Think of Samar. Little did you know that this province actually has a rich gastronomical heritage. Thanks to the provincial government in cooperation with the Samar Provincial Tourism Office, their initiative called the ”Secret Kitchens of Samar” will soon unveil this hidden culinary treasure to the delight of every Juan—literally and figuratively.
Anchored on the food tourism thrust of the Department of Tourism (DOT), it forms part of the “Spark Samar” campaign incepted in 2015 by then governnor and now Second District Rep. Sharee Ann Tan-de los Santos. It has since transformed into a full-pledged development agenda now being carried out and implemented by the administration of incumbent Gov. Reynolds Michael Tan.
“Actually, there is really no Waray–Waray or Samarnon cuisine that we can truly call,” Samar Tourism Operations Officer (TOO) John Michael Cristobal told reporters in mixed Filipino and English during their recently hosted media familiarization tour of the province. “We want to cement Samarnon food to the bigger market.”
Considering the unique flavors and blends of what Samar could offer on the table, the governor guaranteed that they fare well with culinary hubs across the nation. Taste-wise, he’s confident that ”we’re not far behind them.”
With the Secret Kitchens of Samar, Tan said that they will “complement the beauty of nature to the delicious food, thriving people’s organizations, and also good governance.” He described it like “a complete package deal” to give more reasons for the people to come to their province.
Heirloom cuisines
INTERESTINGLY, such gastronomic endeavor was inspired by a local tale about an old, handwritten recipe book that was found behind a dresser.
According to Cristobal, its idea was drawn from the olden times wherein their elders would normally close the doors and windows of their houses whenever they cook their very own dish so as to keep their ingredients and techniques a secret. He said: “They didn’t normally share their recipes.”
For DOT Regional Office 8 Director Karina Rosa S. Tiopes, most of them back then would probably just want their families to be known for their “specialty” that they could serve on special occasions like the town fiesta. She noted that “usually, the recipe is handed down from generation to generation [and given only to] select members of the family.”
Among the heirloom cuisines that could be featured in the Secret Kitchens of Samar is the Bola Catalana—Catbalogan’s version of embutido—wrapped in leaf lard or sensal. In this capital city of Samar, the Piczon family’s version of this Spanish sausage is very popular.
Theirs have ingredients, such as ground pork, pickles, bread crumbs, salt, brown sugar, onion, green peas and raisins. At its core are the sliced boiled eggs, cheese sticks, sausage and bell pepper. It’s steamed and baked for two hours.
“This is really the original recipe from our lola,” Mary May Paleyan said of the signature dish of their clan that they inherited from their grandmother named Petrona. ”We now do this on special occasions and whenever there are orders from close friends.”
Tamalos is another “hand-me-down” dish the province also boasts of. Such is a local spin of the Tamale of Mexicans, which found its way to Samar being the first land spotted by the traders from Mexico in their initial voyage to the Philipines that, eventually, led to the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade from 1565 to 1815.
This nutty, creamy course is also a source of pride for Catbalogans, particularly for the Samson family, whose recipe inherited from the inner circle of their mother, aunts and great-aunts is considered a legend in their hometown. Their own edition of the Tamales consists of rice dough filled with pork and seasoned with a sauce called Pipi-an made out of ground glutinous rice with chilies and pasotes leaves to produce that zing flavor. Such entree is covered by a thick peanut sauce. It’s then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.
Unlike those who have remained so secretive of their family recipes, Juliana Nabong-Samson said that she has already shared it to others. She added that she would have her neighbors and friends taste it, and even demonstrate it upon the request of others who would want to know how to do it.
Villareal’s Humba passed on to generations is also worthy of the spotlight. That of Leonora C. Nono, former principal of Villareal Elementary School, is among the town’s favorites. Her ancestral recipe is distinctive for its big cuts of pork belly cooked with bay leaf, garlic, onion, peanut, pepper, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar.
Traditionally, she said that it’s cooked in a banana leaf-covered big clay pot, wherein all the ingredients are on top of layered coconut leaves. Slow cooking for two hours is required with gradual fire to ensure the pork’s tenderness, she added.
