EDITORIAL — Promoting ‘chibog’

The endorsement came a few days late for National Filipino Food Month, which is celebrated every April. Still, President Marcos’ push for culinary tourism, while belated, should be followed up with a sustained campaign to promote Filipino food.

In a vlog that he posted yesterday titled “Chibog” – his generation’s slang for food – the President noted that “our dishes are famous all over the world.” While this may be true, with the millions of overseas Filipino workers as the country’s top gastronomic ambassadors, there’s still a lot that can be done to make cuisine a Philippine tourist attraction.

Asia is home to some of the world’s most famous cuisines. Japan has the second highest number of Michelin-starred dining places after France. Chinese gastronomy has inspired the cuisines of Singapore and Taiwan, where culinary tourism is highly developed. Thanks to K-drama and K-pop, South Korean cuisine has also gained international prominence.

Filipino food has yet to achieve the global renown of Thai cuisine. Perhaps under a President who considers himself a foodie, culinary tourism will get a serious push. It should help that the President comes from a region with one of the country’s most distinctive cuisines and food products, among them pinakbet, bagnet, Vigan longganiza and Ilocos empanada.

Aside from aspiring to see a Filipino restaurant receiving a Michelin star, the President should also make street food part of culinary tourism. Hawker fare is a top tourist draw for Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore. If Thailand can make tourists eat worms, ants and bugs for a memorable experience, surely the Philippines can do the same for kamaru or rice field crickets. Compared to stir-fried palm weevil larvae in Thailand, Philippine balut becomes more benign and enjoyable.

Promoting hawker fare calls for supporting ambulant vendors of beef pares, goto with isaw or intestines, fried fish balls and kwek-kwek as well as barbecued “adidas” (chicken feet) and “helmet” (chicken head). Many of these micro entrepreneurs operating in the informal economy suffer from harassment and extortion by authorities instead of getting government support.

The President has ordered national agencies and local government units to further streamline the permit process for flagship infrastructure projects. The facilitation should not be limited to big-ticket projects, but should also be extended to the smallest enterprise. If underprivileged people can be empowered to earn their own keep, the government can even save a lot in terms of dole-outs or ayuda. Culinary tourism encompasses all aspects of national gastronomy, across all income levels.