Pateros Balut Festival celebrates culinary tourism
Balut is the quintessential Filipino “dare” food – exotic, unique, nutritious, an aphrodisiac even. And when it comes to finding the best fertilized duck egg, head to Pateros, the Balut Capital of the Philippines.
The Balut sa Puti festival, supported by the Department of Tourism (DOT), has been celebrating this iconic delicacy for over three decades now.
“Tourism is all about experience. We want the people to experience something authenSingapore tic so this is it – the balut of Pateros. We want to push balut as a community business livelihood and a culinary tourism product,” said DOT-National Capital Region (NCR) officerin-charge Cathy Agustin.
Balut, the centerpiece of the municipality’s food tourism and a sustainable community livelihood, supports some 20
balut makers whose production reaches thousands per day.
“We may have lost the duck raising industry but balut making here in Pateros has been continuous. And we are currently very active in the revival program of our balut industry. I believe that in a year or two, balut will be the main industry of the municipality again,” said Pateros Mayor Ike Ponce.
In an effort to revitalize the balut making industry, the municipal government with the Department of Science and Technology-NCR introduced this year the incubator technology that will compliment and improve the yield of the traditional balut making process.
A Pateros Balut sa Puti Commission will be formed to promote, supervise and sustain revival projects for the industry. Plans to put up a Pateros Duck Farm in Rizal is also being discussed.
“The tourism industry in Pateros is basically focused on balut, food tourism. We may not be known for tourist spots, but it is our balut that makes Pateros stand out,” Pateros acting tourism officer Renato Bade shared.
The DOT-NCR pushes for the promotion of the balut and itik or dark-colored duck species specialty dishes as a staple menu in restaurants, local eateries and catering services.
A culinary portfolio featuring the best food finds in every city and municipality in the metropolitan region with balut as the banner cuisine for Pateros will also be published by the DOT regional office.
The recent 31st Balut sa Puti Festival celebrated balut and itik with a culinary contest among the top chefs of local eateries rendering their versions of afritadang balut (tomato sauce braised dish) and pickled itik.
Also held was an eating contest of the hottest balut featuring the delicacy partnered with variants of hot sauces and a boodle fight among participants, municipal officials, Knights of Columbus members and Pateros residents.
A pandangguhan dance rendition by the students of P. Manalo Elementary School and a drum and lyre performance of the Pateros National High School entertained the festival crowd.
The event was capped by a band competition and singing contest.