CAVITE’S NEW REVOLUTIONARIES
INSPIRED BY HOMETOWN HERO EMILIO Aguinaldo, there is a new revolution simmering in Cavite. Donning their rayadillos – much like Aguinaldo and his men – these members of the Konseho ng Kulinarya ng Pilipinas (Culinary Council of the Philippines), who have dubbed themselves the Culinary Generals, are out to change the future of Calabarzon’s cuisine.
Their lead- er and founder, chef Christopher Carangian, who carries the rank kusinero maestro heneral, is a culinary heritage advocate who also leads Razorchef Philippines, an organization that “has a concept of creating various events that will promote both our cultural heritage and the richness of Filipino culinary industry.” The Culinary Generals aim to bring back the prestige of old recipes from their province. “Ginagawa din namin na alamin ang kasaysayan ng mga recipe (We also study the history of the recipes),” says Carangian.
Carangian points out though that not all of the generals are chefs. Some are historians, researchers and members of the academe, including kusinera hermosas Encarnacion Raralio, who is also the president of the Imus Institute, and Karen Fernandez, head of College of Hotel and Tourism Management of Imus Institute.
Also part of the group is Cornel Bongco, a leadership speaker, and Angela Aguinaldo, a direct descendant of Emilio Aguinaldo.
There are also cooks from the province who, Carangian shares, were hesitant at first to participate, since they were not professionally trained chefs. But, the chef assured them, “Even if I’m an executive chef, I have no authority to make their authentic cuisine.” The group involves cooks whose families are
deeply rooted in the history of their provinces, so as to get the most authentic dishes possible.
The generals are brought together by a collective love of food.
“It started with the rediscovery of a lot of our cuisine from Cavite,” says Bongco.
“We are all friends with same advocacies in life,” Fernandez says.
Bongco adds, “While we discover the history and the depth of what the food offers, you’ll see that these could lead to a revelation of a lot of secrets that could be used not only in the past but in contemporary times.”
Bongco also points out that there are many Philippine traditions revolving around food that also teach values. “These principles are being taught right now, but they were already there in our history,” says Bongco.
The generals hope that they will be able to introduce traditions and culture to millennials through something that they can all relate to – food.
Traditions like paglulupak have been lost on the youth, says Bongco. Here, people gather around a large mortar and pestle and take turns mashing or pounding together saba (plantain) bananas, sweet potatoes or cassava with milk to make nilupak, a sweet snack or dessert. While the cooking is being done, those gathered sing songs, recite poems or ask each other riddles.
“It’s not only about discovering our past, it’s also discovering the principles that our food reveals so we can become better leaders,” says Bongco.
The generals are also on a mission to map out where the best, most authentic traditional products can be found. “We want to promote the small producers in town,” says Raralio, pointing out that some of the best products are made by locals just in their own backyard.
The generals hope to put up signs endorsing the best establishments in town to be able to point visitors in the right direction. “We want to lead them to the most authentic, clean and reasonably priced products.”
This can become challenging because there are so many versions of one product even within a small town.
For example, with Imus longganisa, “It’s impossible to compare. Each baranggay produces a different kind of longganisa, but these are all Imus longganisa. Same for adobo around the Philippines,” says Bongco. “It’s crazy. But we have to recognize that this is how rich the culinary heritage of the Philippines really is.” Raralio adds, while searching for an authentic
kalandrakas recipe, she also encountered the same issues: “My mother cooked it this way, my neighbor cooked it a different way.”
Thus the generals try to document each of these recipes. “We want to document what makes it different and what are the family histories behind the heirloom recipes.”
Aside from looking to the past, the generals are also looking towards the future. They hope to preserve and update traditional dishes with various activities. For Imus longganisa, they host contests among vendors to come up with the most innovative new products. They also want students to learn how to prepare longganisa the traditional way.
“We’d like to see all students in town to know the traditional ways so that the secrets will not go away with the old people,” says Raralio.
The flagship project of the Culinary Generals is Calye Culinarya, a three-day congress with seminars, workshops, leadership training and, of course, a food bazaar. The first Calye Culinarya was held, fittingly, at the Aguinaldo Shrine.
This year’s edition, the third installment of the congress, is slated for late July or early August and will be held at the Imus Sports Complex.
Fernandez shares the festival will feature cooking demos and lectures from chefs from all over Calabarzon.
The generals also hope to lead culinary tours and come out with a culinary heritage book in the future.
“We don’t only eat. Each bite is a bite of history,” says Bongco. “It brings back the pride in the Filipino, while you’re tasting the food, while you’re enjoying every flavor, you will know that you are a world-class citizen. You will know that you can be at par with anyone in the world because you can offer something very different, very unique.”