BIG THINGS are coming to Western Visayas: after Iloilo was declared a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2023, another city in the region gets another nod from the global food community. Bacolod City in Negros Occidental will host Slow Food’s first regional food conference outside Europe, Terra Madre Asia and Pacific which will take place on Nov. 19 to 23.
Its parent conference, Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, is usually held in Turin, Italy, and the biennial conference attracts thousands around the world. In a statement, Slow Food said that this Asia-Pacific event is expected to welcome over 2,000 delegates from over 20 countries, including, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, and Pacific Island nations.
“This milestone event marks the designation of Bacolod City as the Slow Food Hub in Asia and Center for Sustainable Gastronomy and Negros Occidental as the Organic Capital of the Philippines. Modeled after the long-running Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Italy, this regional edition will highlight the culinary traditions and food systems of Asia-Pacific while connecting them to the wider global movement,” said the statement.
During its launch on Sept. 9 at the North Forbes Pavilion in Makati, Paolo di Croce, Director General of Slow Food International, said, “Our goal is to think about the future of food, the future of the planet. And you cannot think of the future of the planet without thinking of Asia. You can’t think about the future of food without thinking of Asia. Not only because it’s the continent with the majority of the people. There is an unbelievable richness, diversity that we don’t have to risk that what is coming from the so-called Western World is better.”
“You have to be proud about the diversity that you have in this continent,” he said. As for the specific Philippine location, he said, “The Philippines: I think that you are the perfect example of what food wants to do in protecting and giving value to diversity. Every little island has a cultural heritage to protect.”
He added about Bacolod, “It’s not simple to find many different protagonists, from the institutions, to the private companies, to the people, the chefs, the farmers — they are united by the dream of making something good.”
The Slow Food movement — founded in Italy as a response to fast food (specifically, the resistance then of opening a McDonald’s near a beloved Roman landmark in the 1980s) and all that it entails (industrial instead of artisanal production, among other things) — now shares on their website that their goal is “acting together to ensure good, clean and fair food for all.” Their priorities include defending biological and cultural diversity, educating, inspiring, and mobilizing, and influencing public decision-makers and the private sector.
“We are so happy that we will have a chance to open an international office hub here in the Philippines, in Bacolod,” said Mr. Di Croce. “The event will put Bacolod, the Philippines, on the global map. But it’s once every two years. The challenge is to do Terra Madre every single day.”
Philippine participants include Kevin Navoa and Thirdy Dolatre of Hapag; David Amoros of El Born Manila; Angelo Comsti of Offbeat Bistro; Tina Legarda of Kumba & Bamba Bistro; Pat Go of Your Local and Lanai; Charles Montañez of Liyab and Mamacita; and Dedet de la Fuente, the Lechon Diva of Pepita’s Kitchen; along with mixologists Arkadius Rybak of Toma Toma; Kalel Demetrio of Agimat at Ugat Foraging Bar & Kitchen, Alab Distillery and Lanai; and Ken Alonso.
Ramon “Chin Chin” Uy, Jr., Slow Food Councilor for Southeast Asia, talked to BusinessWorld about the chosen participants: “These chefs are in the part of their life that they want to work with our local ingredients — rather than caviar, or truffles — we have so (many) ingredients here that are actually undiscovered.
“We really wanted for chefs and farmers to work together,” he said.
These chefs served some of their samples at a buffet featuring Ark of Taste ingredients (Slow Food’s international online catalog of endangered heritage ingredients).
Mr. Di Croce said that next time, perhaps the menu cards and such could include the names of the farmers and producers who grew the food served. “We forget that if we really want a different world, we need farmers,” he said. “One of the goals is to make farmers and food producers stars.” — Joseph L. Garcia
International and local chefs will flock to Bacolod in November to participate in Slow Food’s Terra Madre Asia Pacific conference.
