Iloilo food book hailed Best in the World at 2025 Gourmand Awards

 The Gourmand Awards are considered the “Oscars” of the food publishing industry. Iloilo’s book, “Gastronomic Expressions of Our City,” triumphed over 55 other Cities of Gastronomy entries.

A food book from Iloilo—a City of Gastronomy (2023) in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network—earned top honors at the 2025 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, considered the “Oscars” of the food publishing industry.

“Gastronomic Expressions of Our City, Iloilo: Nature, Culture, and Geography” was hailed Best in the World at the 31st Gourmand Awards’ Best Publishers category. It bested 55 other Cities of Gastronomy that have also published food books.

“Gastronomic Expressions of Our City” was co-published by Vibal Group Inc. & Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. in 2024. Veteran food writer Michaela Fenix served as editor, cultural advocate PJ Arañador served as consultant, and Ugnayan Center for Filipino Gastronomy Managing Director Ige Ramos served as creative director.

A Scholarly Deep Dive into Ilonggo Gastronomy

The 244-page book is far more than a simple recipe collection. It offers academic discussions about the evolution of Ilonggo gastronomy—highlighting its rich flavors, techniques, and cultural meaning. It’s designed for Filipino food enthusiasts and heritage advocates alike.

“Gastronomic Expressions of Our City” was co-published by Vibal Group Inc. & Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. in 2024. The project featured a powerhouse team including:

• • Veteran food writer Michaela Fenix (Editor)

• • Cultural advocate PJ Arañador (Consultant)

• • Ugnayan Center for Filipino Gastronomy Managing Director Ige Ramos (Creative Director)

The content is organized into six major, academically rich chapters:

Chapter Title	Contributor(s)	Focus
“Geography”	Vicente Segovia Salas	The natural landscape’s influence on food.
“Ethnicity”	Hazel Palmares Villa	Cultural groups and their culinary practices.
“Ingredients”	Glenda Tayona and Pearl Rylene Mae Socias	Key local ingredients (illustrated by Vic Nabor and Kevin Fernandez).
“Technology”	Ted Aldwin Ong	Cooking techniques and preservation methods.
“Recipes”	Rosalie Sarabia Treñas’s team	Curated collection of Ilonggo dishes.

Unique Among UNESCO Creative Cities

Following the news, Ige Ramos, in a Facebook post, noted the book “rightfully won” the award, as it’s “unique among cookbooks from the UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy.”

“[I]t goes beyond the typical recipe-and-photo style of most cookbooks,” he said. “Instead of simply sharing Ilonggo recipes, it offers a multifaceted, deeply academic, philosophical, historical, and cultural exploration of Filipino gastronomy via Iloilo’s foodways and culture.”

Ramos added that it “takes a city to create a book and not just one person.” He stressed the community effort: “It takes a village to raise a reader. It takes a community to feed a city. The Iloilo Gastronomy book is a gift that keeps on giving.”

About the Gourmand Awards and UNESCO Network

Founded in 1995 by French entrepreneur Edouard Cointreau, the Gourmand Awards annually honor the best food and wine books (print and digital), as well as food television. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, hosted this year’s awarding ceremonies.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), launched in 2004, aims to strengthen cooperation among cities that recognize creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable development. To date, there are 408 UCCN members from over 100 countries spanning eight creative fields, with gastronomy being one of the most prominent.

 

 

‘Gastronomic Expressions of Our City’ earned the prestigious Best in the World title for its scholarly and cultural insights into Ilonggo food culture.

 

 

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