What’s in the plate? The role of food politics in the culinary tradition of a modernizing society.

Abstract

“Pampangos live to eat.” True enough, this statement from Gilda Cordero–Fernando’s Philippine Food & Life (1992) testifies to the well-entrenched influence of food and anything culinary in the province of Pampanga. For the past centuries, Kapampangans have been very much recognized not only in the Philippines but also in various parts of the world due to its ardent passion towards the excellence of culinary arts in the province, which eventually gave them the reputation and the title of “Culinary Center of the Philippines.” Ranging from “the earthly exotic to the heartachingly heavenly” dishes (Pampanga Culinary Arts, 2013), Kapampangans sure do know how to run the kitchen very well – a skill which can also be attributed to the influences brought about by several cultures which either visited or colonized the country. Hence, this so-called “fixation” and “obsession” (Musni, 2014) of the Kapampangans toward food has been imbibed in the culture and, in turn, became a tradition passed from one generation to another. [Introduction]