THREE groups of home cooks showcased their culinary talents in the ultimate cookoff on April 8, 2026, at the Iloilo Central Market.
Now on its second year, the Creative Nanays Cookoff forms part of Filipino Food Month (FFM), empowering nanays, home cooks, and micro-entrepreneurs who run small food businesses.
Representing Batch 3 of the program, the groups Madiskarteng Nanay, Big Tigers, and RRJ Moms each prepared Ilonggo endemic lunch and appetiser dishes.
Chef Jose Ariel CastaƱeda, a Unesco Creative Gastronomy chef ambassador, guided the competition together with judges Myka Perlas-Rivera (Owner of Healthy Kitchen), Beatrice Genson (Slow Food Iloilo Advocate), and Happy Abenir (President of Iloilo Hotels, Restaurants and Resorts Association).
The FFM celebration is made possible through the collaborative efforts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Unesco National Commission of the Philippines, Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement, Department of Tourism Western Visayas, Department of Agriculture Western Visayas, and the Iloilo City Government through the Iloilo City MICE Center. (PR)