Gardner College

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Diliman Campus
Quezon City

A CASE STUDY

ON

“SEVERAL REASONS WHY

FILIPINO CUISINE IS AMONG LEAST PREFFERED WORLDWIDE”

News Article Published by Jeline Malasig

Presented by:

Layon, Ivy Diane V.

April 2021
 I. INTRODUCTION

Foods may look normal and senseless to others but in reality, it holds a notable role in

one’s own culture as the shared quote once was famous stated “Food is life!” Food is life

because it is part of life, part of who one is, and part of the country one is in—this may be one of

the reasons why YouGov made a survey about the most and least preferred cuisines. Filipino

foods were discovered as not likeable as the way Filipino people sees it. As a reaction to the

survey results, last March 2019, Jeline Malasig from Interaksyon made an article titled “Several

Reasons Why Filipino Cuisine is Among Least Preferred Worldwide.”

According to the mentioned article, Filipino dishes ranked 31 out of 34 cuisines

showcased around the world and it gained 36% average cuisine popularity—noticeably far from

the most preferred cuisine which is the Italian dishes which attained 84% average. YouGov

ensured that the survey is not biased as the respondents were more than 24,000 from 24 countries

where Philippines is also included. Even though the Filipino dishes are influenced by other

countries and was considered the original “Asian Fusion,” it appears that it is not the fusion

everyone wanted. Individuals from the food field assumed various factors for low rank; JP

Anglo, Myke Sarthou, and Nicole Ponseca willingly shared their observation and realization.

They reasoned that good ingredients of Filipino dishes are very much Pinoy that it cannot be

found outside of the Philippines and the combination of ingredients were not a great match. It

was also mentioned that the Philippines lacks support in the agriculture sector, marketing local

dishes, and entrepreneurial skills needed to make the cuisine known. Lastly, Ponseca thinks that

maybe the low rank was because Filipinos seem to not accept the dish they have; since the most

fundamental ingredient in Filipino cuisines—Filipino’s love—is not present, the popularity is

really expected to drop down.

 One of the amazing culture mankind is truly proud of is the foods they consume every

day, every occasion, or just normally part of their lifestyle. That is why comments, criticisms, or

results from worldwide surveys is expected to affect the community or the whole country.

However, the effect from these reviews depends on how they react—on how Filipinos react on

the survey result. Every cuisine, that also includes Filipino cuisine, have room for improvements

yet it also has reasons why improvement is not necessary. Nevertheless, always remember to

respect all foods no matter where cuisine it came from, culture is everywhere; as those foods fills

the stomach, kindness and appreciation will fill their hearts too.

II. OBJECTIVES OF THE CASE STUDY

As culture is at stake in this study, the issue needs to be resolved and the goal revolves

around refining and at the same time promoting Filipino cuisines better than before. The case

study aims:

1. To let Filipinos be aware that there are circulations about their cuisine. Being

knowledgeable that it is among the least preferred dish worldwide will make the

Filipino people prepare and act right since the concern is their food culture. This will

also let them know now on how they must react on another similar issue in the future.

2. To end arising discrimination, ingratitude, and disrespect to Filipino cuisine and other

cuisines globally. Food is an integral part of culture; it is also a way on one can

express himself while still relating to the history. It is important to protect and

preserve the culture, such as food heritage, because it defines one’s own life and

country.
 3. To seek and gain support from the government, famous personalities, and significant

people from needed fields with regards to the culture of foods. To coerce them in

improving the agriculture sector, marketing local dishes, and enhancing the

entrepreneurial skills of Filipino businesses or restaurant owners. By transforming

above mentioned, the effect may be seen on the cuisines and culture Filipinos have.

4. To let humankind—from different countries—learn the importance of knowing

cultural relativism and realize the reasons why other cuisines are different from theirs

and they should give it a chance to be rated properly. To let them understand that all

culture deserves to be treated with fairness.

5. To not allow another issue on food culture happen again. As innovation grows,

kindness should grow too.

III. PRESENTATION OF THE CASE

Filipino foods mirror the Filipino culture, food also helps in promoting the country’s

national identity and culture because every cuisine on this world is not separate from its origin.

YouGov’s survey results about the most preferred cuisines may affect the views of oneself and

other’s culture, especially when it comes to food heritage. Every individuals, community, and

culture are different from each other—the comparing, contrasting, and ranking of these cuisines

will have positive and negative outcomes. However, it depends on how the population will

respond and as for Filipinos, in accordance to the article, mentioned people agreed that their

cuisine needs an upgrade.

