A first-ever Pampanga province-wide "Manyaman" food festival opened on Monday, 4 December, in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab, Pampanga Sangguniang Panglalawigan chairperson on arts, culture and education, said the Manyaman Festival was hatched by the provincial government that convened the Provincial Culinary Council to create programs aimed at strengthening the culinary heritage of the province.

"Manyaman", a Pampanga's dialect for "good food", according to Pineda-Cayabyab, "depicted what the Kapampangans are best known for — food."

The festival is divided into two parts. The first is a food fair/expo which opened also on Monday at the SM City Pampanga Event Center, while the second is a series of "cook-offs" that will be held at the Capitol Grounds starting from 5 to 6 December.

The Pampanga-wide food festival was participated in by the 22 local government units of the province wherein their respective heirloom or iconic dishes, as well as their best food products and delicacies, will be displayed and sold during the food fair while their best home cooks shall battle it out during the cook-off, for the Best Heirloom/Iconic Dishes category.

Pineda-Cayabyab said senior high school students and culinary/HRM students shall have their separate cook-off categories.

"The involvement of the academe and the young generations in this gastronomic undertaking is an effective way to ensure the perpetuation of the superior culinary practices of the Kapampangans," Pineda-Cayabyab explained.

A cooking demonstration featuring celebrated chefs in Pampanga shall cap the two-day cook-off, this time adding innovations and allowing cuisine fusion to Kapampangan flavor, "all in the spirit of global sensitivity and inclusivity", the SP official said.

She is also the chair of this year's Mutya Ning Kapampangans and the vice-chair of the 2023 Most Outstanding Kapampangan.

"It will also boost our local and international tourism initiative," Pineda-Cayabyab added.