At their simultaneous launch, we celebrated the long-awaited return of two classic books on Filipino food culture. SARAP: Essays on Philippine Food and PALAYOK: Philippine Food Through Time, on Site, in the Pot.
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| Conceived and created by two enduring voices in food literature - Doreen G. Fernandez and Edilberto N. Alegre. |
These books are in print once more and republished for the first time since Sarap was released in 1988, and Palayok in 2000. The two new editions mark the first foray of publishers Exploding Galaxies outside fiction and into food.
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| Event speakers & organizers - Mara Coson, Romy Dorotan, Reena Gamboa & Joycie Alegre |
Their launch at the Terra Madre Asia and Pacific 2025 in Bacolod celebrated the slip cover release of Sarap and Palayok. Hosted by Reena Gamboa, niece, godchild and namesake of Doreen, in collaboration with the rest of the Slow Food #TMAP2025 team.
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| Creative brunch menu at the event |
Brunch served for the event was designed by Chef Romy Dorotan of Purple Yam and Chef Mia Gonzaga of Kusina ni Mia. Their menu was a homage to the dishes written about in the explorative adventures of Doreen throughout her food documenting career.
We were also treated to recollections by Joycie Alegre and Chef Romy, who shared precious memories of Doreen's and Ed Alegre’s friendship and collaboration. This was all made more significant here in Bacolod at a Slow Food event - where Doreen originated and where her love of food and culture began.
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| Book citations by the publisher |
Chef Romy is married to Amy Besa, also an aunt of Reena and a full partner in their joint food business and advocacy of Filipino cuisine. Both were inspired and influenced by the writings of Doreen, which formed the foundational concepts of their practice and process for what Filipino food or regional cuisine consists of.
Their own book, Memories of Philippine Kitchens primarily came from the writings of Doreen and Ray Sokolov. It was through Culture Ingested: Indigenization that they arrived at the construct of food borrowed and made our own.
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| Laswa soup, cassava bibinka, bilaskogay shots |
In that seminal essay, we learned about the profound effect transformations Filipinos applied to borrowed food. Doreen wrote that when Filipinos began to cook Chinese food, Filipinos did not become Chinese, but rather what was Chinese became Filipino.
It was through Doreen’s close friend, Ray Sokolov, who came to the Philippines to study our food and culture upon the behest of Doreen, that the Dorotan's learned how Filipinos preserved what is intrinsically Pinoy.
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In his book Why We Eat What We Eat, Sokolov compares several cultures colonized by Spain and claims Filipinos were the only culture that preserved food that we had even from pre-colonial times, so they still exist today.
Take our native kakanin and the three basic methods of Pinoy cooking - kinilaw, sinigang and adobo. No matter how much we embrace foreign food and absorb it into our diet, our food flavors and tastes prevail in our senses and appetites.
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| Indigenous food foraging |
When Chef Romy shared these sentiments and dishes with us, our imaginations and palates were kindled, ignited and set ablaze in a kindred bonfire that sweeps far and wide.
A lasting experience ingested, digested and absorbed with all the love and care - Doreen's words continue to burn bright through time and continents.
Written by Issa Urra
Photos by: Issa Urra / Terra Madre Asia and Pacific
