RDF | Pimamanan: A Taste of Pampanga’s 65 Heirloom Dishes Named Finalist in Two Categories at the 43rd National Book Awards
A national moment, a local memory, and a table that invites everyone to taste history.
Pimamanan: A Taste of Pampanga’s 65 Heirloom Dishes has been shortlisted as a finalist in two categories by the National Book Development Board and the Filipino Critics Circle at the 43rd National Book Awards—Best Book on Food and Best Book Design—marking its emergence as a national conversation piece before the pages even turn. This special feature looks beyond the accolades to reveal what Pimamanan is, why it matters, and how it invites readers to see Kapampangan cuisine as living culture.
(https://books.gov.ph/43rd-national-book-awards-finalists/)
A Project with a Purpose
Pimamanan is not a traditional cookbook. It’s a living chronicle of Pampanga’s culinary soul, built around 65 heirloom dishes gathered from across the province. The book reframes Kapampangan cooking from mere sustenance into a dynamic archive of culture, memory, and community. Each dish carries an origin story, a lineage of cooks, and the environmental context that shaped its creation. More than recipes, Pimamanan preserves a way of life—techniques passed down through generations, Indigenous practices, and family-tested methods that anchor Kapampangan cuisine in its rightful place on both regional and national stages.
The Heartbeat of Pimamanan
– A heritage banner: Pimamanan translates to heritage, signaling a project that treats recipes as vessels of memory and cultural identity.
– People at the center: The book foregrounds cooks, resource persons, and local enthusiasts whose voices give texture to every page.
– A collaborative labor of love: Researchers and tourism officers traveled across Pampanga to collect stories, savor memories, and weave them into a cohesive, living narrative.
The Visionaries Behind the Work
Dr. Robert Lo with his coffee table book, Pimamanan
• Dr. Robert H. Lo, Founder & CEO of RDF Feed, Livestock & Foods, Inc.: The passionate driving force, whose Pampanga homecoming became a vow to safeguard gastronomic memory. Dr. Lo views food as a cultural hallmark that deserves preservation for future generations and aligns with the company’s high standards of quality.
• Wil Maligalig: PR Consultant of RDF, who is the book’s Project Lead and Art Director, guiding the team from concept to page with expertise in communications, marketing, and media relations.
• Ruston Banal: Visual anthropologist and art historian who ensures cultural nuance and photographic integrity through meticulous image analysis and forensics.
• Gia Hasegawa, who is responsible for the book’s design sensibility and visual heartbeat.
Together with a broader team of tourism officials, researchers, local cooks, and fervent food enthusiasts, Pimamanan traversed Pampanga to harvest secrets, savor stories, and fuse them into a living narrative rather than a static catalog.
Voices that Validate the Journey
Pimamanan has earned endorsements from respected figures in Filipino culinary history who see its value beyond recipes:
• Felice Prudente Sta. Maria: A culinary historian who lauds Pimamanan for showing how food can catalyze positive social participation beyond national identity.
• Jam Melchor: Founder of the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement and a leader in Slow Food Youth Network Philippines, praising Pimamanan as a testament to Kapampangan resilience, relevance, and vitality. Melchor emphasizes that traditional cuisine is a living discipline—memory, technique, and dialogue across generations.
A Dish That Opens Doors: Bobotung Asan
Bobotung Asan, an heirloom from Candaba, stands as a star among Pimamanan’s 65 dishes. This fermented catfish or mudfish exemplifies Pampanga’s resourcefulness: a preservation method that amplifies flavor while honoring the environment. The dish embodies environmental stewardship, cultural adaptation, and sophisticated cooking technique—turning local ingredients into a national treasure.
The National Book Awards Moment—and What Comes Next
Pimamanan’s finalist status in Best Book on Food and Best Book Design signals its dual strengths: storytelling and presentation. The announcement of winners is expected this first quarter of 2026, positioning Pimamanan on a national stage and inviting broader audiences to engage with Pampanga’s heritage in a contemporary, visually captivating format.
Pimamanan’s Promise for Kapampangan Cuisine
– Preservation through storytelling: Treating recipes as living memories ensures techniques and anecdotes endure for future cooks and historians.
– Cross-disciplinary collaboration: A fusion of culinary history, visual anthropology, design, and publishing demonstrates how culture-rich work can thrive in a modern market.
– Cultural empowerment: Elevating indigenous and intergenerational knowledge affirms the value of Kapampangan contributions to the Philippine culinary landscape.
A Fresh Chapter: Pimamanan in Everyday Dining
To further demonstrate his commitment, Dr. Lo plans to roll out Pimamanan-inspired recipes using products from Fresh Options Meatshop, RDF’s meat retail arm. This initiative brings the book’s living heritage into everyday dining, inviting a broader audience to savor Pampanga’s heirloom flavors in fresh, accessible forms.
A Final Thought
Pimamanan is more than a collection of recipes; it is a carefully curated conversation with Pampanga’s past, present, and future. It invites readers to taste history, listen to cooks, and recognize the work of researchers, designers, and cultural stewards who labor to keep a region’s heritage vibrant and evolving.
As the 43rd National Book Awards approaches, Pimamanan stands as a beacon of how culinary culture can be preserved with dignity, designed with care, and celebrated with pride. In the story of Pampanga’s 65 heirloom dishes, we are reminded that heritage is not a dusty relic but a living, breathing palate- one that continues to flavor the table of today and the generations to come.