Boracay’s Slow Food Community Joins Bacolod Event

One tap or click, and food gets delivered right to your doorstep. Better yet, just add hot water or pop it in the microwave, and minutes later, you have a hot meal. These instant fixes, however, have taken away much of the joy of cooking together and sharing a feast prepared as a family.

Yet a movement seeking to bring us back to our kitchens is very much alive in Boracay.

From November 19 to 23, 2025, I had the privilege of seeing the slow food community of Boracay in action at the Terra Madre event in my hometown of Bacolod City.

The Boracay delegation included slow food purveyors such as the Boracay Women Producers Cooperative, Ronald Po, Kate Tagua, and Gil delos Santos, the founder and driving force behind the slow food movement and the Small Players Association in Boracay (SPAB).

For five days, the Provincial Capitol Lagoon served as the picturesque venue for Terra Madre 2025 with the theme, “From Soil to Sea: A Slow Food Journey Through Tastes & Traditions.” Local and international exhibitors lined the North and South Capitol roads, showcasing their cuisine, cooking styles, traditional ingredients and methods. The event coincided with Bacolod’s annual Organic Farmers Festival.

Organized by Terra Madre Negros, the event aligned with the core principles of the Slow Food movement: food that is clean (organically grown and non-GMO), fair (direct from farmers to consumers), and good (sustainable). The broader aim is to preserve traditional cooking methods and ingredients, especially those that are becoming rare, because these make dishes more meaningful, not to mention delicious.

For consumers, this means access to organic, healthy and authentic food that restores the pleasure of intentional dining. For producers, it strengthens identity, creates livelihood opportunities, and supports local communities. Ultimately, it encourages self-reliance, reduces dependence on imports, and strengthens local food systems, benefiting everyone.

The event helped delos Santos refine and strengthen his vision for the Slow Food movement in Boracay and return with renewed enthusiasm to promote Aklan as the “ginataan capital” of Western Visayas. When food is scarce, Aklanons traditionally turn to gata (coconut milk), transforming simple ingredients into nourishing and flavorful dishes at minimal cost. Signature examples include inubaran and ginataang ubad with patuyaw or ulang.

Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism’s Slow Food Travel initiative could place Boracay and Aklan more firmly on the Slow Food Philippines map.

The next step for Boracay involves food mapping or documenting sources that are good, clean, and fair to highlight local ingredients, biodiversity and culinary heritage. The goal is to build a strong local food system that genuinely involves farmers, fisherfolk, cooks and producers, beyond mere branding. “We need to walk the talk as this benefits not only the local food industry, but also tourism,” delos Santos said.

On the island, the Cooks’ Alliance already exists, where chefs act as slow food ambassadors by incorporating local ingredients and traditional techniques into their menus. Still, Boracay’s efforts require more structure, training, cooperation and practical implementation.

Undeterred, delos Santos continues to support local livelihoods through SPAB and invites everyone to visit GMarket to exchange ideas to help strengthen the slow food community. 

At Terra Madre, visitors to the Boracay/Aklan booth got to experience the labor-intensive process of pounding bananas by hand, and the linupak sold out every day. Delos Santos also plans to convert an empty lot into a garden or farm, hoping to inspire other residents to do the same.

A delegate experiences the traditional way of making linupak at the Boracay/Aklan booth.

📸 Gil delos Santos

As of writing, the slow food community of Boracay has registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with local government accreditation underway. 

For slow food to truly thrive, it requires long-term commitment, community participation, and concrete action. The call is for the Boracay community to get involved, produce, source and use local food, and with help from the LGU, this can be realized in Boracay as well as in the mainland of Malay.