MANILA, Philippines — Chef Rafael "Tibong" Javier Jardeleza Jr. has always been an advocate of Ilonggo heritage cooking. Every opportunity he gets to highlight Ilonggo cuisine, he most graciously does.
He is so proud of Ilonggo cuisine that he organized Tabu-an: 1st Annual Western Visayas Ilonggo Heritage Cuisine Cooking Competition and Food Fair in November 2011, and made it an annual event thereafter.
The cooking competition had as participants student groups from different schools offering culinary arts in the whole Western Visayas, and they had to present classic Ilonggo dishes with modern twists and interpretations. The group that best personifies Ilonggo cuisine and gets people to be seriously interested in the local cuisine emerges as the winner.
To make the annual competition more interesting, Chef Tibong invites Manila-based chefs and journalists to serve as judges, and in the days that they are in Iloilo, Chef Tibong would take them around to introduce their palates to what’s truly Ilonggo — including Breakthrough’s seafood dishes, Fort San Pedro’s Chicken Barbecue and Kap Ising’s Pancit Molo. The chefs would take those flavors back home to Manila with them and, before long, would start cooking some Ilonggo dishes as well.
One of Chef Tibong’s biggest dreams is to be able to author a cookbook on Ilonggo cuisine. It is a dream that he nurtured for many years and, now, has become a reality.
Published by the Iloilo City Government headed by Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, through the efforts of project executive director Rosalie Treñas, with the support of JS Layson Group of Companies, the Department of Agriculture Region VI and the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, "Flavors of Iloilo" is a comprehensive cookbook that features appetizers, soups, chicken and duck, pork, meat, fish, vegetables, noodles and rice, and desserts of Iloilo.
A number of them are Chef Tibong’s own recipes, while others are family heirloom recipes of prominent personalities in the community, such as Mayor Jerry Treñas’ Chicken Galantina.
All the traditional Ilonggo dishes are included, such as Freska nga Lumpia Ubod, Lapaz Batchoy, Pancit Molo, Cocido, Tinu-om nga Manok, Ubre, KBL (Kadios, Baboy, Langka), Laswa, Pancit Efuven, Bingka Ilongga, Pinasugbo, and Baye-Baye.
More contemporary recipes and interpretations can also be found in the book.
For inquiries on the book, contact Chef Tibong at 0917-6206900 or Jennie Tamon of the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. at 0910-5527304.
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