For travelers and food enthusiasts, experiences like this matter because they connect cuisine with culture, turning a simple meal into a deeper understanding of place and identity. In a time when dining often feels fast and detached, initiatives like this encourage people to slow down and appreciate where food comes from and who makes it possible. It also offers a more meaningful reason to visit—beyond leisure, but toward cultural connection and awareness of local heritage.
Pico de Loro Cove Elevates Culinary Storytelling Through New Series
Pico de Loro Cove has officially launched Lasang Lokal, Proudly Pico, a culinary travelogue series that redefines its food and beverage direction by blending storytelling, craftsmanship, and place-based dining. The campaign highlights Filipino cuisine not only as sustenance but as a narrative shaped by community, tradition, and environment.
Framed by the coastal landscape of Nasugbu, Batangas, the series explores the origins of ingredients, the creative process behind each dish, and the local connections that sustain Pico’s culinary ecosystem. According to early internal feedback from guests and culinary observers, the concept offers “a refreshing way to experience resort dining—one that feels grounded, intentional, and culturally aware.”
The Importance of This Culinary Journey
This initiative is important because it transforms dining into an immersive experience that reflects real communities and livelihoods. It allows guests to understand the journey of food—from ocean and land to plate—while appreciating the cultural identity embedded in each dish. It also highlights how travel today is no longer just about destination, but about meaningful engagement with local stories and traditions.
Lasang Lokal: Storytelling Through Filipino Cuisine
The series is designed as a culinary narrative platform, presenting Filipino food through a lens of storytelling and regional pride. Each episode showcases how local ingredients and traditional practices are reinterpreted by Pico de Loro Cove’s culinary team into elevated yet authentic dining experiences.
The initiative also reinforces the property’s long-standing commitment to sustainability and community engagement, aligning hospitality with cultural preservation and responsible sourcing.
Fresh Catch: From Wawa Port to the Table
The debut episode features Fresh Catch, one of Pico’s signature offerings, spotlighting seafood sourced directly from Wawa Port in Nasugbu. Hosted by Chef Marlon Granados and Jerick Cahayon—both Batangas natives—the episode follows their early morning visit to local fishermen, capturing the rhythm of coastal livelihood.
The narrative then transitions back to Pico de Loro Cove, where the day’s harvest is transformed into curated dishes for guests. This process reinforces the connection between local communities and resort dining, emphasizing freshness, traceability, and respect for tradition.
Craft, Community, and Sustainable Hospitality
“At Pico de Loro Cove, food is an experience that connects people to place and to story,” says Leah Magallanes, Vice President – Quality and Sustainability for SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation. “This series allows us to share the heart behind what we do, while honoring the flavors that define us.”
The statement reflects the property’s broader mission of integrating sustainability with guest experience. Within Pico Sands Hotel, part of the Pico de Loro Cove development, hospitality is positioned as both service and storytelling—where design, cuisine, and environment work together to create a cohesive experience.
A New Standard for Coastal Dining Experiences
Beyond its culinary appeal, Lasang Lokal, Proudly Pico positions itself as a platform for cultural education. It encourages guests to see Filipino cuisine as evolving yet rooted, shaped by both heritage and innovation. The series also highlights how tourism destinations can actively contribute to local economies by showcasing regional producers and fishermen.
For visitors, the experience becomes more than dining—it becomes participation in a living cultural narrative shaped by community and environment.
