The Philippine embassy in Doha will highlight a number of Filipino restaurants in Qatar to mark ‘Buwan ng Kalutong Pilipino’ or ‘Filipino Food Month’ during April.
Themed “Pagkaing Sariling Atin, Mahalin at Pagyamanin (Love and treasure our own food)” this year, the embassy noted that “this national celebration aims to appreciate, preserve, promote, and ensure the transmission of the vast Filipino culinary traditions and treasures to future generations”.
The celebration also aims to preserve, enrich, and promote Filipino cuisine as part of the nation’s cultural heritage, history, and identity, according to a press statement from the Philippine Department of Agriculture. Filipino Food Month is also poised to support various industries, farmers, and agri-communities.
“Aside from highlighting our rich culinary tradition, may this event provide a platform to acknowledge the role of our local communities especially our farmers, fisherfolk, and other sector involved in food production, the culinary industry, and national food security,” President and concurrent Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in a statement.
It is learnt that Qatar is witnessing a growing number of Filipino eateries and restaurants as the demand continues to increase for a wide range of dishes.
In the Philippines, the celebration will feature various conferences, live cooking shows and concerts, as well as other events across the country.
The Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement (PCHM) noted that “Filipino food is often referred to as one of the world’s earliest fusion cuisines, having its ancestral cooking influenced mostly by the surrounding environment of people’s settlements and early foreign visitors such as the Mexicans from the galleon trade period and the Muslims from neighboring countries”.
PCHM added that “Filipino cuisine has complex and distinct flavours—mostly a combination of salty, sour, sweet, and bitter, although spicy dishes are also highly concentrated in Bicol and in the Muslim areas of Mindanao.
“Majority of its dishes are also best served as viands with rice—the country’s major food staple—and dipping sauces and condiments such as buro (fermented rice and fish), bagoong (fermented salted fish or shrimp), and suka (vinegar)”.
