LECHE FLAN FEATURED IN COOKBOOK OF DIPLOMATS IN MOROCCO

19 April - The legendary Filipino dessert Leche Flan was among the 25 dishes from all over the world which was featured in “Dining with Diplomats”, a cookbook featuring the favorite dishes of ambassadors accredited to Morocco. The book, edited by Ms. Viviane “Vicky” Enea and Ms. Lene Baekgaard, was launched on 18 April 2024 in Rabat. This was the second time Ms. Enea undertook this endeavor, which she refers to as culinary diplomacy, the first time being in Lebanon in 2019.

Philippine Ambassador to Morocco Leslie J. Baja was among those who agreed to be included in the book and chose his favorite dessert, Leche Flan,  to be featured. He said that he chose this dish because it is very close to his heart as he learned to prepare it from his late grandmother who used to cook it for him.

All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Education for All (efamorocco.org). EFA was established to help provide the opportunity of a secondary education for girls from the High Atlas mountain region. Very few girls from the rural communities from this mountainous region get the opportunity of continuing their education beyond primary school as secondary schools are mostly several kilometers away and are not accessible. EFA builds and runs six high quality boarding houses for girls from 12 to 18 years old.  The funds raised by the sale of just 10 books can cover the costs of feeding an entire boarding house with a nutritious meal for 10 days. During the 8 September 2023 earthquake in the Atlas mountains, five out of six of EFA’s boarding houses have been very badly damaged.

The launch of the book also coincided with the celebration of Filipino Food Month in April. Ambassador Baja said that this may be the first time a cookbook is being published in Morocco featuring a Filipino dish. He expressed the hope that the book will help raise culinary awareness of Philippine dishes in Morocco leading up to the celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2025. END

Ambassador Baja (leftmost) with other ambassadors and Vicky Enea (rightmost) and Lene Baekgaard (second from right)