Filipino Cuisine Showcased in Three Notable Events in Belgium
Text by Krisha Valle
Images by Valentine Courrier, Rolando, Jaqueline Laudico & Amazing Asia Festival
As the season begins to shift from spring to summer, food festivals and culinary events are starting to come up all over Europe. Although there are many events to note, three events happening in Belgium deserve to be highlighted as these events have chosen to put a spotlight on the Philippines, showcasing our delectable cuisine at a global scale.
StrEat Fest
StrEat Fest opened its doors on the 11th of May for the second time since their successful launch last year. It is a 4-day food festival that presented all sorts of street food from all corners of the world. The festival was filled with food trucks, delicious aromas, along with concerts, performances, and workshops that the guests can enjoy. But what made StrEat Fest all the more exciting for their second launch, is that they chose to dedicate it to a particular country: The Philippines.
This was proposed by Glen Ramaekers, chef and owner of Humphrey, a Filipino gastronomy restaurant located in Brussels, which is one of the ambassadors for this year’s StrEat Fest event. The event having been dedicated to the Philippines showcased several aspects of Filipino cuisine, from street food dishes like kwek-kwek, to ingredients specific to our cuisine like ube and calamansi, and even Don Papa Rum–a liquor specially curated from sugarcane found by the fertile soils of the active volcano Mt. Kanlaon. StrEat Fest fully honored the Philippines through this exquisite event and allowed for the unique tastes of our cuisine to be shared to many. As stated by one of the Filipino chefs (Jerome Calayag) invited for the event “the highlight would be when people from other countries enjoyed Filipino street food from the stand”.
Philippine Culinary Week from June 7th - 10th
Another event that is to come is the fine dining experience that is to be held at Sofitel Brussels to celebrate Philippine Culinary Week from June 7th to the 10th and an additional event for the 12th of June to celebrate the Philippine Independence Day. This event is here to showcase the culinary skills of husband and wife, chef Rolando and Jacqueline Laudico. Amazingly, this event will be the second out of three that they have organized for their time in Europe. The first being in Milan, the next will be the event in Brussels, and finally they will head over to The Netherlands for a number of events in The Hague. The menu, held at the 1040 restaurant in Sofitel Brussels, had been carefully curated by the two chefs. Each dish intending to represent Filipino cuisine in a unique and palatable way for the guests to enjoy.
Amazing Asia Festival
Finally, the last of these three events is the Amazing Asia Festival; yet another festival that chose to have the Philippines as the country of honor. This event is to be held in several regions of Belgium (each event lasting for 3 days), starting on the 9th of June in Hasselt and then ending on the 24th of September in Laak Dall. Amazing Asia Festival has been a successful food festival since 2019 and every year they choose a different country to showcase. Like most food festivals, the location is going to be filled with food trucks and stalls, performances, and a market fair. There are several things to enjoy at the Amazing Asia Festival each one intending to share the different traditions of the various Asian countries represented.
Belgium is about to be filled with the savory and delectable aromas for the coming months brought upon by our delicious Filipino cuisine. Although the StrEat Fest event has passed, the Philippines Culinary Week and Amazing Asia Festival are still to come!
So, if you do find yourself in Belgium or just craving Filipino food and have the time to head over to Belgium, then don’t doubt it and just do it!
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