City of Love

 UNESCO recognizes Iloilo as 'City of Gastronomy'

By Chin-Chin Chan Chiu

Iloilo has been recognized by the UNESCO as the Philippines' first City of Gastronomy last year for having met all the criteria of being a food hub/destination. Known for pancit molo, batchoy, and its own version of lechon manok using native chicken, Ilonggo cuisine goes beyond these staples and offers something delicious even to the most jaded gourmet.

"The many flavors and varieties of Ilonggo heritage food are attributed to Iloilo being blessed with a bounty of ingredients from fields & flatlands, mountains, rivers, lakes, and the sea. The book, Flavors of Iloilo, is a collection of recipes getting the most distinct of Ilonggo heritage, culture, and tradition," shared book author Chef Rafael "Tibong" Jardeleza. The book won the National Book Award in Food & Gastronomy, given out in late March by the Manila Critics Circle and the National Book Development Board.

The printing of the recipes, as ingeniously compiled by Chef Tibong, was made possible through the resources of the Iloilo City Government, the JS Layson group of companies, and the Department of Agriculture (Region VI).

During a visit to the City of Love, Chef Tibong brought us to the very first barbecue place in Iloilo - Fort San Pedro - the former pier, built in 1763, ferries passengers to nearby Guimaras. So aside from native chicken barbeque, we had our fill of tiger prawns, kinilaw, fresh oysters, and pancit molo with egg.

There are seven fields under the Creative Cities Network. These are crafts & folk arts, design, films, media arts, literature, music, and gastronomy. Baguio was named Creative City for Craft & Folk Arts in 2017, and Cebu as Creative City for Design in 2019.

Iloilo now joins Phuket, Thailand and Alba, Italy (where truffles abound) as Cities of Gastronomy. Of late, there are 54 Cities of Gastronomy around the world.