Spanish Chef Chele González said during the gastronomic exhibit organized by the Spanish Embassy that a local cuisine and trademark dishes should continue to evolve without losing its essence.
Dubbed “Sabores: Flavors that Sail Across the Sea,” the exhibit launched at the National Museum Old Session Hall features the movement and arrival of different ingredients to the Philippines from Spain, and the exchange in food and gourmet practices in Asia, America and Europe.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, González commented that for Filipino dishes to be accepted in the international scene, the Philippines needs to establish what it wants to expose to the world and has to put forward what best describes its culture and history.
“You need to find a way [for your cuisine] to be presented in that other cultures will like. You need to refine it and globalize it somehow with no lost essence. The Filipino food has to be established. Sometimes, it is difficult to say like what is Filipino food. You have to be very clear if you want to have to expose it outside. When it is refined, then there is a little bit more potential,” González said.
He added, “The good thing about Filipino food is you have people working and living all over the world. They will demand Filipino food, and that is a really good chance to be make Filipino food big.”
On Spanish cuisines, González said it has already gained prominence in the world stage but Spanish restaurants and food establishments should continue to innovate so that not only the usual tapas and paellas are known.
“We are in a time when we should be able to sell Spanish cuisine in different ways, not only as tapas, because Spanish cuisine is very diverse. Spanish cuisine is much more, and we need to find the comfort food for other cultures related to Spanish cuisine,” González said.
González also said Spanish food has adjusted well to the taste of Asian consumers and restaurants are present in big cities in the region. However, it should be represented more in different ways.
Meanwhile, Spanish Ambassador Luis Antonio Calvo said the exhibit that has traveled to various parts of the world will be culminating in Manila to highlight the gastronomic influences during the Galleon trade era between Spain and the Philippines.
“The exhibit wants to be a contribution in several fields. It is by itself quite a very important exhibit in the visual point of view. It touches aspect of our common history and touches aspect about representing culture, because it is about the ingredients that we use for our food for all the things that we have on the table,” Calvo said.
Spanish historian Antonio Sánchez de Mora, who curated the exhibit, explained the goal was to create a sensory experience for the audience with not only visual and graphic material but also stations that allow the people to smell and taste the ingredients and its final product.
The exhibit, which will run until February 5, 2017, is divided into stations, with the first one touching on the exploration of Europeans in search for rare spices, leading to the second phase, which is the discovery of the Philippines. The third area explores the trade and exchange between countries, and the final stage is the combination of the different flavors, recipes and cuisines.