Philippine Cacao Industry Promoted in Seoul

First row, from left to right: Philippine Embassy in Seoul Charge d’affaires Christian L. De Jesus and NCCA Executive Director Al Ryan Alejandre. Second row, from left to right: Cultural Officer Maricor Jesalva, Agriculture Attaché Alelia Maghirang, and Commercial Counsellor Jose Maria Dinsay.
Third row, from left to right: Labor Attaché Maya Valderrama and Resource Speakers Mr. Emmanuel and Mrs. Mary Grace Belviz. (Seoul PE photo)

The Philippine Embassy in Seoul and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) highlighted the Philippine tsokolate / cacao through the webinar “The Philippine Tsokolate, Scaling New Heights: Honoring Heritage and Stories of Hope and Purpose” held on 25 October 2020.

The webinar featured Mrs. Mary Grace and Mr. Emmanuel Belviz of Rosario’s Delicacies and Belviz Farms. In September, Rosario’s Delicacies was awarded One Star at the Great Taste Awards in London for its unsweetened dark chocolate besting 12,777 products from 106 countries. The program also included a demonstration on how to prepare the tsokolate de batirol or sikwate to encourage the Filipino Community in Korea to learn, appreciate and share it with their Korean friends and families.

A screenshot of some of the speakers and participants during the webinar which was also aired on FaceBook Live. (Seoul PE photo)

Philippine Embassy in Seoul Chargé d’affaires Christian de Jesus shared how the webinar depicts the story of the Philippine tsokolate, now ranked among the best in the world, and the aspirations and determination of our farmers, who have been recognized as food security front liners in the time of COVID-19. Moreover, he emphasized that the journey to the world stage of the Philippine tsokolate or cacao is a bayanihan endeavor between the private and government sectors.

Demonstration on how to prepare the tsokolate de batirol or sikwate. (Seoul PE photo)

Chargé d’affaires de Jesus expressed hope that the success story of the Philippine tsokolate and the determination of Filipino farmers, artisans and chocolatiers will inspire the Filipino Community in South Korea to be optimistic and resilient while far away from home and family. Moreover, with the global recognition of excellent Philippine products, he invited the Filipino Community to take pride in our Filipino identity, heritage and our country.

The webinar is an activity of Sentro Rizal Seoul under the NCCA’s project “Padayon: Paglikha sa Panahon ng Pandemya.”

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For more information, visit https://www.tokyo.philembassy.net,
https://www.tokyope.dfa.gov.ph, or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinJapan.