Is the world ready for Filipino cuisine?

While other countries have recipes associated with royalty, the Filipino cuisine differs with its familiarity and accessibility among the masses.

As Chef Robby Goco pointed out, the Filipino food has drawn its distinct identity not from exclusivity, but commonality.

“If you look at their cuisine, there’s always what you call excellence. I mean, this is for nobility, this is for the king, this is for the emperor. We don’t have that here,” Goco said.

“But if we’re going to be proud of something, everyone has their own recipe of adobo,” he added.

In an insightful talk with Nancy Irlanda on ANC’s “Shake,”Goco, with his fellow renowned chefs Gaita Fores and J Gamboa, said that this widespread yet fragmented identity of Filipino food may have also been the reason why it took so long for the local cuisine to gain international recognition.

However, as the Philippines continues to draw global attention from various events, the introduction of Filipino food abroad has become more influential and easier, they said.

The chefs said the world now sees the Filipino cuisine as “a whole representation” with unique food and cooking associated with the country, unlike in the past.

For his part, Gamboa said the growing number of Filipino chefs abroad has contributed to the significant rise of the Philippines in the international culinary arena.

“As more and more Filipino professional chefs cooking Filipino food in world kitchens, applying sound culinary and best practices to their craft, we can expect Filipino cuisine to be more acceptable,” Gamboa said.

Looking forward to the future of Filipino cuisine in the global scene, Gamboa believes the Philippines will continue to thrive in the field, citing the proliferating restaurants featuring Filipino food in the past three years.

Source: ABS-CBN News