The 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 on Tuesday, 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 in a press statement released by the Iloilo City government to the media Tuesday night.
Mayor Jerry Treñas, in a statement, 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.
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 (LEIPO), also in a previous interview, 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. (PNA)
