Exploring Filipino Kitchens

On this episode, we visit the Yangil valley in central Luzon’s Zambales province, where a documentary called “The Foresters: A Story of Climate Keepers” follows an indigenous Aeta community and the challenges they face through a rapidly changing climate. It's also about how organizations such as MAD Travel have begun and continue to expand on massive reforestation and agri-tourism projects together with the local community. To date, over 130,000 trees have been planted in the valley!

On this episode we chat with Bettina Makalintal, senior reporter with the national team at Eater, one of today’s best-known brands in the global food media space dedicated to all things food and dining. We chat about a range of topics on Filipino food and culture through a diasporic lens, so let’s get to it!

On this episode we chat with Abi Balingit, author of the cookbook Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed. It landed on the New York Times’ Best Cookbooks list in 2023, winning Abi an Emerging Voice award from the James Beard Foundation the next. I’m a huge fan!

On this episode we listen to the stories behind Istorya, a Las Vegas-based pop-up restaurant that aims to showcase the diversity of cuisines across the Philippines, interpreted by chefs in the diaspora. The menus at their dinners are crafted with care and symbolic of the team's own journeys to rediscovering the history and heritage of the Philippines through through food. And we got to collab on a dinner series about the Manila-Acapulco galleons this year - how amazing was that?

On this episode we chat with Chef Earl Briones from Coterie Restaurant and Wine Bar in Edmonton, Alberta. Earlier this year, Earl and other local chefs led the “Flavours of the Philippines” sessions at the Terroir Symposium in Canada. When I learned he also presented at the Kain Conference, I knew we’d have lots to talk about!

On this episode we chat with Reena Gamboa, whose work with the amazing team at Slow Food Negros has collectively led up to the first Terra Madre Asia Pacific Conference happening in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, on November 19-23, 2025. The event’s inaugural theme is “From Soil to Sea: A Slow Food Journey Through Tastes and Traditions”. What I’d give to be there and hear those stories!

On this episode we chat with Abi Marquez, known online as the Lumpia Queen for her wildly popular “What if we wrap this in lumpia wrapper?” series on TikTok.Abi has millions of followers across social media platforms, and today we talk about testing recipes, cooking at home, and getting judged by your content - alongside all the amazing things that can happen when you put in the work, and really believe in what you do.

On this episode we chat with Chef Budgie Montoya, who envisioned and brought to life Sarap and Apoy - two uniquely Filipino restaurants in the heart of London, UK. I caught up with Budgie on his last few weeks in El Nido, Palawan, where he’s started work on his next project - a visiting guest chef program linking cooks and local food producers with the tourist market in El Nido. We talk lots about other things that overlap in our diasporic worlds, too!

On this episode we delve into the evolving landscape of global Filipino cuisine with restaurateur, hospitality consultant, and author of the “I Am A Filipino” cookbook, Nicole Ponseca. We chat about seeing ourselves in the industry, the success of her restaurants Jeepney and Maharlika, things we think about when we go out to dinner, strategies to mindfully and continually grow the presence of cuisine from the Philippines across the U.S., and how one after-school snack stop with her dad left a lasting impression.

On this episode, we chat with Luisa Brimble, a photographer based in Sydney, Australia. She's worked with some of the most influential publishers and authors in the industry, and has been recognised by the James Beard Foundation. Her Substack newsletter “In the Foreground” explores the deep contrasts of food, and how it shapes identity, memory, and belonging. We talk about food from the Bicol region, the centralness of sourness, about food at home and away. A kindred spirit!

On this episode, we chat with author Mia Manansala about the world of her characters in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries Series novels. My kind of winter reading!

It's hard to believe I started the podcast eight years ago. I've gone on all kinds of adventures since, including a really epic one across the Philippines! In April 2023 I visited Lake Sebu, South Cotabato with a friend from Toronto and it was an experience that changed me.

On this episode, we meet Isabelle, Mila, John Paul, Shannon, and Gabriell, and get a glimpse of their life in Toronto.

Life has, as it always will, taken a bit of its toll on me over the last few months. But things are moving along, and I wanted to share a few updates! Like where I've been working, what it was like to host some pretty amazing talks on Zoom, and why I'm very excited to see my name in a literary anthology.

This episode, we dive into the world of traditional Philippine bakeries - called "panaderia" - with authors Amy Uy and Jenny Orillos. Through the breads, biscuits, cakes and other treats found in panaderias across the Philippines, Amy and Jenny share with us a little bit of the history - and a whole lot of the culture - surrounding foods like pan de sal, ensaymada, biscocho and plain unfrosted chiffon.We'll also hear about baking with sourdough in New York, making hundreds of ensaymadas during the lockdown, and how a classic panaderia treat makes its way to homes across the US.You might want to find - or make - something fresh out of the oven soon!

On this episode we talk to Dr. Stephen Acabado, an archaeologist who wrote a book about the Philippines' famous rice terraces. We talk about changing contemporary narratives around the history of the terraces, empowering local youth, and why we can't afford to simply let the truth lie buried under the rubble.

This episode we chat with Edgie Polistico, author of the Philippine Food, Cooking and Dining Dictionary. From growing up in Leyte to travelling across the archipelago - and eating everything along the way - Edgie shares his journey to writing what I consider one of the best resources on contemporary Filipino food culture.

