Filipino restaurateurs in Dubai band together to promote Pinoy cuisine

By JOJO DASS DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Filipino entrepreneurs here operating 18 restaurants have recently banded together to take “Pinoy cuisine diplomacy” to the next level through a city-wide food festival and by joining in major culinary events. This, bearing in mind that Dubai is an international expat city that people from over 200 countries call their second home, bringing with them comfort foods they grew up with and in the process making the megalopolis a culinary wonderland. “One of the reasons we wanted to come up with a restaurant group was to ensure that Philippine cuisine diplomacy efforts have an institution, even if very informal, to serve as foundation,” Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, head of the Philippine mission in Dubai and the neighboring northern emirates, told GMA News Online. “By forming such an association,” he added, “we have an informal grouping of Filipino business people involved in food and Filipino cuisine that is able to share best practices not only when it comes to management of their resources but also in the marketing of the Filipino flavor.” Gina Valbuena, chair of the group named League of Food and Beverage Entrepreneurs (LFBE), said “the opportunities will be limitless in terms of celebrating and showcasing our food offerings on occasions most suitable,” apparently noting major events like the annual government-held Dubai Food Festival (DFF), which usually runs for a month and participated in by dining venues across the city. Other than DFF, other food events include the Thai Food Festival hosted by the Thai Consulate General in Dubai; and the Taste of Dubai, which is participated in by major dining destinations across the city. “I would assume that a Filipino Food Festival will definitely be in the pipeline in coordination with relevant government agencies, partners and external parties,” Valbuena said. Funding Cortes, meantime, admitted that funding needed to launch such an event can be a concern. “We all know that marketing entails money and heavy advertising, and budgeting relative to our cuisine diplomacy efforts are very much lacking; which is why most of our endeavors need to be out of the box, and this is where the restaurant association could be very, very useful,” he said. “Thailand and Korea are success stories because of their heavy and intense pouring of resources, both financial and human, into these diplomacy efforts,” Cortes added. Cortes further explained that budget “has always been an issue in many of our marketing efforts and clearly it is a resource that remains very difficult to procure.” This, “especially so when we have social services priorities (back home) and our priority on assisting Filipino nationals in Dubai and the northern emirates,” Cortes said, referring to help – legal and financial, among others – provided to distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Official The LFBE was officially formed last month under the auspices of the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and in collaboration with the Philippine Business Council - Dubai & Northern Emirates (PBC-DNE), following a meeting organized by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) attended by 22 Filipino restaurateurs. The LFBE, a sub-committee of PBC-DNE, “aims to promote and sustain the development of Filipino-owned restaurants and be the resource for industry information to its members,” said Valbuena. It also seeks to make available value-added member services, suitable training, education and business support needed by Filipino entrepreneurs for growth and sustainability. “For the LFBE to achieve its objectives, it is definitely part of the plan to open active engagements and seek support with and from appropriate UAE and Philippine government agencies and groups,” said Valbuena, who has taken a break from her job in the corporate world to form her own restaurant, Kubyertos Cuisine. As of press time, she added, elected officers were facilitating the membership process of the food and beverage (F&B) entrepreneurs into the sub-committee; after which, a group discussion of initial projects will be scheduled in due time. —KBK, GMA News

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