Abstract
Culinary tourism has emerged globally at a rapid pace. Food has become a deciding factor in choosing a destination and a central part of a travel experience. The Philippines is brimming with heirloom recipes, food-centric festivals, olden cooking practices, and home to world-class homegrown culinary talents that contribute to the emerging popularity of Filipino food. Likewise, in the Philippine National Tourism Development Plan, Filipino cuisine is identified as a key tourism product. However, many culinary experts deem that Filipino cuisine still lacks the kind of identity and branding needed for it to be sought by travellers. Hence, this chapter provided an overview of Filipino cuisine through culinary mapping, to gain a better understanding on how it can develop a strong identity against the backdrop of global cuisines. Our analysis contributes to furthering the identity of Filipino food, strengthening the culinary tourism industry, and improving the understanding of Filipino cultural heritage through cuisines.
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Notes
- 1.
Boodle Fight is traditionally a military practice of eating a meal which dispenses with dishes and cutlery. In Filipino culture, it is offten understood as “Philippine fine dining” where diners practice kamayan or “eating with the hands” on food that is placed on top of a long banana leaf-lined table. To date, boodle fight is commonly practiced in social gatherings, cultural parties, even as part of tour packages (e.g. island hopping activities) (Dumdum, 2012).
- 2.
Tocino is a sweetened and cured pork belly. It is considered a Filipino breakfast staple.
- 3.
Balut, a common street food in the Philippines, is a fertilized duck egg that is boiled and eaten from the shell. It is commonly sold as street food all over the country.
- 4.
Also known as pancit, this is a Filipino version of a noodle dish that is a mix of noodle (bihon, canton, miki, etc.), vegetables, meat then seasoned with soy sauce and pepper.
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Gutierrez, E.L.M., Rivera, J.P.R., Roxas, F.M.Y. (2022). Culinary Tourism as an Avenue for Tourism Development: Mapping the Flavors of the Philippines. In: Aquino, R.S., Porter, B.A. (eds) Tourism in the Philippines. Perspectives on Asian Tourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4497-0_4
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