Vlad Bunoan

Article (news)

Terra Madre Asia Pacific 2025

Karen Flores

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176545260431520251119_093823.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-dragging" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Terra Madre Asia Pacific 2025, held in Bacolod last November, welcomed more than 2,000 delegates from over 20 countries. <em>Karen Flores Layno, ABS-CBN news</em></span></span></span></div><p>Bacolod recently made history for hosting Terra Madre Asia Pacific (TMAP) 2025, the biggest slow food event in the region. </p><p>During the 5-day festival, farmers, fisherfolk, chefs, advocates and enthusiasts gathered to celebrate food biodiversity and sustainability, with the goal of protecting these for generations to come. Bacolod&#x27;s Capitol Park and Lagoon was lined with stalls from food communities from across the Philippines and the region: Asin Tibuok from Bohol, spiced chocolate from Marinduque, coffee from Negros, grilled eel from Bago City, ube fritters from Samar, and rice cakes from Japan, to name a few.</p><p>Tents that dotted the venue were packed with eager participants as they attended cooking demos, taste workshops, and book launches by some of the country&#x27;s top chefs and authors. Each of these pocket events expressed a public commitment to connect people to slow food -- the kind that is good not just in terms of flavor, quality, or nutritional value, but also in how it was made, grown, and harvested. </p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0fJMo53a4xUGJeqxmXCNuqEpkHaVnJk1ptPGwDK5ka4Ry4ozhCewsMhrfABFBGgyQl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="780" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>But one idea that echoed throughout the week is that the farmers, not the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/food-travel/2025/11/13/ph-s-michelin-awarded-chefs-set-to-gather-at-gastronomy-event-in-bacolod-1613">Michelin-awarded chefs in attendance</a>, are the real stars of the show here. TMAP 2025 provided a platform for them to connect with other stakeholders to keep producing ingredients that are at risk of being forgotten -- a key step to <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/food-travel/2025/11/19/ph-gastronomy-continues-to-rise-as-bacolod-hosts-slow-food-conference-1112">pushing Filipino cuisine forward.</a> </p><p>The chefs and content creators who often get the spotlight are actually more of supporting characters, serving as storytellers and cultural bearers by promoting these prized ingredients.</p><p>Erwan Heussaff of the digital channel FEATR, known for showcasing Filipino food and culture, said it best. The James Beard awardee stressed the importance of empowering farmers and giving them all the tools that they need to keep growing a diverse mix of crops.</p><p>&quot;Once you go monocrop, you are destroying the whole biodiversity. We have such beautiful produce in the Philippines and it&#x27;s one of the reasons why we were colonized [in the first place],&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;We have to convince them (farmers) that what they are doing is good, and what they have growing in their backyards is special,&quot; he continued. &quot;And yes, it&#x27;s an investment in time -- it won&#x27;t make money like you would with rice, which is guaranteed. But whatever you do make six months down the line is increased tenfold because the profit that you&#x27;re making is not for a commodity, it&#x27;s something that&#x27;s highly prized.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Once you&#x27;re able to build that interest in a community, then everyone starts investing their time and skills into that product. Then access to that product gets better. We need these conversations on what&#x27;s special, what&#x27;s really important, and showcase how we use these ingredients in Filipino cooking.&quot;</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F739705091733623%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Food is more than just fuel -- it represents our culture and identity. And farmers literally hold the ingredients that we use to introduce ourselves to the rest of the culinary world, something that multi-awarded chef Jordy Navarra learned after many years in the industry. </p><p>&quot;The more you learn how to cook, the more you realize you&#x27;re sort of like a prisoner to whatever product you have,&quot; said the chef behind the Filipino fine dining gem Toyo Eatery, <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/food-travel/2025/10/31/michelin-guide-launches-first-ever-ph-selection-108-restaurants-make-the-cut-0705">one of the eight restaurants that received a star from the Michelin Guide last October</a>.</p><p>For Navarra, it&#x27;s more about working with the ingredients grown by local farmers instead of making them adjust to their concepts and ideas: &quot;You can&#x27;t really dictate to the producer how you want to cook. Instead, you should accept the best of what the world can give, and try to use that in the best way we can.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1765455489156compo-kalamansi.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Batwan and King Calamansi are among those sold at the Organic Farmers&#x27; Festival area of TMAP 2025. <em>Karen Flores Layno, ABS-CBN News </em></span></span></span></div><p>Johanne Siy, a Singapore-based Filipina who was named Asia&#x27;s Best Female Chef in 2023, noted how the Philippines is &quot;so blessed&quot; when it comes to ingredients and natural resources. </p><p>&quot;In Singapore, we are so reliant on imports. We import 90% of the food we consume,&quot; she pointed out.</p><p>&quot;I feel blessed that I have access to these ingredients. And I am in a position to magnify the voices of the local heroes here and introduce our culture to the rest of the world,&quot; added the chef, who has been living in Singapore for 20 years.</p><p>Heussaff acknowledged that the Philippines has a long way to go in supporting farmers as problems on logistics and supply chains remain, with many of them still getting meager pay for their produce.</p><p>But he believes events like TMAP 2025, as well as the power of social media, are a good start as these foster dialogue and help create solutions for these systemic issues.  </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176552814271220251119_164823.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Erwan Heussaff (leftmost), Johanne Siy (second from left), and Jordy Navarra (rightmost). <em>Karen Flores Layno, ABS-CBN News </em></span></span></span></div><p>Navarra agreed with Heussaff, but also patted themselves on the back for the progress they have made so far. &quot;The strength of the community has been very important -- the people coming to eat, the producers who give you the best product, and also exchanges like this where I can learn more from people like them, the same way that you take inspiration from things around you and come up with fun things to serve,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;I am very proud of the industry we have, our restaurant scene, because majority of the restaurants we have now have some form of Filipino taste,&quot; he added. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176545332308420251120_103715.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Chocolates from Marinduque, which are also sold in spiced and calamansi-flavored variants. <em>Karen Flores Layno, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>Siy, for her part, mentioned the need to continue instilling interest in local produce and techniques among young chefs and culinary students in the country. </p><p>&quot;Many people are now talking about how cool it is to be cooking Filipino food. And it&#x27;s not the sentiment that we had when we were growing up in the kitchen. We were all looking towards other cultures. But now, they get into it with the desire to promote Filipino food,&quot; she said.</p>

<p>Terra Madre Asia Pacific 2025 in Bacolod provided a platform for farmers to connect with other stakeholders to keep producing ingredients that are at risk of being forgotten -- a key step to pushing Filipino cuisine forward.</p>

Terra Madre Asia Pacific 2025 in Bacolod provided a platform for farmers to connect with other stakeholders to keep producing ingredients that are at risk of being forgotten -- a key step to pushing Filipino cuisine forward.

Terra Madre Asia Pacific 2025: To push Filipino food forward, we need to empower our farmers

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Food and Travel

Terra Madre Asia Pacific 2025: To push Filipino food forward, we need to empower our farmers

Karen Flores Layno,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 11, 2025 08:32 PM PHT

|

Updated Dec 12, 2025 04:29 PM PHT

Read More:

Terra Madre

food

Erwan Heussaff

Jordy Navarra

Johanne Siy

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.