“KAON Ta Liwat Food Festival in Silay” is a festival within a festival. It is a celebration of culinary arts wherein all kitchen aces of Silay assemble themselves to showcase the best food of Silay being a “banwa sang dulce.” The food festival is within a bigger celebration… the Diamond Year of Silay as a city.
The “cocinero” holding the “libro de cocina” would always affirm that the right diet directs sexual energy into the parts that matter. Women would always say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I love what my favorite British novelist, George Meredith, said… “Kissing doesn’t last: cookery does!” My wife does that. We are still together up to now. I do the cooking. She handles the kissing.
“Kaon ta” is a signature program of Mayor Mark Golez that has been assisted by Joey Gaston (and wife Ina) with bunches of friends who cook and eat only good food. The venue of the food journey on June 10 to 11 is Balay Negrense Museum, the heritage house constructed by sugar baron Don Victor Gaston. The house fuses a double staircase. It has French glass-paneled windows and large living areas.
We are expecting local chefs and those coming from Manila to see how our “cocineros” in Silay cook heritage food. There are Silaynon kitchen wizards who venture on new recipes that have been inspired by “baba gannouj” (Middle Eastern), “gado gado” (Indonesians), “pierogi” (Polish), “sancocho” (Latin American and Caribbean), “yakitori” (Japanese), and “zabaglioni” (Italian). They have been integrated into our heritage food.
I have already received the list of food for sale but I am giving the option to our guests to find out what suit their taste. We have more than 30 participants who will make you feast on what they have prepared. What matters is not just the culture of food but also the preparation that goes with it. We encourage our guests to come as early as nine o’clock in the morning.
To those who have been savoring Silay food for more than a decade, your favorites are made available: piaya, lumpia ubod, empanada, alupi, butong-butong, tortitas, dulce gatas, pastillas de leche, inday-inday, quinamonsil, bizcocho de caña, masapodrida, ugoy-ugoy, isda-isda, and your favorite lubid-lubid. I know that some of you will be hunting for guapple pie, buko pie, panyo-panyo, pili square, and cassava cake special.
“Kaon Ta Liwat” at Balay Negrense front yard and backyard will become a special gathering of our local leaders who will be there not just to eat and buy, but also to take the opportunity to take up local political concerns that would affect their towns, cities and districts. Faculty members and students from tourism and hospitality management schools will be around to observe on food festival management.
Our organizers and some resource persons will just be around to answer some questions from students and media men. “Kaon Ta” is just the start, but it could end up with “Inom Ta” after sunset. There are DJs and good music that will go with the drinks, and party goers are expected to feel the fun and more fun when the streets accommodate young and not-so-old who will be amused to bob up and down while scoring the music.
“Kaon Ta Liwat” is not just a repeat performance of what we did last November 5 during the Cinco de Noviembre commemoration. It could set a new trend in tourism industry for Negros Occidental. Silay is not just land-rich because of our “hacenderos” and “hacendados.” Our heritage food is family heirloom that we learned from our “abuelos” (grandparents).
Someone should have all these recipes for documentation. Our journalists can help. “Tatak Negrense” and the Department of Tourism can assist us… or even the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts and the Filipino Heritage Festival Inc. Mayor Mark Golez said that next time, we can possibly have lecture series, more fun hours, and even a food trip here in our Silay outlets. The city officials are thanking Silaynons from all walks of life for patronizing this event.
Next time, we will let our experts teach us techniques on how to macerate and deglaze. We could be introduced to new spices like “epazote” and “fevugreek” or even come up with new sauces like “muoc maw” and “roville.” I call them integral ingredients to our heritage food. “Kaon Ta Liwat sa Silay… June 10-11. Namits!