International chefs include:
• Johanne Siy of Singapore and the Philippines (named Asia’s Best Female Chef 2023 by Asia’s 50 Best),
• Wes Kuo (owner-chef of Embers, a Green Michelin Star chef known for terroir-driven tasting menus),
• Hafizzul Hashim (a Green Michelin Star chef at Fiz Singapore),
• Lordfer Lalicon (chef-owner of Kaya, the first Filipino restaurant in Florida to earn a Michelin Green Star, and a 2024 James Beard Awards finalist for Best New Restaurant),
• Christina Rasmussen (co-founder and head chef at Singapore’s FURA),
• Melissa Miranda (the chef-owner of Musang in Seattle, named Food & Wine Best New Chef of 2022),
• Romy Dorotan (veteran chef of Purple Yam and co-author of Memories of Philippine Kitchens, which won the IACP Jane Grigson Award),
• William Wongso (described as Indonesia’s culinary ambassador),
• Ross Magnaye (co-founder of Serai in Melbourne), and
• Ardika Dwitama Tjandra (pastry chef at August, the Jakarta restaurant named Asia’s One To Watch 2023 by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants)
Representing the Philippines, the list includes:
• Jordy Navarra (Toyo Eatery — consistently on Asia’s 50 Best list — and Panaderya Toyo),
• Thirdy Dolatre and John Kevin Navoa (Hapag and Aya),
• Miko Calo (Taqueria Franco and Tatler Dining PH Chef of the Year 2022),
• Chele González (Gallery by Chele — also on Asia’s 50 Best list — and Asador),
• JP “Jepe” Cruz (Inatô, Tatler Best Restaurant of the Year 2025),
• Stephan Duhesme (Metiz and Automat, listed among Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants),
• Yuichi Ito (executive pizza chef at Crosta Pizzeria in Makati, which is ranked 2nd in Asia-Pacific and 12th worldwide in the 50 Top Pizza World 2024 list),
• Don Patrick Baldosano (Linamnam),
• Tony Boy Escalante (Antonio’s Group: Antonio’s, Balay Dako, Breakfast at Antonio’s; 2015 Asia’s 50 Best alum),
• Aaron Isip (Balai Palma; earned the Gault&Millau’s Trophée Espoir Île-de-France in 2015),
• Patrick Go (Your Local and Lanai by Fresh Start),
• Angelo Comsti (Offbeat Bistro and bestselling food writer),
• Rhea Rizzo (Mrs. Saldo’s),
• Bettina Arguelles (first Filipina executive chef of a five-star hotel in the Philippines and formerly Culinary Operations Director at Sofitel Manila),
• Tina Legarda (Bamba Bistro and Kumba),
• Ines Castañeda, Filippo Turrin, Daan Overgag, Marina Castañeda, and Ricardo de Sousa (Kaos Siargao),
• Charles Montañez (Mamacita and Liyab),
• Datu Shariff Pendatun III (chef, writer, and heritage-cuisine advocate focusing on Muslim Mindanao),
• David Amoros (El Born and La Pastisseria),
• David del Rosario (CEV: Cevicheria + Tacos),
• Dedet de la Fuente (Lechon Diva behind Pepita’s Kitchen),
• Erwan Heussaff (Winner of the 2023 James Beard Media Award for Social Media Account) and the FEATR team,
• Miguel “Cabel” Moreno (Palm Grill),
• Waya Araos-Wijangco (Gourmet Gypsy Café),
• Gerald Montelibano (Executive sous chef at Cibo di Marghi),
• Andre Malarky (Wild Siargao), and
• Rhea and Jayjay Sycip (chef and owners of The Fatted Calf
Zeroing in on the region, there are Negros Occidental-based chefs joining the fray:
• Don Colmenares (SAUMA in Hinigaran, a destination which has a hyper-local tasting menu built almost entirely on Negros produce),
• Nico Millanes of Bacolod (chef and Portiko Café founder, invited by Raffles Hotel Singapore to its Regional Hawker Series), and,
• Mark Lobaton of Enting’s in Negros (a second-generation kinilaw artist — local raw fish “cooked” in acid, like ceviche — carrying on the Lobaton family’s celebrated raw seafood tradition).