Calgary, 21 March 2023 – The 2nd Filipino Restaurant Month in Canada (FRMC) has been officially launched in various parts of Canada.

The Philippine Embassy in Ottawa and the Philippine Consulates General in Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver held their respective FRMC launching events yesterday, 20 March 2023.

The Philippine Consulate General in Calgary, the project proponent of the FRMC along with the Philippine Department of Tourism in San Francisco, hosted the main FRMC Launching event.

The FRMC is a joint project of the abovementioned Philippine Posts in Canada, the Philippine Department of Tourism, and the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry.

Explaining the background of the 2nd FRMC, Consul General Zaldy Patron said “The FRMC aims to promote and mainstream the Filipino cuisine in Canada with the support of the estimated 957,000-strong Filipino community in this country; help the Filipino restaurants grow their customer base; highlight the talented and highly skilled Filipino chefs; and encourage the use of more Philippine-made cooking ingredients.”

Philippine Ambassador-Designate to Ottawa Maria Andrelita S. Austria gave a virtual message during the occasion. She remarked, “In addition to providing publicity for the FRMC participating restaurants, what we are essentially trying to do is to create a Philippine experience - for those who are longing for the Philippines and for those who have never been to the Philippines. I invite the public to dine and enjoy the Filipino cuisine to be offered by the different participating restaurants across the country during the whole month of April 2023.”

Eighty-four (84) guests attended the event in Calgary. Among them were the Consuls General of the US, Japan, China, and Columbia, and the Honorary Consuls of Finland and Poland. Some media representatives were also present.

Four FRMC participating restaurants in Calgary, namely Amihan Grill and Bakeshop, Chopstix Filipino Restaurant, Max’s Restaurant, and Pacific Hut Restaurant, served various Filipino dishes during the occasion. Seafood City provided the Pamana brand Philippine-made juices.

Consul General Patron also served the guests with Philippine brand Don Papa Rum and Philippine brewed coffee to promote Philippine-made products to Canada.

Likewise, he gave the FRMC participating restaurants free Curve coffee products courtesy of Philippine company Coffee Curve Collaborators. The Philippine coffee were made from coffee beans from Benguet, Bukidnon, Davao Del Sur and Mountain Province.

Last year, the 1st FRMC attracted the participation of 40 restaurants in 18 cities and seven provinces in Canada. The publicity for the 1st FRMC resulted in 53.3 million total media impressions and $2.9 million media ad value for the participating restaurants and the Filipino cuisine.

This year, more than 40 restaurants in 19 cities and eight provinces in Canada are participating in the 2nd FRMC.

Diners at the 2nd FRMC participating restaurants will be entitled to free raffle entry for every prix fixe FRMC menu they will order. They will have the chance to win any of the following prizes:

· Domestic roundtrip tickets from Manila to any place in the Philippines c/o Philippine Airlines

· 3D/2N hotel accommodations in five hotels in the Philippines c/o Megaworld International, Astoria Palawan, and Discovery Hospitality

· Culinary tour in the Philippines c/o Food Holidays

· Travel vouchers for travel to the Philippines c/o FlyFriendly Travel & Tours and Renowned Travel

· Gift certificates from Seafood City

· Vouchers for money remittance from IRemit

· Dining vouchers from all participating restaurants

The public will know the 2nd FRMC participating restaurants in Canada by visiting the FRMC’s official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FilipinoRestaurantMonthCA/ and website https://www.filipinorestaurantmonth.ca.