Melo Villareal
PH named among New Gastronomic-8 countries
The Philippines has just been included as one of the New G-8 (Gastronomic 8) emerging markets of influence in world cuisine by the Hongkong-based marketing and communications agency, Catch On, in their new report entitled The Future of Food.
The report on The Future of Food states that there is a new food order with an appetite for cuisine that defies conventional classification, and where dishes are “inflected” by mismatched ingredients or prepared in ways that question traditional techniques. The report further states that cross border migrations and population melting-pots have produced a generation of “third culture chefs” that innovate their culinary traditions and are mixing ingredients and techniques in unimaginable ways
This is where the Philippines has come in as a member of the New Gastronomic-8 countries. Food is an important part of Philippine culture and Filipinos take their culture of food seriously. The cross-pollination of culinary influences in Philippine cuisine mirrors the country’s colourful historical influences and these influences are amplified and interpreted gastronomically for the world by a young breed of bold and tech-savvy Filipino chefs. As more Filipinos travel overseas, they bring with them their culture of food. Philippine ingredients and the country’s signature dishes like adobo, kinilaw, and sisig are slowly making their way into international kitchens.
“Overseas, the Philippines’ colourful influence can be found in restaurants like Jeepney and Pig & Khao in New York, or Filipino-born, Austin-based Paul Qui’s eponymous restaurant,” according to The Future of Food report.
“There’s a growing movement to preserve and document culinary artisanal traditions that have survived generations simply because they came out of family kitchens. We’re seeing more self-trained chefs launching restaurants, more men cooking at home, the continued move away from any notion of fine dining, the growing influence of street food, and the popularity of culinary tourism. This is the new culture of food,” The Future of Food further adds.
Aside from the Philippines, other countries included in the New G8 (Gastronomic 8) emerging markets of influence are China, Iran, Israel, Korea, Mexico, Peru, and Vietnam.
“We are most pleased to announce that as a result of the recently-concluded global culinary events here such as Madrid Fusion Manila and World Street Food Congress, the Philippines is now gaining more recognition as an emerging country, whose indigenous ingredients and culinary excellence are increasingly finding their way into world cuisine. The fact that the organizers of the prestigious Madrid Fusion decided to hold the first and only Asian edition in the Philippines signalled to the rest of the world the growing influence and importance of Philippine cuisine and the Filipino talent. As more travellers are starting to choose their travel destinations and plan their itineraries based on the food culture of a place, this is definitely an added boost to Philippine tourism,” Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. enthused.
