13th Annual Manila Food and Beverage Expo

From the past three months living in the Philippines, I have observed that people here are opening up to new concepts. Before, Filipino cuisine resides only in people’s homes and small eateries. But now, I could spot many restaurants that are proud they are serving Filipino cuisine. Not just that, they are proud to be serving new twists to the classic dishes. And people line up to for these new twists. Aside from this trend, more people are becoming eco-conscious with skipping plastic straws as well as trying out plant-based food.

Even the esteemed Manila Food and Beverage Expo or MAFBEX, has embraced this concept of innovation and new ideas. I am thrilled that they have invited me to collaborate with them to reach out to the vegan community. MAFBEX is one of the largest and prestigious food and drinks expo in the Philippines. They see the potential of our Philippine industry and this year they are featuring products, workshops, and talks on the future of Filipino food. For example they will have a talk called “Kitchen Innovation through Diversity and Inclusion”. They will also have “Evolution of Fusion Cuisine: A Breakthrough In Nutrition Trends for Millennials,” to name a few.

As part of reaching out to the Astig Vegan community, they have come up with the idea of me doing a video that could benefit Filipinos as part of a ticket giveaway. I pitched the idea of “10 Vegan Filipino Dishes under P100” and they went with it! I have sent them the rough cut and they sent back their feedback of having me in the kitchen instead of just a talking head. Their feedback helped with getting the message across. The video resonated to many viewers as they found it useful in their daily living in the Philippines.

Now that MAFBEX is only few days away, I can’t wait to discover what they have in store. My friends and I will be visiting the booths and exploring the lineup. We also plan to have a vegan dinner after the expo. I am looking forward to a fun-filled day. Most of all, I am looking forward to seeing the future of Filipino food and what it could mean to our Philippine food and beverage industry. The inclusion of plant-based and vegan products looks promising and it fills me with inspiration and hope for the Philippines.