Kapampangan chef, Jose Antonio Miguel Melchor, agreed that promoting needs

improvement but changing the food is not; because last 2014 he was ordered by the Department
of Agriculture to handle the Filipino section of the ASEAN Food Festivals and there he saw that

the government markets the cuisine abroad but there is not enough publicity of the cuisine in

Asia[ CITATION Enr17 \l 1033 ]. It means that Filipino cuisine was not that popular and

recognized even before the survey was conducted, and when the survey was made it still lacks

support from the government and the people. According to Delos Reyes (2014), the country

should prefer its own cuisine because it is believed that the Philippine culinary culture is

internationally competitive like the other traditions and culture it has. It is understandable that

until today, keeping the Filipino culture alive through food selling and restaurants is tough and

desired success seems to be difficult to achieve yet there are plenty ways to market this; as an

example, is Vitug’s way of showing the cuisine—they showcased the culinary background but

with history and modernity. Smith (2015) stated that there are individuals who position

themselves as authorities who judge foods on whether it should be eaten by others or not, this is

a minor act of silencing one’s traditional food and it is a reflection of cultural violence. The

problem is that humankind thinks that there are other cultures more worthy of praises than theirs,

they change their culture to be liked by others, but it does not positively change anything, it will

just erase the culture taken care by ancestors for a long time, their efforts will be brought in vain

because of a survey result.

Culture is currently in a crucial point on this kind of issue, the solution circles around

changing the Filipino cuisine to pass the criteria others has but it will not be the original cuisine

we had before, another is that we will continue with our original cuisine yet it will still not gain

acceptance from people around the world leading to unacknowledged culture that may come to

an end. People involve in this issue is the instrument to close the argument; those people are the

mentioned individuals, government, foreigners, and Filipinos. First, JP Anglo said that the Pinoy
ingredients in Filipino cuisines are hard to find outside their mainland, meaning the ingredients

this cuisine have is special that it came to the point where worldwide races are not familiar with

it and vice-versa. Second, Myke Marthou explained that the complexity of Filipino dishes

exhibits the era of colonization they have been through; history, ingredients, cooking preparation

and method, perspectives, and philosophies are combined in a single cuisine—it means that it is

not easy and simple to grasp for those who did not have that kind of culture. Third, Nicole

Ponseca along with Myke Marthou stated that the reason why Filipino cuisine is among least

preferred because of deficiencies of the government and its people’s support. Fourth is the

required entrepreneurial skills to market the cuisine since Filipinos do not normally create food

businesses because they focus more on having white-collar jobs. Above mentioned are the

factors why Filipino cuisines is among low ranked, the article discussed the issue like there is

something wrong with the cuisine yet in reality there are demands that need attention.

That is where the government and Filipinos come in, they should be reminded of their

responsibilities as citizens of the Philippines and fill the needs of fellow Filipinos in promoting

their culture, specifically on undervalued food heritage. Filipinos should also be enthusiastic in

loving their own culture as loving other’s culture. The chart from the survey results showed that

Filipinos only had one pinkish square, it signifies that the lowest average Filipinos gave to other

cuisines is 40% wherein the lowest average given by other countries is 11%. The result also

indicated that Filipinos are most likely to enjoy foreign cuisine and Filipinos are truly kind to

others, in culture and in general, but it does not go the other way around. There are no reasons

why should one be ashamed of their own culture, every culture is beautiful, as long as it does not

hurt anyone it will be fine and will always worth to share. As for foreigners, it is suggested for

them to be more appreciative and respectful, especially on dishes. It is normal to not admire and
savor one’s own culture food, still it is not right to compare dishes of different countries. There

are reasons why it is different from each other and everyone must be knowledgeable about that.

Even though the Filipino cuisine was not favored yesterday and today, there will be a

time that it will. Changing perspective and attitude on one’s and others culture is never too late;

grab the opportunity to grow, feed curiosity, learn, and understand the diversity of this world.

The ranking of these distinct cuisines may have unknown motives but the best come back is

either to move on from it or talk about it with others in your community. Upgrading the support

system on culture is a great action, except adjusting the culture to be approved by many will be

offensive and unacceptable. Food, as part of culture, seen from every cuisine served by each

country is not just about connecting your stomach from empty to full—it also connects the

history from the past to the present and future.

