COTABATO CITY – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) showcased its rich cuisines at the Pakaradjaan Food Festival held here which is among the highlights of the annual celebration of ARMM’s 29th anniversary where each of the five provinces exhibited delicacies and cooking during the event.
The unique foods from each of the five ARMM province were critiqued by well-known food enthusiasts and certified foodie and blogger Erwan Heusaff, celebrity chef Boy Logro, actor-restaurateur Diether Ocampo, BecomingFilipino blogger Kyle ‘Kulas’ Jennermann, Anak Mindanao Executive Director Djalia Turabin Hataman, and local chef Ivana Karla Valerie Sol.
The chieftains of the different ARMM villages were also present during the July 26 event and led the presentation of the foods to the judges. There were three sets of food presentations: the first was the appetizer; second was the side dish; and the third was the dessert.
The criteria for judging are palatability (40%), execution (20%), presentation (20%), and the service and overall dining experience in the villages (20%).The judges were surprised and amazed with the unique tastes of the delicacies from each province.
Heusaff said food is so important because it could be the gateway to discover more about the culture. He said he was happy that he was invited in the event to learn more about the region’s different peoples and their culture. “It was good, everything was really surprising, most of the dishes. I wasn’t familiar (with these dishes) and these were really tasty and delicious and I’m glad I was able to taste these foods,” he stressed.
Logro, known for his television cooking shows Idol sa Kusina and Chef Boy Logro: Kusina Master, said the food festival helps promote Bangsamoro cuisine and culture to the rest of the country. “Masarap at malasa ang Moro foods. Common ang lasa ng anghang sa bawat province. Pang-international level ito at pwedeng pwede kong dadalhin sa show ko,” he said.
Celebrity guests laud traditional cuisines
Compared with the cuisines of other regions, which tend to be sweetened, the Moros’ cooking remains strongly ancestral utilizing a good deal of coconut milk and rich in ground spices. Typical ingredients include chili, turmeric, sambal, coriander, lemon grass and peanut butter. Because of Islamic laws, pork and alcohol are absent in the native cuisine of the Moros.
“It’s amazing, the culture and beauty that is here in the region, from the people to the colors to the music to the dance to the food; these are incredible,” Jennermann said. “It is so much hard to promote the food here because you don’t even know how to describe how amazing it is, so everybody in the Philippines should see this and understand this,” he added.
Promoting the culinary delights in the ARMM through his blog, Heusaff said: “I do videos and I think I just want to focus on the food and culture here in ARMM and I will put it into video and hopefully people will get curious and actually realize that they can travel here and experience it for themselves.”
“Food here in ARMM is really good, everything was really surprising, actually most of the dishes I’ve tasted I wasn’t familiar (but those were) really tasty and delicious and I’m glad I was able to taste the food here and looking forward to joining more (events),” he added.
Ocampo noted that joining the food festival is a great opportunity to share the good news not only to Filipinos but also to the world. “It’s about time to recognize (our own) – the culinary expertise in our country, something I’ve always been looking forward to. Now that I have the chance to have a great experience with them, I think we should definitely continue doing this in the next couple of years,” Ocampo said, adding, that experiencing the food in the region is a great surprise for him.
He also suggested that each village should share their recipes so they can share these delights in other parts of the country. Part of the proceeds from the activity will be used to provide relief assistance to families affected by Tuesday’s fire in Jolo, Sulu.
The ARMM government announced that part of the proceeds from the event will be used to assist families who lost their properties in a major fire that occurred July 24, in Jolo town in Sulu. (Bureau of Public Information)
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