Philippine Embassy in Rome Celebrates Filipino Food Month with Launch of Award-Winning Recipe Book, We Cook Filipino
ROME 02 May 2024 – In celebration of Filipino Food Month, the Philippine Embassy in Rome hosted an event entitled, “Kumain ka na?” (Have You Eaten?), which featured the launch in Italy of the award-winning recipe book, We Cook Filipino: Heart-Healthy Recipes and Inspiring Stories from 36 Filipino Food Personalities and Award-Winning Chefs, by UK-based Filipino-Italian author, Ms. Jacqueline Chio-Lauri, on 23 April 2024 at its chancery. The book is the recipient of the 2023 Gourmand World Cookbook Award.
The book’s editor, Ms. Chio-Lauri is a former restaurateur, who has also been featured on CNN, Well+Good, and NBC, as well as on global media sites, such as Huffington Post and Epicurious. We Cook Filipino is a collection of stories and recipes from Filipino chefs, food writers and influencers across the globe. It is intended to allow the readers to experience the enjoyment of reading the tales of the contributors as much as they will enjoy preparing the recipes they shared. To quote the author, “This book is for those of you who want to savor life as much as you want to savor Filipino food, in all its healthful, tasteful and heartful goodness.
Director-General Qu Dongyu of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was the guest of honor at the event. Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Asis Perez, Ms. Cristina Costa, Deputy Counsellor from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation also attended.
In his remarks during the launch, Philippine Ambassador to Italy Neal Imperial proudly welcomed the guests to the gathering, in honor of the Filipinos’ and Italians’ shared love and appreciation for food. He explained that the event’s title, Kumain ka na? literally translates to “Have you eaten?”, is a typical Filipino cultural expression of caring for others.
Ambassador Imperial also shared that in the Philippines, as in Italy, food bonds families, friends and communities, with Filipino cuisine distinctively known as, “family food” or “home food,” with most of the recipes kept within the family and handed down from one generation to another.
The Embassy hosted the launch of this 2023 Gourmand Award-winning recipe book in Italy as part of its celebration of the Filipino Food Month, or Buwan ng Katutubong Filipino, by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 469 series of 2018, which aims to advocate for food, gastronomy, and farm tourism to foster awareness, appreciation, and preservation of Filipino culinary history and heritage.
Guest author, Ms. Chio-Lauri, shared that she wishes for Filipino food to be perceived as “nuanced, multi-faceted, (and) one that encompasses a wide range of dishes, that there is always something that could suit any palate or preferred eating pattern.” She went on to explain that while there are a lot of Filipino dishes that may be considered as celebratory, the Philippines also has a wealth of heart-healthy dishes, far more than she
During the interview by food and travel writer, recipe developer and photographer, Ms. Rowena Dumlao-Giardina, Filipino author Ms. Chio-Lauri inspired the audience with her in-depth knowledge of the richness of Filipino cuisine, sprinkled to taste with perspectives of other award-winning Filipino chefs. Together, the two empowered Filipino women discussed the inspiration behind the recipe book, and shared with the audience how the distinct Filipino value of Bayanihan played a role in the making of the book, whose contributors come from ten (10) different countries, with different backgrounds. “Everyone is a culinary trailblazer in their own right. Diverse and inclusive as cuisine”, says Ms. Chio-Lauri.
Ms. Dumlao-Giardina was a contributing author, photographer and food stylist of THE NEW FILIPINO KITCHEN, which was released in September 2018, also by Ms. Chio-Lauri.
The event was also attended by representatives of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Italy (PCCI), Italian bloggers, owners of Filipino restaurants in Rome, and select members of the Philippine and Italian media. END
WE COOK FILIPINO is the 1st Prize Winner at the 29th Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
For more information, visit https://www.romepe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.facebook.com/PHinItaly/ or https://twitter.com/PHinItaly.