar to those non-Filipinos either visiting the islands for the first time or
vicariously experiencing its meal/snack offerings through today’s all but omnipresent digital
technology. For various historical and geopolitical reasons, the Philippines remains largely
distinct in the Asia Pacific and, indeed, around the world when it comes to the uniqueness of its
culinary heritage and the practices and traditions surrounding local food production and
consumption.
Figure 1. Vegetable sellers, Galvan Street Market, Dagupan City, Pangasinan (2005). Author
photo.

Snapped in and around Dagupan City, Pangasinan, as a part of my ongoing ethnographic

fieldwork there, these images vividly illustrate the sorts of processed foods and convenience
cuisine now equally situated alongside inexpensive street snacks and marketplace fare that
collectively comprised ordinary Filipino diets during the 21st century’s first two decades. If any
identifiable narrative thread runs through this series of pictures, it probably relates to the variety
of snack/mealtime choices available to those living in provincial Philippine cities and
surrounding areas.

Filipino foodways from the profound influence of this hallmark feature of 21st century
global modernity become less and less viable as its branded and mass-produced products not to
mention the contexts these goods/commodities create indelibly shape the lived realities of
millions nationwide. In this and other ways, the everyday foods of today’s Philippines remain
emblematic of the formative historical experiences and aspirational promises of a society
continually striving to (re-)formulate a national identity widely recognized as occupying a
sociocultural terrain somewhere between East and West.

 Manufactured fare coming from abroad has long

captured local imaginations. Early 20th century
canned goods imported from the U.S. are deeply
evocative of the sort of cosmopolitanism that
shaped local perceptions about America’s
colonial patronage over the archipelago in the
decades both leading up and subsequent to World
War II (Elias 2014). More recently pasalubong-
laden balikbayan boxes (Patzer 2018) – replete
with all variety of consumables including canned
SPAM, Marlboro Reds, Toblerone chocolates,
and tubed Pringle cannisters – have been globally
deployed to the Philippines from the 10.2 million overseas Filipinos and serve as resonant
symbols for all the inherent complexities/ambivalences of today's highly mobile global
Pinoy.

 The unmatched success of local quick-service

brand Jollibee represents a source of genuine
national pride for Filipinos across the islands
seeing as it has continually bested the Golden
Arches in terms of popularity and profitability.

 Our approach to food changed drastically with influences

from trade and conquest. Chef Chris gives a quick historical
rundown. “Basically for the Chinese, it was the noodles. The
Japanese brought the soy sauce. The Malays introduced their
spices through trade. And with the length of their stay, it was
the Spaniards who influenced our food the most in their way
of cooking and their ingredients”. The aftermath then is a
melting pot of cuisines that constitute our gastronomy today.
Modern Filipino Cuisine, Versatile and Viable is quietly having a moment

Restaurant in USA

 New York City’s Maharlika came about in 2011, when owner Nicole Ponseca established
a pop-up in the East Village. Now joined by sister restaurant Jeepney, a Filipino
gastropub, the now-permanently located Maharlika is a prime example of “Filipino
Moderno” in action, with contemporary tweaks and touches attracting a new, and perhaps
unfamiliar, audience. The restaurant’s ginataang isda, typically a humble one-pot dish of
seafood cooked in coconut milk, comes artfully plated; ube, the widely used purple yam,
gets beaten into waffle batter and served with fried chicken and bagoong butter. “We
have to bridge between a homage to Filipino food and an introduction to Filipino food,”
says Ponseca.

 The D.C. metro area has been particularly busy on the contemporary Filipino front
recently, with Bistro 7107, Purple Patch and Urban Heights leading the way for pending
additions, like the forthcoming Bad Saint as well as a planned Filipino concept from
acclaimed Restaurant Eve chef Cathal Armstrong.

 However much these operations differ in approach and philosophy, the core motivation
remains the same: to prove to Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike that this cuisine is
versatile and viable within the American restaurant scene. But no matter how much the
look, feel and makeup of classic dishes might morph in order to sync up with
contemporary American tastes, the honest essence of Filipino cooking is what requires
the fiercest protection.
Reference

Sta. Maria F. P. (2019). A Philippine Culinary brand for the mid-21st century. Retrieved from
November 9, 2020 https://www.philstar.com/other-sections/starweek-
magazine/2019/09/15/1951811/philippine-culinary-brand-mid-21st-century

Rideout, M. (2018). The World in a Pocket. History of the Philippines & amp;its Food: A
timeline. Retrieved from November 9, 2020
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gvbsxw9%3ffbclid=lwAR0zUNAGUZoWYzT0X5HH7r6ik0a9-xjJAEm17-eCsofb28-
7afZd2AwGfww&format=amp