INSTEAD of campaigning for his reelection, Fourth District Rep. Christopher de Venecia moves around his district looking for local foods and delicacies that can be promoted nationwide if not around the world.

Yes, De Venecia is all out in promoting the delicious food and cuisines in his district in a bid to increase the demand and boost the earnings  of local producers and entrepreneurs.

He recently launched his own streaming program on Facebook called “Toff Tries” whose first episode featured the famous products of Dagupan.

And where did De Venecia first go to get the best materials for the initial episode of “Toff Tries”? It was the public market of Dagupan. Vendors there did not expect De Venecia’s presence.

To make his first episode complete, he tagged along Chef Jessie Soriano of Xander-Food Restaurant. The congressman found out that aside from bangus, the other product or food that made a mark for Dagupan is “pigar-pigar”.

While in the public market, he also took the opportunity to look for ingredients that are not only fresh but cheap.

The vendors who initially wondered why their congressman looked for them, presented their “puto”, “bibingka”, mango, boneless bangus and other kinds of fish, either fresh, smoked or dried.

He noted that some of these products came from outside Dagupan and Pangasinan but are being sold at the Dagupan City Public Market.

De Venecia was seen in the video talking to fish vendors and asked them what makes the Dagupan bangus priced higher than the milkfish produced in other areas.

They told him the milkfish produced in Dagupan is far superior in quality than the bangus produced in other areas like Bulacan, Laguna and Batangas.

Next stop of De Venecia was the rows of “pigar-pigar” stalls on Galvan street where he personally watched how the delicacy is prepared to the satisfaction of their customers.

Chef Soriano noted that the popular “pigar-pigar” is made of thinly sliced carabao meat, cooked in lavish fat and while being cooked, the meat are being constantly turned from one side to another until it is fully-cooked.

There were innovations introduced  in cooking the delicacy as years went by. This included adding some of fresh cabbage or cauliflower, chicharo and onion to make it really taste better, Soriano  said.

De Venecia said small food entrepreneurs can be assisted in improving their products and be recognized nationwide and the world if officials use their power of influence.

The first episode of “Toff Tries” on Facebook earned 12,00 views. (Leonardo Micua)

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