DINE PHILIPPINES CEBU July 22-23, 2016 Robinsons Galleria

1. Filipino Cuisine: From
National Dish to Regional
Dishes
Chef Jam Melchor

3. “I had said to some people, ‘If there
was a great chef executing Filipino
food at a high level, everyone else
would line up behind them,’ ”
- Andrew Zimmern

4. “Like nothing I’ve tasted
before.” – Anthony Bourdain

5. Tastes and preferences evolve.
Today, more and more people have grown in
sophistication to appreciate the flavors of
our islands.

6. What is Filipino Food?

7. It is the sum of Filipino history, from the
indigenous food of the prehistoric era, to the
influences of Southeast Asia cooking
brought by trade, and colonial influences
brought by conquest.

8. It is a very misunderstood cuisine because of
its diversity.

9. What took it so long?
Our nation's table-fare has long suffered a
poor reputation internationally compared
with its regional south east asian neighbors.

10. Across the world, Indian curry houses
compete with Vietnamese noodle soup shops
or Chinese dim sum restaurants in offering a
taste of Asian food, but there are
comparatively very few places serving
Filipino dishes.

11. many locals also undoubtedly prefer their
meals fast and cheap -- in the style of their
former American colonial rulers -- with
deep-fried chicken and hamburger chains
dominating the food scene

12. an obstacle to the development of Filipino
food abroad is hiya – or shame.

13. What makes our food unique?
Filipino food has a deep and complex taste
that has been described as LINAMNAM
(literally “deliciousness”)

14. Branding our Food
Classification of Taste: Sourness
Three major Filipino cooking techniques have
sourness as a flavor base:
- Paksiw
- Kinilaw or Kilawin
- Sinigang
Adobo is an exemption because sourness does
not dominate the dish’s flavor.

15. Branding our Food
QUEST FOR NATIONAL DISH
- Adobo is considered as the country’s most
popular dish; It is inaccurate to call it a
singular dish.

16. Adobo

17. So, to claim your adobo is better than others
is pretty much a personal thing. Its really a
matter of taste… 

18. One significant aspect of Filipino
LINAMNAM is sourness and a penchant for
tangy flavors.

19. Sinigang

20. Kinilaw

21. Branding our Food
• Perhaps our recent ranking as the world’s
second best food destination, according to
the CNN Facebook poll, is a sign that the
Filipino Food Movement is finally gaining
some precious traction.

22. Branding our Food
Regional Cuisine & Heirloom Recipes
Regionality plays a huge role in Filipino
cooking, as it's a geographically divisive
country populated by dozens of ethnic
groups. "Each island has their own flavor."

33. But, I believe that it takes more than public
opinion to really sway the world’s palates
our way.

34. Branding our Food
• Promotion of Philippine made food
products (wines, jams, concentrates, etc.)
• Rice
• Vinegar
• Coconut
• Mango
• garlic

35. Branding our Food
• Serve Filipino food—even abroad—without
compromises. Let’s unabashedly present
to the world our flavors, full back fat and
all!

36. Branding our Food
NO COPYCATS
• it is important for chefs & foodies to
expose themselves to trends around the
world, but only to gain a new sense of
perspective in order not to become
outdated. Exposure should not lead one to
copy dishes.

37. Branding our Food
INNOVATE BUT GO LOCAL
• What is important, they all concurred, is
that chefs innovate. Put your stamp on
what you serve, don’t just copy. Make it
your own. Your restaurant must have
personality, although this must be
matched with flavor.

38. Rediscovering the Filipino Foodie
Part of what feeds the Filipino Food industry
is being able to reimagine traditional food in
new ways or reinvent the experience of
eating your favorite food.

39. Reimagining the cuisine needs execution by
means of cooking the traditional recipes and
passing it to other people so the recipe will
continuously live and ideas will flourish.

40. Rediscovering the Filipino Foodie
The Philippines has all the right ingredients
to become a truly international foodie
destination. So long as we can cultivate a
homegrown cultural appetite for local
cuisine, global taste buds will soon follow.