Filipino Food Month 2025 highlights Philippine culinary heritage

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

MANILA, Philippines — For the past seven years, the Philippines has been celebrating Filipino Food Month in April. Month-long festivities and activities focus on Filipino heritage cuisine, both preserving classic or traditional dishes by continuing their slow-cooking processes as well as developing modern interpretations and presentations. This year was no different, even as it continued to honor the richness of Philippine history, culture and identity through its cuisine, especially now that the world is beginning to take serious notice.

Spearheaded by the Department of Agriculture (DA) as the lead agency, in collaboration with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Department of Tourism (DOT), this year’s celebration featured a series of activities made possible with the partnership of the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement (PCHM) and other dedicated stakeholders.

Now on its seventh year, the Filipino Food Month serves as a national platform to recognize, safeguard, and promote the country’s diverse culinary traditions, ensuring that future generations continue to appreciate and preserve our rich gastronomic legacy.

As an agricultural nation blessed with abundant natural resources, this year’s theme highlights how our food is deeply rooted in our history, cultural diversity, and the resilience of the Filipino people.

Throughout April, a series of events, exhibitions, food fairs, academic discussions, and culinary competitions took place not only in Metro Manila but also in other parts of the country, uniting farmers, chefs, home cooks, cultural workers, and food advocates in a shared mission to promote and sustain Filipino food traditions.

Showcasing regional delicacies for all the world to see, these activities also fostered conversations on food sustainability, heritage conservation, and the evolving identity of Philippine cuisine in a global context.

Flagship activities held during the Filipino Food Month 2025 celebration included the following:

· Filipino Food Month 2025 Kick-off Celebration

Held at the Quezon Provincial Capitol Grounds, Lucena City, the kick-off saw the collaboration between NCCA, DA, DOT, PCHM, DA-RFO IV-A, and the Provincial Government of Quezon Province as implementers.

Quezon Province was selected as the host due to its strong advocacy for local food sustainability and its deep-rooted culinary traditions, particularly its agri-fishery products and coconut-based cuisine. The event highlighted the province’s rich agricultural and culinary heritage.

· KAINCON 2025

With the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement on top of the event, and the Facebook Pages of KAINCON, Filipino Food Month, and PCHM as online venues, KAINCON Filipino Food Conference 2025 — an academic research conference — once again brought together chefs, gastronomic experts, Filipino farmers, and researchers from the local food industry to discuss how they can influence local food cultivation and establish preservation initiatives that could change the eating landscape.

· Ang Sarap! Philippine Food Festival 2025

AngSarap! Philippine Food Festival, the three-day trade fair held at Ayala Malls Manila Bay, served as a platform for Farmer Cooperative Associations (FCAs), Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and partner agencies to showcase their products and services.

Each partner agency had a designated booth where they promoted their respective programs and support services for the agri-food sector. Serving as the event organizer along with the PCHM, the Department of Agriculture (DA), through its Regional Field Offices (RFOs), invited FCAs and MSMEs from different regions to exhibit their locally produced goods, such as traditional delicacies, processed foods, indigenous ingredients and fresh agricultural products. It successfully achieved its aim to strengthen market access for local farmers and food producers while fostering appreciation for Filipino cuisine.

Strengthening Filipino food diplomacy

Beyond national borders, Filipino Food Month 2025 served as a diplomatic initiative to elevate Philippine cuisine on the world stage. With an increasing appreciation for Filipino flavors globally, this celebration once again reinforced the Philippines’ role in the international culinary landscape, encouraging deeper cultural exchanges through food.

It also fostered a greater understanding of our culinary roots while inspiring a renewed sense of pride in Filipino gastronomy. As we celebrate the flavors that define our nation, we also pay tribute to the farmers, artisans, and communities that keep our food traditions alive.

RELATED: Capiz food takes spotlight at Filipino Food Month 2025