Festive Interpretations: Celebrating the Bounty of Carcar and Cebu is a curated dinner event hosted by Dr. Fernando Zialcita of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Held on November 19, 2019, the dinner aimed to celebrate the hidden culinary treasures of the two localities.
The menu featured creative re-interpretations of the region’s recipes, mostly enjoyed in fiestas but remain undocumented in any writings about Cebuano cooking.
Sharing unique culinary practices and traditions such as these are the themes for the Mama Sita Foundation’s Mga Kuwentong Pagkain.
In a gathering that shared Teresita “Mama Sita” Reyes’ lifetime advocacy to promote Philippine culinary heritage, the foundation launched its Mga Kuwentong Pagkain story-telling contest.
Similar to Festive Interpretations, which chose to recognize Carcar’s best-kept kitchen secrets, the latest edition of Mama Sita’s annual story-telling contest encourages Filipinos to appreciate the diversity of Filipino cooking by sharing original and authentic stories about little-known ingredients, culinary traditions, or food lore.
The banquet started off with Kilawin Tanigue, Ensaladang Lato (seaweeds), and Paklay (pork innards and vegetables) Soup.
The second course drew from Chinese influences in dishes like Ngohiong or fried lumpia with five spices, Lumpiang Sariwa with White Sauce a la Carcar, and Pancit Bam-I
(vermicelli noodles) a la Cebu followed by a serving of Inun-unan (fish stewed in vinegar), Utan Bisaya (soup of greens), and Humba a la Carcar. Dinner was capped off with homemade ice cream using Argao’s famous tableya (courtesy of Guilang) topped with Cebuano coconut delicacy, Bocarillo (by Leonidas of Carcar) giving a sweet finish to the wholesome courses.
To join, original and authentic Mga Kuwentong Pagkain entries can be posted on Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube, tag @MgaKuwentongPagkain and use the hashtag #MKP. Stories can also be shared via Mama Sita’s website: https://msita.com/mga-kwentong-pagkain/