IV. PROPOSED SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

Food as part of culture and life will contain issues too, and just like any other issues, it

will also come to a finale of solutions and recommendations. To reach the suitable outcome

of this issue, it is best to:

1. Promote, protect, and preserve our own culture with a higher priority than anything else,

embrace our own first before embracing others as it will also help us to love every culture

and every food effortlessly. Make people from around the world realize that Filipino

cuisine is built different and quite hard to accept; nonetheless, if they do not want to eat it

—it is all right—but respect and appreciation is more welcomed than judgement and

degradation. Not appreciating a culture or a food heritage will lead to its end and once it
 is not known anymore, people without culture and own cuisine may be alienated

throughout which is sad and intolerable.

2. According to an article titled “Philippines: Vibrant Agriculture is Key to Faster Recovery

and Poverty Reduction” written by Llorito (2020), government’s aid can help overcome

the market failure as it will bring buyers and producers together in providing more

support on the preparation and implementation of cost-effective business plans that can

benefit both sides. Support the food industry and fields with food involvement by pushing

the government to assist the agriculture sector in sustaining and maintaining quality

ingredients for the Filipinos and Filipino cuisine. Officials must also pay attention on

chefs, restaurant owners, and others from food field’s grievance and suggestions on how

to rise from shortcomings. Assist projects such as Kulinarya Project, the project that

made “Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine” and campaign to boost the Pinoy’s

cuisines[CITATION Asi08 \l 1033 ].

3. Always be open minded to better comprehend and consider other’s culture, food or not.

Remember the nutritional benefits of traditional foods since foods from land and sea

provides everything for people [ CITATION McG \l 1033 ]. And never forget the

indigenous food that is still not seen on Filipino cuisines presented globally.

4. Learn to accept criticisms, judgements, and remarks calmly. Once one’s mind is triggered

because of how the title of the news article was fixed, it will let that person read the

content angrily and consequences would turn into bad interpretation, bad reaction, and

bad comment. Lastly, there are people who are still not aware of culture relativism.
 5. Be proud of who you are, your culture, and other people’s culture—it defines one and the

whole. Food makes our heart happy and our stomach full, while the overall culture makes

our life special and meaningful—similar to Filipino cuisine.

V. REFERENCES

Asia Society. (2008, October 24). Kulinarya: Filipino Cuisine as a Global Brand.

AsiaSociety.org. https://asiasociety.org/philippines/kulinarya-filipino-cuisine-global-

brand

Dy-Zulueta, D. (2019, June 13). Preserving Filipino heritage dishes. Daily Tribune: Without

Fear, Without Favor. https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2019/06/13/preserving-filipino-

heritage-dishes/

Enriquez, M. C. (2017, January 5). Is Filipino cuisine an endangered heritage?

LifeStyle.Inquirer. https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/249618/filipino-cuisine-endangered-

heritage/

Llorito, D. (2020, September 9). PHILIPPINES: Vibrant Agriculture is Key to Faster Recovery

and Poverty Reduction. The World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-

release/2020/09/09/philippines-vibrant-agriculture-is-key-to-faster-recovery-and-poverty-

reduction

Malasig, J. (2019, March 20). Several reasons why Filipino cuisine is among least preferred

worldwide. Interaksyon. https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-

spotlights/2019/03/20/146043/several-reasons-why-filipino-cuisine-is-among-least-

preferred-worldwide/
McGill. (n.d.). Benefits of Traditional Foods. McGill: Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition

and Environment. https://www.mcgill.ca/cine/research/food/benefits

Otago Business School. (n.d.). Entrepreneurial skills just as important for restaurant owners as

serving good food. University of Otago: Te Where O Otago, New Zealand.

https://www.otago.ac.nz/business/profiles/otago639068.html

Pepper. (n.d.). Why Hasn’t Filipino Food Taken off as Much as Its Other Asian Counterparts

Have? Should We Even Care? pepper.ph. https://pepper.ph/filipino-food-global-

popularity/

Smith, M. (2019, March 19). Italian cuisine is world's most popular. YouGov.

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/food/articles-reports/2019/03/12/italian-cuisine-worlds-most-

popular

Smith, S. E. (2015, August 28). Preserving food heritage, balancing new things. Meloukhia Web

site. http://meloukhia.net/2015/08/preserving_food_heritage_balancing_new_things/

Sorilla IV, F. (2014, August 28). Flavours of the Orient: the Filipino Culinary Heritage. Tatler

Philippines. https://ph.asiatatler.com/dining/flavours-of-the-orient-the-filipino-culinary-

heritage

Unilever Food Solutions. (n.d.). 5 reasons why Filipino food is the next big thing. Unilever Food

Solutions: Funlasang Pinoy. https://www.unileverfoodsolutions.com.ph/chef-

inspiration/funlasang-pinoy/5-reasons-why-filipino-food-is-the-next-big-thing.html