Advisories & News
Press Release
TORONTO PCG AND MAMA SITA FOUNDATION PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCES THAT SHAPED FILIPINO CULINARY CULTURE IN ITS FINAL EPISODE OF MGA KUWENTONG PAGKAIN COOK-ALONG WEBINAR CANADA SERIES
2021-09-07
PR-2021-49
3 September 2021, Toronto, Ontario.- The final episode of the three-part webinar by the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto and the Mama Sita Foundation on Philippine culinary culture and foodways, “Mga Kuwentong Pagkain: Filipino Food Online Cook-Along” was held last 20 August 2021 from 7:30 pm to 9 pm (Toronto time, and was attended by over a hundred participants from Canada and all over the world.
The webinar entitled “Filipinized” had a live lecture segment from Ms. Carmela “Meah” Ang See, former director of Bahay Tsinoy Museum and advocate of Filipino-Chinese heritage. She discussed the Chinese influences on Filipino food and ingredients, as well as in the names of Filipino dishes. Ms. Ang See said that the evolution of Philippine food is evident in the centuries of interaction and intercultural exchanges between Filipinos and the Chinese in their midst. It is worthy to note that Filipinos made their own variations which suited to their palate.
There was also an exclusive cooking demonstration of the much-loved Pansit Palabok by Filipino food writer and home cook Ms. Nina Daza-Puyat, featured on the latest edition of the classic cook book “Let’s Cook With Nora”, which was authored by her mother, Filipino culinary legend, Ms. Nora Daza.
Drawing from the writings of esteemed food journalist, the late Doreen Fernandez, an engaging sing-along by all the participants and commentary on the iconic “Bahay Kubo” folk song was led by program emcees, father and daughter tandem of Paolo and Malaika Paculan of the Ateneo de Manila University and Canada-based podcaster of Exploring Filipino Kitchens, Nastasha Alli.
The participants also learned why Lumpiang Shanghai and Pancit Canton can only ever be found in the Philippines, plus other interesting perspectives on Filipino adaptation of foreign influences. Mr. Paculan explained the Indigenization of Philippine Food. He said that “there is an indigenous base, much of which we share with other Southeast Asian neighbors; influences come but do not take over. Instead, they are Filipinized, in terms of ingredients, pastes and cooking methods”.
The participants were also shown how to cook the popular Visayan street food Chicken Inasal, an annatto-tinged grilled chicken marinated in vinegar, calamansi, spiced with lemongrass, and ginger, plus an East meets west dessert/snack recipe of bibingkrep using Mama Sita’s artisanal product that brings a modern and international twist to the Filipino rice cake, bibingka.
As in the second episode, a Filipino restaurant was featured during the webinar to recognize and celebrate those in the community who excel and promote our culture through food. This is aligned to the economic diplomacy objective of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, of helping promote Filipino Canadian restaurants and businesses that were affected by the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Casa Manila, a well-loved Filipino restaurant in Toronto was the featured restaurant. Ms. Mila Nabor-Cuachon, owner of Casa Manila, shared their distinct wholesome food philosophy in making Filipino dishes, healthy and preservative-free. Ms. Nabor-Cuachon gave an advice to young Filipino entrepreneurs, “Be passionate about what you do, persevere and know that you are helping to preserve our stories through our food.”
At the end of the program, all the winners of the three episodes’ homework cooking challenges were proudly shared with the audience. Through these activities, the event organizers and partner organizations hope to create a greater and deeper awareness of Philippine Cuisine and encourage more people to cook Filipino food wherever they may be.
The three episodes of the Mama Sita Foundation’s “Mga Kuwentong Pagkain: Filipino Food Online Cook-Along Series”, had large numbers of viewership which shows the interest of participants to know more about Filipino cuisine. The webinar series celebrated Filipino foodways and gave a spotlight on Philippines grown ingredients. Through this initiative, Mama Sita Foundation and the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto hope to create a greater and deeper awareness of Philippine cuisine and encourage more people to cook Filipino food wherever they may be.
The first episode titled “Philippine Rice and Foodways”, with more than 250 viewership, can be viewed from the following link: http://www.philcongen-toronto.com/announcements/959/mga-kuwentong-pagkain-filipino-food-cook-along-features-the-artisanal-goodness-of-mama-sitas-heirloom-rice-champorado-session-1.
The second episode (almost 200 viewership) placed a spotlight on “What Our Ancestors Ate” and reconstructed the feast shared by our Philippine ancestors with the first Spanish visitors who landed on Philippine shores, based on the diary of Italian chronicler Antonio Pigafetta. Participants learned how to cook the Visayan KBL (kadyos, baboy at langka) and Tofu Mushroom Sisig, a healthy adaptation of one of Pampanga’s famous dishes. The episode also focused on the Aeta food culture, which still maintains Philippine ancient food practices that are sustainable and profound in the understanding of the environment and our role as its stewards. It also featured restaurant Republika Restobar and Grill’s Jannie Luz-Benico, who shared how they were able to triumph over the challenges as a Philippine restaurant offering authentic and sought-after Filipino dishes. The episode can be viewed from the following link: Announcements | The Philippine Consulate General – Toronto, Canada (philcongen-toronto.com)
“Mga Kuwentong Pagkain: Filipino Food Online Cook-Along” is brought to you by Sentro Rizal of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, and partner organizations: Anderson College, b2Bpreneur, Filipino Canadian Association of Vaughan (FCAV), Filipino Canadian Students Association (FILCASA), Markham Federation of Filipino Canadians (MFFC) and Scarborough Ontario Seniors Association (SOSA); and supporting organizations: Pinoylicious, and Pueblo Science. – END