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Executives of Jollibee USA called on H.E. Ambassador Petronila P. Garcia in Ottawa in a prelude to the opening of Jollibee stores across Canada.

Maribeth D. dela Cruz, Vice President and General Manager of Jollibee USA, with Mackey Dimaculangan, Operations Director, and Carol Rodriguez, Marketing Head for Jollibee, Red Ribbon, and Chowking, were welcomed by Ambassador Garcia, as well as DCM Norman Garibay, and Consul General Eric Gerardo Tamayo. They discussed Jollibee's efforts to open branches in areas of Canada where there are both high and dense concentrations of Filipino-Canadians, as well as a high patronage of quick service restaurants among Canadians.

The quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry in Canada is sustaining a growth trajectory. According to the Canadian Chain Restaurant Industry Review, an extensive research report commissioned by GE Capital and compiled by fsSTRATEGY and NPD Group Canada, the most frequent users of QSRs are Canadians aged 18 to 34, even as those belonging to the group of 55 years of age, are visiting QSRs more often.

The entry of Jollibee in Canada bodes well for the growing Filipino food movement in North America. This month, Filipino cuisine came into renewed prominence as the Philippine entry to the 2015 Embassy Chef Challenge was given two awards at the 2015 Embassy Chef Challenge in Ottawa on November 5. Filipino-Canadian chef Jil Aranas entered her version of kinulob na itik, an epicurean delight of the province of Laguna where she was raised before migrating to Canada at the age of 15.

Bolstering the movement further is the recent swing of the SALO project of Yana Gilbuena. In summer, Chef Gilbuena took her roving dinner project across Canada teaching diners the way of eating kamayan­style feasts (traditional Filipino method of eating with one's hands).

The year also saw the opening of the first and only Filipino food truck in Ottawa. Meryenda Snack Specializes in Filipino flavours with a fresh and unique twist from its founders Mark Coronel and Paul Castanos. With their combined restaurant experience and their shared love of Filipino Food, the two chefs decided that it was time to go into business for themselves and introduce Philippine cuisine to the Ottawa community.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation itself notes that Jollibee is well-known around the world for its pineapple-topped hamburgers, peach-mango pie and "Chickenjoy" fried chicken. The food chain has 2,833 stores worldwide and Jollibee Foods Corp. is the biggest fast food restaurant operator in The Philippines. Many

Founded in 1978, Jollibee has branches across the globe and with 32 branches in the United States. Its entry into Canada follows the growing Filipino population in the country.

In 2014, the Philippines was the largest source country of new migrants into Canada. Almost 700,000 people of Filipino descent now call Canada their home. Tagalog is the fastest growing language, and Filipinos now comprise the third largest visible minority in the country. END

(Photo below)

 

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