“TOO many cooks spoiled the broth,” so they say. Not in this ambitious culinary project, “Kulinarya: A Guide to Philippine Cuisine,” cooked up by six of the country’s most respected chefs —Glenda Barretto, Conrad Calalang, Margarita Fores, Myrna Segismundo, Jessie Sincioco and Claude Tayag – together

They broth was not spoiled, but made every Filipino proud of Philippine cooking.

It took nearly three years to get this book off the press so you understand the enthusiasm of those involved when it was finally launched in a dressy affair at The Peninsula Manila ballroom, decked with festive capiz and candelabras.

A joint effort by the Asia Society headed by Doris Magsaysay-Ho and the Department of Tourism led by Secretary Ace Durano, with Anvil Publishing, San Miguel PureFoods and Del Monte Philippines Inc., “Kulinarya” was edited by Inquirer columnist Michaela Fenix, deliciously photographed by Neil Oshima, graphic-designed by Ige Ramos and food-styled by Tayag.

Clearly, if any group can whip up a lowly Filipino dish into an international bestseller, this is it. “Kulinarya” has been bent on “standardizing” Filipino dishes in terms of preparation, presentation and taste.

It’s been every passionate foodie’s dream to put Filipino cuisine on the world map, much like what the Chinese, Japanese, Thais and, of late, the Vietnamese have done.

If the book is used internationally, according to the project head, Barretto, it will definitely set the benchmark of how Filipino food should be projected and how at least 60 Filipino dishes will be identified.

In Japanese cuisine are certain dishes that one immediately identifies, like sushi, sashimi or tempura. With Thai, it’s tom yam, phad Thai, sticky rice and mangoes, pandan chicken, that sort of thing.

“With the Philippines, hopefully, people will know the standard adobo or sinigang they can expect each time. That’s the thrust of ‘Kulinarya,’” Barretto said.

For Segismundo, the word “standardizing” Filipino cooking is politically incorrect. “Kulinarya” aims simply to guide, not dictate what dishes should be served and how to cook them.

“It’s more of fine tuning the Filipino food,” she explained. “It’s very hard to standardize because there’s not one way to cook adobo. For instance, should it be the one with soy sauce and vinegar, or without soy sauce but colored with achuete seeds?

And what about the sinigang? Should it be soured by tamarind, calamansi, (lime), (no translation available), kamias (iba in Iloilo), tomato?”

“We tried to assess certain qualities of a dish or recipe or cooking technique to see whether or not it sets the parameters of good Pinoy cooking,” Segismundo added.

Each chef was assigned to work on 10 dishes. The recipes were kitchen-tested and evaluated by the group. Each dish was tested more than twice, in some cases even more if the result was not what was expected.

According to Fenix, some dishes were taken off the list because they either had complicated procedures or had ingredients not readily available.

New ones were added. Every so often, the ingredient quantity was adjusted, procedures added or a more detailed description put in.

Among the chefs was obvious camaraderie, and Fores was proud of it.

“We’re all from different backgrounds, different age groups and the constant interaction I had with them was absolutely invariable. I learned a lot,” she said.

“With ‘Kulinarya,’ there’s still a lot more to learn about Filipino cuisine. It’s a constant journey. Putting the book together was just the start. I’m sure people will have questions about the book, errors will be spotted but, you know, it’s a work in progress. Criticism is always good anyway,” Fores added.

Fruits of such labor

Aside from popular Filipino recipes, the book tackles cooking methods applied in Filipino cuisine and food handling guidelines. Fenix wrote about Filipino food and its history, what makes our food unique. There’s also a section on sawsawan (dips) prevalent in most Filipino dining tables, and a feature on Filipino ways with rice.

The beautiful, tight-shot photographs of Oshima helped show just how the food should look.

During the launch, samples of some Pinoy dishes featured in the book were served, including tinolang manok (a chicken broth with green vegetables), lechon (roast suckling pig), adobong baka (beef stew in soy and vinegar), pinaputok na isda (grilled fish), pinakbet (sour-salty-bitter vegetable medley). And for dessert, buko pandan (a coconut salad), sapin-sapin (layered and multi-colored sticky rice) and turon (fried banana roll) accompanied by kapeng barako (native Arabica coffee), and salabat (ginger tea).

Tayag said the launch is just the first step in the “Kulinarya” project. Tayag and fellow chefs will also travel throughout the country to demonstrate just how the recipes are done.

“Kulinarya” is available at P2,500 for hardbound and P750 for softbound copies at National Book Store.