DAVAO CITY—This year’s celebration of Buwan ng Kalutong Pilipino (Filipino Food Month) in Davao will beam the spotlight on traditional backyard produce like fruits and crops.
“This year we are going to highlight the backyard fruits, yung mga pamilyar sa atin na prutas when we were kids like balimbing, bayabas, atis, star apple,” says Buwan ng Kalutong Pilipino event coordinator Rayanne Arao.
(Those familiar fruits of our childhood such as carambola, guava, sugar apple, star apple)
She said that these fruits are no longer as common as they were before in Filipino backyards.
“We are trying to revive the culinary tradition of these backyard fruits that is what the Department of Agriculture and Department of Tourism is doing in this year’s Buwan ng Kalutong Pilipino, because most kids right now, they do not identify or have seen these backyard fruits,” Arao said.
She said hopefully they can display these fruits at the event which will be held on April 25-27 in Abreeza Ayala Mall in Davao City.
Culinary students participating in the Buwan ng Kalutong Pilipino will also be going to Bankerohan Public Market to source these fruits and use it as ingredients for the dishes that will be featured at the three day culinary event.
“We are also highlighting the heirloom dishes of the Philippines, most specifically in Davao Region,” Arao said.
The last day of the event will be a showcase of urban gardening which Arao said will also present familiar backyard crops which are used as ingredients to popular Filipino dishes.
This Buwan ng Kalutong Pilipino is centered on the theme “Sarap ng Pagkaing Pilipino, Yaman ng Ating Kasaysayan, Kultura, at Pagkatao,”(PIA/RGA)
