QUEZON CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) through the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), together with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), marked this year’s Filipino Food Month Celebration honoring the Philippines’ rich culinary heritage while highlighting its diverse and flavorful dishes.
With the theme “Kalutong Filipino, Lakas ng Kabataang Makabago,” this year’s celebration focused on empowering the youth as leaders to promote Philippine culinary heritage and gastronomy while acknowledging the vital role of food producers – the farmers and fishers across the nation.
In her message, ATI Director Remelyn R. Recoter emphasized the significant role of the Institute in promoting and conserving not only the Filipino culinary heritage but also in promoting an increase in local production and local consumption. “As part of the agriculture sector, we can help retain and enrich our culture through food. So, let us show how food is more than just a source of nutrition but a significant aspect of our national identity”, Recoter stressed.
This year's event featured a food festival, a cooking demonstration of various Filipino dishes, and a seminar on microgreen production. Celebrity chef Romulo Lamaton Royol Jr., also known as Chef Jr., graced the occasion. Chef Jr., the first-ever grand winner of the Philippine version of the competitive cooking reality television series Master Chef and the host of a cooking show on GMA Life TV “Farm to Table,” demonstrated his culinary prowess by preparing three Filipino dishes such as Habhab Pinapaitan, Norte, and Guinataang Kalabasa at Durado. All these local dishes corresponded to the distinctive cultural practices, values, and traditions of the Filipinos.
Approximately 100 ATI employees joined in the ATI FMM Celebration, which was also live-streamed via Facebook Live with about 70 viewers from the various parts of the country.
FFM is observed in April of every year, as stipulated in Presidential Proclamation No. 469, signed in 2018 through the efforts of the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement, mandating the DA and the NCCA to lead in the celebration.
