Vancouver PCG Hosts Cooking Demo to Promote Filipino Cuisine

(Left photo) Chef Helen Orimaco-Pumatong prepares embutido which is a type of meatloaf prepared Filipino style. (Right photo) Consul General Maria Andrelita S. Austria welcomes the participants of the Cooking Demo by Chef Helen.

18 September 2021 – As part of its Cultural Diplomacy and Gender and Development programs, the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver, in partnership with POLO-OWWA Vancouver, organized a “Cooking Demo by Chef Helen Orimaco-Pumatong” on  18 September 2021.

Helen Orimaco Pumatong is a Chef instructor for the Restaurant Operations Course in the Hospitality Management Program at Vancouver Community College.  Chef Helen also owns a catering business where she incorporates her classic French culinary training and authentic Filipino flavors.

The cooking demo featured four Filipino dishes such as fish escabeche, embutido, pork humba and bibingka.  During the session, Chef Helen had presented a number of Philippine ingredients and shared with the participants various food preparation and cooking techniques.

In her remarks, Consul General Maria Andrelita S. Austria conveyed that the cooking demo was held to promote and raise the profile of Filipino cuisine as well as provide the participants with additional livelihood skills in time for the forthcoming holidays.

The session, attended by more than forty (40) participants, was well-received, especially by Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) who found the featured dishes to be remarkable and the presentation interesting.

The event was covered by ABS-CBN News / TFC.  The Consulate will release the video recording of the cooking demo to reach a wider audience via its official social media accounts (@PHinVancouver). END

(Top left photo) Vancouver PCG team led by Consul General Maria Andrelita S. Austria with Chef Helen Orimaco-Pumatong (4R, standing) after the cooking session.

(Top right photo) Participants get to taste all the dishes prepared by Chef Helen.

(Left photo) Chef Helen prepares bibingka, a type of baked rice cake from the Philippines