So they launched the country’s very first Slow Food Travel destination on Negros Island. In this place, people travel, eat, breathe, and digest at the pace of a well-fed turtle. This is now Asia’s new milestone in sustainable gastronomic tourism. (Asia: “Sure, take it.”)
Negros Island, also known as the Organic Capital of the Philippines, is basically a giant buffet blessed by volcanic soil, happy fish, heirloom crops, and auntie-level recipes passed down for generations. Visitors are encouraged to stop acting like frantic tourists and instead take their time meeting the people, hearing the stories, and eating the food that make this island a biodiversity superstar.
Paolo Di Croce, the big boss of Slow Food, essentially said:
“Negros is where nature, tradition, and people hold hands and hum love songs. Slow Food Travel is not about eating — it is about connecting. Also, tourists will plant mangroves and cacao, so finally a vacation where you actually give back instead of just eating everything in sight.”
Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco added her own flourish:
“We are proud this first Slow Food Travel destination is right here in Negros. It protects culture, communities, and natural resources. Also, please bring your appetite. The island has stories and flavors waiting for you.”
A Slow, Sensuous Food Adventure (Yes, Sensuous. It’s Food.)
This new Slow Food Travel destination works like a buffet menu of experiences. Pick what you want, pile it high, and move slowly enough so nothing spills.
Things you can do on Negros:
• Eat cassava delicacies at Vientos and contemplate how something called alupi can make you rethink your entire life.
• Visit Minoyan’s coffee farms and sip coffee so fresh that your ancestors wake up.
• Enjoy a Slow Food dinner at Lanai, featuring ingredients with names like batuan, kadyos, and Criollo cacao… which all sound like characters in an epic Filipino fantasy movie.
• Float among mangroves at Suyac Island Eco-Park and then snorkel around Carbin Reef like an aquatic Disney princess.
• Visit Museo Sang Bata Sa Negros, where the guardians of culture are basically kids who are more talented than all of us combined.
• Craft your own tablea at Christopher Fadriga’s cacao nursery — because nothing screams “vacation” like pretending to be a chocolatier.
• Taste rare delicacies, including the Bago River eel, which has absolutely no idea how lucky it is to be preserved as heritage food and not just… food.
Every stop gives you real contact with the people who actually farm, fish, roast, shape, and stir the stories of Negros into existence.
The Slow Food Gospel According to Negros
This whole thing is about traveling in a way that respects producers, traditions, and ecosystems. Instead of rushing from buffet to buffet, you meet cheesemakers, fishers, cooks, farmers — the actual celebrities — and suddenly you understand why food tastes the way it does.
Hospitality here comes straight from the source. Farmers feed you vegetables they pulled out of the ground five minutes ago. Fisherfolk serve fish that still think it has plans for the afternoon.
Everything is “good, clean, and fair,” which is Slow Food talk for “delicious, responsible, and not shady.”
Partners, Allies, and Many Benitezes
This project was born from a significant partnership between Slow Food and the Department of Tourism — basically a superhero team-up, but everyone’s superpower is agriculture.
It highlights food biodiversity, empowers local producers, and positions the Philippines as the place to go for a trip that tastes good and does good.
Booking Your Slow Adventure
If you are ready to eat slowly and meaningfully:
Bacolod Tour Guide Co. Ltd – Nathan Rio
Website: bacolodtourguide.com
BMG Tours and Travel Corp. – Bing Montinola
Facebook: bmgtoursandtravel
For more Slow Food Travel goodness:
slowfood.com/insights/negros-island-destination/
Terra Madre Asia & Pacific
This is the big food movement party — thousands of delegates, ideas, ingredients, and probably too many people talking excitedly about fermentation.
It is supported by a long list of government partners, NGOs, and design studios, all working together to celebrate biodiversity, heritage, and the kind of food that makes you eat with your eyes closed.
The event even has its own signature visual identity inspired by the islands, clay traditions, and everything that makes the Philippines wonderfully unpredictable.
