With Tourism Secretary Joseph "Ace" Durano doing the honors, the book, which took all of three years to put together, was finally unveiled and copies made available by Anvil Publishing to the public.

A brainchild of Asia Society chair Doris Magsaysay Ho, the book was conceived with six of the country’s most prominent chefs embracing the challenge of identifying best practices in the preparation and presentation of traditional recipes, which could help Filipino cuisine gain recognition both here and abroad.

Glenda Barretto, Claude Tayag, Gaita Fores, Conrad Calalang, Jessie Sincioco, and Myrna Segismundo teamed up with renowned food writer Michaela Fenix, photographer Neil Oshima, and graphic designer Ige Ramos, with support from the Department of Tourism, San Miguel Purefoods and Del Monte Philippines Incorporated.

Joining Secretary Durano that evening were Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque and Francisco Alejo III, president of San Miguel Pure Foods Corporation, Luis Alejandro, chief operating officer of Del Monte Pacific Ltd, and Vlad Reyes, newly-installed general manager of The Peninsula Manila.

Musicians from Banda Kawayan welcomed guests, who were also treated to songs about food rendered by Hiyas ng Pilipinas Children’s Choir and the UP Singing Ambassadors. Rock singer Butch Montejo led the ensemble in a rousing finale on the Bamboo hit "Noypi".

Apart from the stunning array of capiz banderitas artfully put together by Al Caronan of Movement 8, the highlight of the evening was the menu itself – lechon with pako salad as appetizers, followed by pinakbet, tinolang manok, adobong baka and pinaputok na isda, plus the sumptuous desserts – buko pandan, sapin sapin and turon– whose recipes were all culled from the Kulinarya guidebook. Kapeng barako and salabat rounded up the evening’s fare.

The chefs spoke about their individual experiences in working with each other and testing recipes which were validated by students from culinary schools. The Kulinarya team will also conduct training programs for butchers, cooks, food processors, service personnel and restaurant operators. 

Tourism officials have already launched Kulinarya as a movement that strengthens the impetus on tourism initiatives though creative industries development. With support from the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, the Kulinarya campaign will also move into cyberspace through a website which will help the agribusiness sector set standards for their produce, while providing supplementary information on packaging standards and cooking implements.

The Asia Society hopes that by spreading the Kulinarya gospel, the movement will enable foreigners to learn more about the Philippines through the socio-historical context of what we eat.  They will see that not only is Filipino food delicious and distinct, but that even aesthetically, it is definitely world-class.