Completing the list of local cuisines that were privately concocted and cooked by the ancestors of Samarnons are the Native Tinolang Manok of Calbiga, Tinapa of Calbayog, Sagmani of Pinabacdao, Galleta of Paranas, Keseo of Gandara, Latik and Rice Piñato of San Jorge, Pop Rice and Linupak of Jiabong, as well as seafood dishes with mud crabs of Pagsanghan.
Initial launch
AS a head start, only 10 food items will inititally be showcased during the launch of the Secret Kitchens of Samar at the Shangri-la Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong City on March 14.
“Corioso, Salvaro, Roscas, Decana, Rosquetes, Tablea, Karlang Chips, Kamote Chips, Adobong Tahong, and Tahong Chips—these are the initial products we repackaged and rebranded under Secret Kitchens of Samar, which will be available for order online and soon to select stores nationwide,” Cristobal told the BusinessMirror.
These Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved products, he revealed, were chosen as the campaign’s flagship offerings due to their long shelf life. He disclosed their plan to include in the campaign other homegrown food with strong market potential, yet, need to be enhanced by the the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in terms of longevity, quality, taste and presentation. This project, per the TOO, is also open for other food producers in the province to pitch their products provided that they have secured FDA certifications for them.
“All other recipes and delicacies can be enjoyed when they visit Samar and try our Food Trail to Samar’s Secret Kitchens,” he said, while citing that they can be availed in food places of tourist spots like the Sohoton Cave and Natural Bridge and Lulugayan Falls, and even in any of the local restaurants than can carry any of the heirloom dishes in their menu. “Also, we will be putting up a food map. We are now in the process of engaging families in immersions where they can cook for the tourists.”
Ripple effects
BY and large, this soon-to-be launched foodie campaign is expected to create a domino effect from the tourism industry down to other related sectors and, at the same time, address the perrenial concerns of the province.
“As a region, we all agreed that our growth rate for domestic tourism is 20 percent per annum, 10 percent for foreign. So everybody is really working together to buffer, reaching those targets as a region,” Tiopes pointed out of the unified goal of the six provinces, including Samar, that comprise the Region 8.
This is in fact was already realized in the past recent years, per Cristobal, with their total tourist receipts amounting to P2.2 billion in 2018 from P1.8 billion in 2017.
Since it focuses on people’s organizations in tourism-ready areas, the Secret Kitchens of Samar hopes to help spur economic activities from the grassroots up to the local and provincial levels. Through its sustainable approach, this initiative now builds a value chain wherein all members of the community are engaged in the process—from planting the raw ingredients to harvesting, production, delivery and sales of their own produce.
“We are here to fill the gap,” Tan said of their role in providing them the needed assistance not covered by the support and intervention of national government agencies like the DOST and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), as well as private organizations.
For instance, the governor cited that they extended the Karlang Processing Center in Santa Rita, which was supposed to be a shared facility for karlang and camote production, and funded the plantation adjacent to it to allow the community-based group operating this to grow their own produce. The Catontong Rice Processing hub in Jiabong that produces Pop Rice, on the other hand, was given a financial assistance by the provincial government to build its own production facility with machines provided by the DTI.
The Secret Kitchens of Samar, taking a cue from the success of the Spark Samar, is also seen to help spur the local economy. It is noted that poverty incidence in the province has dropped from 43.9 percent in 2015, the period when the latter was incepted, to 22 percent at present.
“The economic opportunities that we have given to our community-based organizations are already big. For example, the Sohoton Cave and Natural Bridge, which is one tourism product we have in Basey, its income in 2017 was around P3 million for the organization, and it grew to P6 million in 2018,” Cristobal said.
In line with the Duterte administration’s massive “Build, Build, Build” program, various infrastructure projects now ongoing in the province, such as the construction of farm-to-market roads, road improvements, renovation of the old aviation facility in Calbayog and establishment of a new airport in Catbalogan will likely facilitate the movement of trades and goods, including those of the Secret Kitchens of Samar, once they are completed soon.
Most important, this endeavor will change the negative notions on the province since time immemorial as being mired in poverty and rebellion.
“We have no incidents of kidnapping. We have no random bombings. So it’s just an image or remnant of what happened way back in the 1970s that’s still not erased,” Tiopes reiterated, while lauding the provincial government’s pursuit of tourism as a way of changing the mindset of the people, both Samareños and outside the region. “It’s the easiest way to convince people to take a second look at Samar and discover us this time in a different way.”