1. Mainstreaming Local
and Regional Cuisine
A presentation by: Chef Tatung

2. Pagkaing Pinoy
• How would you describe it?
• How is Filipino food stereotyped in the
mainstream/ international markets?
• But, what is it really?

4. The Journey of our Palates:
Linguistically and Gastronomically

5. Our Austronesian roots
• The name Austronesia comes from the Latin austrālis “southern”
plus the Greek νήσος (nesos) “island”. However, in contemporary
terminology, the word Austronesia pertains to the regions where
Austronesian languages are spoken.
• Austronesia then covers almost half of the globe, although mostly
ocean and oceanic islands, starting from Madagascar to the west
until Easter Island, to the east.
• Austronesia as a region has three traditional divisions: Taiwan
(Formosa), the Maritime Southeast Asia, and Austronesian Oceania
(Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia)
• We share a mother tongue and a common taste for coconut,
yam, sour food, sea food, fermented food and pork.

6. Food we share

8. “Kinilaw” in Visayas “Kilawen” in Luzon,
“keleguen” in Guam and the Marianas:
Raw fish with souring agent
• Raw seafoods can
also be savored in
Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa,
Hawaii – though
not necessarily
with a souring
agent
It is highly probable that Kinilaw inspired Ceviche
because citrus fruits were originally not endemic to the Americas.

10. • 982 AD - At the time, merchants from "
Ma-i" (now in Mindoro) brought their wares
to Guangzhou.
• 10th
– 11th
century CE, Kingdom of Butuan
was doing trade with the Kingdom of
Champa and the Srivijaya Empire
• 1405 – Sulatanate of Sulu was one of the
powerful maritime fleet in Asia

12. • Basic cooking methods
• Boiling
• Grilling and roasting
• Eating food raw
• Steaming
• Ingredients used
– Coconut
– Taro
– Fish
– Pork
– Citrus Fruits

13. • Spanish Invation 1591-21
– Galleon Trade

14. • Manila in the 18th
century: “Like Jerusalem
during the first Pentecost” wrote Pedro
Murillo Velarde SJ. “Languages from all
over the world can be heard in its streets”.
• Today: Filipinos stand out in Asia for
having family names that are: Indigenous
Filipino, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese,
German, French, Danish, Italian, British,
Greek, Arabic.

15. • Introduction of new cooking methods
– Stewing/ braising
– Baking
– Gisa
• Introduction of new ingredients
– Corn
– Potatoes
– Tomatoes
– Beef (Meat & Dairy)
– Wheat

17. Our tongues have been transformed
not only by the food we ate but by the
languages we spoke.
A quick quide on how foods are named
A dish was named via
– Main Ingredient
• Bulalo (Beef bones)
– Cooking method
• Nilaga (Boiled)
– What it was cooked in
• Puchero (Stew pot) literally cooked in a pot

19. • Our schools do not emphasize heritage
• A strange obsession with “pure” culture
• Poor international image of the Philippines

20. •People resort to an
easy and popular
reference with the Balut
•Majority of Local Chefs
don’t recognize
Indegenous cooking as
a cornerstone of
Filipino cuisine
•We apologize when
serving simple honest
to goodness Filipino
fare.

21.  Many Filipinos focus on ‘Pinoy Pride’. Thinking Pinoy is
distinct and pure and is above other cultures.
 #yabang pinoy
We sometimes have an over-obsession with pure culture.

24. Henri II married Catherine de
Medici, an Italian. As Queen
(1547-1559) showed the
importance of eating on
separate plates, glass cups,
and pastries.

25. Only since the 1800s when Alexander Kurakin,
Russian ambassador to France, popularized table
service à la russe where each course is served
sequentially, instead of simultaneously.

26.  Bifteck from Beefsteak
 Choucroute from Sauerkraut
 Mayonnaise from the Catalan
aioli (brought in by Marchal
Mahon in the 18th
century)
 Couscous
• But such is French
originality that all of
these were
indigenized and re-
invented with a new
style!

28. How do we mainstream
• Make it easy for people to understand
what it is.
• Tell a story-make it relevant
• Make it available always
• Keep pushing