This food festival shows Cordillera is much more than just ‘pinikpikan’

All photos by Mia Magdalena Fokno

BAGUIO, Philippines – Rowena Gonnay does not rush her food.

At their table at the Rose Garden in Burnham Park, a member of the Slow Food Pasil community serves inanchila, lifting sticky rice from a clay pot lined with wild orchid leaves. In the background is Gonnay, who leads the group. Nearby, binungor sits in a clay pot, ready to be served, prepared the same way their community in Pasil, Kalinga, has done for generations.

“For seven years, we’ve been here,” Gonnay said in Ilocano. “We are proud of our heritage. You can see it in how we cook. We don’t rush it. We respect it.”

Around her, the 7th Mangan Taku Cordillera Food Fair opened in full swing, bringing together around 46 exhibitors from across the region and beyond. For many visitors, it is a rare chance to encounter dishes they have only heard about, or are seeing for the first time.

Smoke from cured meat drifts through the air. Coffee brews somewhere in the background. Something sour, something sweet. Then the names follow. Abuos, or ant eggs. Binungor. Inanchila. Etag, salt-cured and smoked pork.

Dishes that do not usually make it to glossy menus are now laid out in the open, unapologetic.

“We aren’t just pinikpikan,” one visitor said, scanning the booths. “We are much, much more.”

That is exactly the point.

Running from April 23 to 27, the event is led by the Department of Tourism Cordillera Administrative Region in partnership with the Baguio City government, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Trade and Industry, and TESDA.

Now in its seventh year, Mangan Taku — which means “Let’s eat” — has grown from a small platform in 2019 into a regional showcase of indigenous food, heirloom recipes, and the people behind them. It was institutionalized through a 2019 city ordinance and aligns with the national observance of Filipino Food Month in April.

For Gonnay and the Slow Food community of Pasil, Kalinga — recognized by Slow Food International as the first indigenous Slow Food community in the Philippines — the fair is more than exposure. It is continuity.

Their table is deliberate. No gimmicks. Just food that has always been there.

Binungor appears again, deeper and spicier, with wild mushrooms added. Inanchila is cooked with wild orchid leaves, which line the pot and give it its distinct aroma. Many dishes are prepared in clay pots handcrafted by women in their community, each one carrying both function and history.

That approach is what the global Slow Food movement calls “good, clean, and fair” food. Here, it is simply how things are done.

“You don’t just see food there,” said Ramon Uy Jr., international councilor for Slow Food Asia. “You see how food is fiercely protected. The way communities hold on to their culinary heritage, their traditions, their land. That is not something you manufacture. That is something you live.”

This year’s theme, “Preserving Traditions, Sustaining Flavors,” reflects what is at stake.

“Food remains central to our daily lives,” said DOT-CAR Regional Director Jovita Ganongan. “By promoting locally sourced products, we help sustain our farmers, keep enterprises running, and strengthen the resilience of our communities, especially during challenging times.”

Those challenging times are not abstract. With fuel costs rising under the ongoing national energy emergency, farmers across Benguet and nearby provinces continue to struggle to move produce.

In that context, Mangan Taku becomes more than a weekend event. It becomes a market and a platform for survival.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong said, “Mangan Taku is an invitation to experience our culture, our traditions, and the stories of our communities told through every dish.”

Beyond the stalls, the fair runs like a working ecosystem.

Cookfests bring together professional chefs and home cooks. Provincial hours highlight local specialties. Demonstrations range from coffee to cocktails, alongside sessions on enterprise development and food systems.

There is also a food crawl, where visitors collect stamps by purchasing from different booths, encouraging them to explore beyond what they already know.

An inclusion program recognizes establishments that keep Cordillera food alive on their menus, not just during festivals, but year-round.

For many exhibitors, especially small producers, this is access. To markets. To audiences. To recognition.

For visitors, it is something else. A reminder and, for some, a first encounter.

Cordillera food is not a single dish. Not a stereotype. Not something to be reduced to what outsiders already know.

It is varied. Layered. Rooted in land, memory, and survival.

By early evening, the crowd thickens. People line up for coffee, for rice cakes, for dishes they are tasting for the first time or returning to after a long time.

Some ask questions. Some just eat. Either way, they understand. – Rappler.com