It’s been awhile, and in lots of ways it really does feel like everything’s changed. On this episode, I chat with Tiffany Tarampi and Nathalie de los Santos of Pilipinxpages about finding books that speak to them. And if you’ve never listened to a podcast from the Philippines, now’s the time! Meet podcasters from five local shows I really enjoyed, and take home a broader perspective on voices.

This episode, we visit the Western Visayas provinces of Iloilo and Antique for a culinary experience to remember. Time for a food trip and cooking lesson!

This episode we chat with Regina Tolentino Newport, author of the book "Coconut Kitchen: Appetizers and Main Dishes" and founder of the Culinary Historians of the Philippines. We'll hear about her favourite recipes, what going to culinary school taught her, and find a sampling of regional coconut specialties across the Philippines.

When "The New Filipino Kitchen" book launch happens on the first weekend of the first nationally declared Filipino Heritage Month in Canada...you bet I'm doing a whole episode on it! This episode I share clips from the book launch in Toronto and settle in for a panel chat with local restaurateurs and community leaders.

This episode we're diving into a book called "No Forks Given" by Yana Gilbuena. It's a collection of recipes from her 50 US state tour from 2014 to 2015 . Every week, Yana would hold a "pop-up" dinner featuring a kamayan (hands-only) feast of Filipino food. She'd find someplace to stay, someplace to shop, someplace to host her dinner and actually get people to attend - often within the week, with so much on the fly.

This episode, we chat about Filipino drinking food - called "pulutan" in Tagalog - with cookbook author Marvin Gapultos and some friends from the Pluma Writing Collective. I also finally threw the kind of dinner party I wanted - it ain't a real "inuman" session without the right drinking food!

This episode we chat with Jenn de la Vega, a New York-based cookbook author, editor, food stylist and caterer. We talk about cooking, eating, writing, why we especially love these 3 things, seeing our story in others and why nothing beats a classic Filipino "silog" with fried rice and a runny egg.

This episode we chat with Charlene Tan, who started the Good Food Community CSA (community supported agriculture) program with a small group of volunteers in 2010.

Alexandra Cuerdo is a California-raised, New York-based filmmaker. In this episode, we talk about Filipino restaurants, chefs and Filipino food culture in North America - and why community support is vital for the restaurants featured in her film.

There’s so much more to the story of carabaos - and their dairy - than meets the eye. This episode, we’re talking with Marie Cavosora, who founded a company called CalaBoo and leads a team of dairy entrepreneurs in the Philippines.

We're talking with Clang Garcia about her travel company, Jeepney Tours, and what it was like to collect stories and recipes from around the country to feature in this incredible guide. This episode is about my two great loves!

Cherrie Atilano is the founder of a social enterprise called AGREA, whose goals are to help eradicate poverty for farming and fishing families, alleviate the effects of climate change, and help establish food security in the Philippines. But how does a young Filipina farmer even begin to address those challenges?

This episode, we talk to Rene Alexander Orquiza, a professor whose research and teaching interests focus on 20th century American and Philippine history.

This episode, we’re going to the central Visayas region of the Philippines with Louella Alix, author of a book called "Hikay: The Culinary Heritage of Cebu".

We’re talking with Bryan Koh, author of the book "Milk Pigs and Violet Gold." The illustrations, photos and artwork in Bryan’s books are beautiful. I’m driven by the narrative, structure, and immediacy of his stories - like I feel like I’m there - and constantly think, reading the recipes…that "really, that’s all it takes to make that?"

We can't really "Explore Filipino Kitchens" without going back to the motherland, right? This episode, we're going off the usual path - actually, quite a ways off from my studio in Toronto, back to where it all begins: the Philippines.

What can we learn from our ancestors' diets? This month we’re talking with Dr. Ame Garong, researcher at the Archeology Division at the National Museum of the Philippines.

We’re talking with Francis Ang, the man behind a pop-up dinner series called Pinoy Heritage, a culinary project he started with his wife, Dian, following a trip to the Philippines. For the full story of how that led to the most exciting pop-up dinner series I've ever heard of - one that's grounded in Filipino food traditions - you'll have to listen in.

This episode, we talk about adapting Filipino recipes for modern kitchens with Betty Ann Quirino - an author, recipe developer and prolific blogger at AsianInAmericaMag.com. Betty Ann’s thoughts and experiences on cooking have personally helped me develop confidence in my own cooking abilities - to become part of what keeps global Filipino food culture alive.

This month, we’re talking with Joanne Boston, a founding member of the Filipino Food Movement. We talk about why building community is really about creating experiences that bring people together - and then keeping that momentum going forward, and sustaining it so that people gain a sense of ownership and pride in the places they live in.

How much does an understanding of our past shape how we think of ourselves today? Felice Sta. Maria is the Philippines’ foremost scholar on food history - an award-winning author and advisor to the country’s top cultural institutions, whom I can honestly say has ignited my desire to read as much as I can about food history.

Why does Amy Besa go to great lengths to find a vanishing fruit? I wanted to know where those beautiful ingredients that Amy posts on her Instagram feed come from. What do they taste like and what did it take to get them to the restaurant? How can we use food to better understand Filipinos in general?

Why am I so keen to learn about the history, traditions and culture that surround the food from my homeland? This episode, I share how I fell in love with Filipino food in four stages - and what drives my desire to explore the country's foodways.

This episode, I visit a coffee farm along the foothills of a mountain range in Mindanao province, discover why we need to save the "barako" coffee bean, and chat with the founder of a coffee company with a social purpose.