[Ilonggo Notes] The Creative City of Gastronomy, one year on

On the cusp of November 2023, World Cities Day, Iloilo was named a UNESCO Creative City for Gastronomy, the first such city to be recognized in the country. There are 56 worldwide, in 34 countries — amid a handful of others in SE Asia (Battambang in Cambodia, Phetchaburi and Phuket in Thailand, Kuching in Malaysia). With the designation, Iloilo City joined 300 other creative cities worldwide in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) — recognized in the fields of Literature, Design, Film, Music, Media Arts, Crafts and Folk Arts and Gastronomy. Two other Philippine cities are in the UCCN: Cebu…