Iloilo City is UNESCO’s Creative City of Gastronomy

ILOILO CITY – This city has earned the honor of being the first from the Philippines designated as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative City of Gastronomy.

The announcement was made recently, coinciding with the observance of World Cities Day. The highly urbanized city is now among the 350 cities in more than 100 countries listed on the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the fields of crafts and folk arts, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts and music.

“New cities were acknowledged for their strong commitment to harnessing culture and creativity as part of their development strategies, and displaying innovative practices in human-centered urban planning,” said UNESCO.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said the recognition marked the strong commitment of Iloilo City to harnessing culture and creativity as part of its development strategies. “I share this award with the Ilonggos, like me, who love to cook our Ilonggo food. Now, we can be proud to say Ilonggo cuisine is taking the stage in the international gastronomy scene,” he said.

In a previous interview, Treñas said food is a great attraction, and the city has recipes not available in other places.

In a Facebook post, the local government said: “DESTINED TO BE CREATIVE CITY OF GASTRONOMY. It's providential that we had this issue of KaUSWAGan, Iloilo City Government's official newsletter, months back that highlighted our bid for the UNESCO Creative Cities.”

“This is truly a proud moment for every Ilonggo and Filipino as we finally got included in the prestigious list of cities worldwide for the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Iloilo is the very first city in the Philippines to make it to the gastronomy category, and the country's lone official entry this year.”

Last year, the city launched a 208-page cookbook “Flavors of Iloilo” containing heirloom recipes, a homage to ancestors who have cooked for their families likewise as a means of preserving traditional Ilonggo recipes.

Treñas said the city would continue to push for more innovations, such as introducing the metro as a global gastronomic hot pot as "prevalent in the Ilonggo culture and tradition" like in fiestas and other celebrations.

Maria Victoria Lara of the Iloilo City Local Economic and Investments Promotion Office, also said an area declared as a creative city for gastronomy showcases how food has impacted the culture and lives of its people. Other than Iloilo City, UNESCO also designated Baguio as a Creative City for Craft and Folk art in 2017 and Cebu as a Creative City for Design in 2019. (Perla Lena)