‘Future Feast’ for Diliman Dreams

The College of Home Economics of the University of the Philippines held a Future Feast, where students from different specialisations worked in teams to design sustainable dishes of the future with the theme, Rooted in Resilience’, centred around endemic root crops, yielding the likes of kare-kare ravioli, kamote croquette, and ube dumpling wrapper. I was honoured to be one of the judges together with OICA Director Dr. Monica Santos, and celebrity chef Claude Tayag (catch him in the series ‘I Love Filipino’ on Netflix). Students won cash prizes and we had a lot of fun.

This has been the best Future Feast since I started this in 2014, owing to the students’ efforts as well as the vision of both OICA and the College of Home Economics. I was overjoyed to hear Dean Shirley Guevarra say that she is advocating to make this an annual event. We need sustainability education and celebrations more than ever. Congratulations, dear students! We look forward to seeing these dishes in the restaurants and kitchens of the future!

‘Future Feast: Rooted in Resilience’ was part of ‘Diliman Dreams: Planetary Improvisations in a Critical Age’, my collaboration with the University of the Philippines Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts in September 2025.