QUEZON City, Philippines (August 26) – Have you ever experienced a boodle fight? If not, then now’s the time to try it!
Boodle fight is a military style of eating in which food, piled on top of banana leaves laid out on long tables, is to be taken with bare hands washed with water from jugs prepared on the side. The “eating combat” begins when the signal is given.Fresh food is served hot and fresh, and a basin of water can be found on the side.There are a lot of dishes you can serve in a boodle fight that you can pick n’ mix— the most common food in a boodle fight are fish, vegetables, meat and seafoods.
Boodle fight originates in the Philippines and is now acknowledged in different parts of the globe. If you’re a Filipino and haven’t tried any boodle fight events yet then you’re missing out at least half of your life as this was already embraced as a traditional way of eating food with bare hands.What’s more fun in a boodle fight setting is that you get to eat with lots of people and have fun! Filipinos are known to love mixing food while they socialize and enjoy the company of each other and the food never seems to run out, after all we really love to cook. Now that explains why we are best recognized for hospitality, hooray Filipinos!
The Filipinos have lots of celebrations, gatherings and parties and they always do two things: eat and talk. We never seem to run out of reasons and ways to have fun so this is not a surprise to us that boodle fight eventually became a tradition.
Now if you’re asking, why is boodle fight important?
Since it started with the military group, boodle fight signifies brotherhood, trust and camaraderie. Boodle fight is important especially to Filipinos because we value the closeness, friendship and the participation to the community. Every time there is a celebration and the food is present, we won’t be missing that out! Boodle fight is also a good way to show foreigners and neighboring countries that we value close family ties and hospitality, we also have to make them feel like part of the family when they are here right?
While browsing on the internet, I saw one article about a restaurant called “Jeepney” down in Manhattan, New York City owned by a Filipino entrepreneur. It introduces the Filipino way of eating food to Americans and of course, it includes the boodle fight. It has been an attraction not only to Filipinos but also to different nationalities living in NYC ever since. We must be so proud about this achievement because without the concept of boodle fight, we won’t be able to make our mark in the history of trendy way of dining.
Happy eating!
(written by Joana Joyce Marcaida, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Lovely Ann Cruz)
