Selected Farm-to-Table Restaurants in Silang, Cavite as a Food Tourism Destination in the Philippines

Farm-to-table (F2T) restaurants have become a popular culinary trend, emphasizing the use of locally sourced, fresh ingredients straight from farms. However, the role of farm-to table (F2T) establishments in a provincial context as a food tourism destination remains underexplored; this research aims to address that gap by providing empirical evidence on the role of selected farm-to-table (F2T) restaurants in Silang, Cavite. This study used the food tourism branding framework (Mirtaghiyan et al., 2013). The five dimensions of food tourism branding were Service Providers, Payment (Price & Costs), Advertisement, Food Variety and Quality, and Distinctive Style of Cooking. The researchers used a quantitative descriptive design and surveyed questionnaires to customers of two farm-to-table (F2T) restaurants in Silang, Cavite through a purposive sample of sixty respondents. Data were gathered using a Likert-scale questionnaire administered both online and onsite, and were analyzed using weighted means and the Mann-Whitney U test. Instrument reliability was confirmed with Cronbach’s alpha. The results showed that respondents rated Service Providers at 3.52 (Very High), Food Variety and Quality at 3.61 (Very High), and Distinctive Style of Cooking at 3.55 (Very High), whereas Payment (Price & Cost) was rated 3.48 (High) and Advertisement received a score of 3.26 (High). Comparative analysis indicated no significant differences in Service Providers (p = 0.084), Payment (Price & Costs) (p = 0.301), and Advertisement (p = 0.952). However, it was revealed that one restaurant scored higher on Food Variety and Quality (p = 0.013), while the other scored higher on Distinctive Style of Cooking (p = 0.047). The study concluded that Silang’s farm to-table (F2T) restaurants were favorably perceived and recommended reinforcing culinary strengths while improving promotional strategies and pricing practices to enhance their appeal as a food tourism destination.