Indigenous delicacies to star at Baguio’s Cordillera Food Fair

Cordillera Food Fair
The traditional cooking techniques and recipes of the region’s indigenous peoples will be a particular focus of Baguio’s Mangan Taku: Cordillera Food Fair next month.

Culinary connoisseurs will have a chance to try out Philippine highland delicacies at Baguio’s ‘Mangan Taku: Cordillera Food Fair’.

“The Cordilleran traditional cuisine is passed down from one generation to the next which operates an expression to our cultural identity. It is also our way of preserving the indigenous culture,” said Jovita Ganongan of the Department of Tourism.

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“We will be bringing in indigenous cuisines from the whole region to Baguio for the locals and tourists to experience a different kind of gastronomic indulgence here in the city of Pines.”

She said that it was important to remember that dishes from the different provinces in the region have a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it.

“We should embrace our heritage through food. It is a portal into our culture and it should be treated as such,” she said.

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The event — which will run from April 8-14 — is aptly timed to take advantage of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit Baguio during the sweltering summer months.

The Philippine Statistics Authority has recorded that the mountain resort city — also known as ‘The Summer Capital of the Philippines‘ — received a total of 1.5 million tourists in 2017, or 77 per cent of the region’s total tourist arrivals of 1.96 million.

“Baguio will serve as the host of the Cordillera food fair considering that it is the most visited tourist destination in the region,” she said.

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She added that apart from promoting the food culture of the Cordillera, the food fair also aims to showcase the cooking talents of the region’s indigenous peoples. 

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