Philippine city claims world record of longest barbecue grill event in Guinnes Book

The northern Philippine town of Dagupan has been proclaimed the owner of the world's longest barbecue grill event by the Guinness Book of World Record.

The title may have been nailed down more than an hour after the first of more than 2,000 grills or 2.006 kilometers were lighted at 5:00 p.m. Saturday by House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., Immigration Commissioner Alipo Fernandez Jr., Mayor Benjamin Lim, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez and guests.

De Venecia said he had no doubt whatsoever that Dagupan already retook its title in the barbeque grill event with the grand display of unity and cooperation of almost all the people of the city and their visitors.

About 100,000 people excitedly poured into A.B. Fernandez Avenue, Dagupan's principal streets, to give a hand to their city in reclaiming the world's longest grills event from a town in Turkey that nailed down the crown in 2003 at 1.6 kilometer.

City Councilor Michael Fernandez, chair of the Bangus Festival,whose main event was the barbeque grill, expressed confidence that Dagupan already reclaimed its old world crown it earned May 3, 2003 at 1.007 kilometer that was however short-live.

This was the fourth barbeque grill event called locally as "Kalutan ed Dagupan." The first event in 2002 did not produced any world record. It was the second one in 2003 when Dagupan finally clinched the world record by eclipsing the 634-kilometer barbeque grill put up by a city in Peru years back.

Fernandez said the documentation of the even will be sent to the London-based Guinness Book of World Record which earlier issued the bid number as the identification number of Dagupan City for the event.

He said the feat was made possible not for anything else but the unity and cooperation extended by the locals and guests so that the world's barbeque record can be achieved.

The world record in barbeque grill was so important for Dagupa which is zealously promoting its number one product -- bangus (milkfish) in the international market and anywhere in the world where there are Filipinos.

There were more than 25,00 pieces of bangus of more than 8,000 kilograms that were grilled at one time for the world record-breaking feat.

After its documentation, the people grilled other food like meat, hotdogs, mussels and others which they all partook in a street party till midnight.

Mayor Lim admitted that the barbeque grill event served a marketing strategy for the locally produced bangus which he said was confirmed to be the tastiest all over the world.