7 Trailblazing FilAm Chefs That You Should Follow IF You Love FooD
This year has been a big year for Filipino food and Filipino Chefs. From features on Food and Wine Magazine and The Food Network, to Michelin Stars and James Beard Awards, Filipinos are storming the mainstream food scene and there’s no sign of stopping. We’ve rounded up our next big favorites that are crafting a new legacy (and are deserving of their own Netlflix specials asap!): these 7 trailblazers are changing the game, one plate at a time.
1. Aaron Verzosa
Aaron Verzosa is one of the first chefs that come to mind for many when thinking of Filipinos in the food world. Despite the awards and accolades that he currently takes part in, Aaron did not initially consider a culinary career. In fact, his passion only started gaining momentum after college. Even with a late start, Aaron was able to take big strides and make a positive mark on the world of food. In 2018, he started his restaurant, Archipelago, where he serves Pacific Northwest cuisine through progressive Filipino American flavors.
Through his craft, Aaron shares Filipino culinary traditions in the dishes that he prepares. With only 12 seats in the restaurant, Aaron is able to build relationships with those that come in, and create opportunities to discuss the value that Filipino-Americans brought to the landscape and history of the Pacific Northwest. Recently, it was announced that Aaron was nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific, which was a well-deserved nod to him and the powerful team behind him.
Follow Aaron and his business at https://www.instagram.com/aaronverzosa/ and https://www.instagram.com/archipelago_pnw/.
2. Gigi Pascual
Gigi Pascual’s interest in food began when she was a little girl. She enjoyed watching her grandparents make scrambled eggs so much that she was appointed as the family’s “designated scramble egg-maker”. Her culinary passion continued on and motivated her to leave a job in human resources to start her own food truck in 2009. This leap of faith birthed The Buttermilk Truck, which gained massive popularity as LA’s first gourmet breakfast truck. Here, she served delicious dishes like chocolate chip red velvet pancakes, peach cobbler biscuits, fried chicken and chorizo gravy sandwiches, and a number of other fun foods. She then pivoted her business into a product line of all-purpose mixes, with the goal to empower those at home to do their thing.
Now, Gigi works alongside her co-founder, Jennifer, in their business Dough & Arrow, a cafe that offers tasty delights like their jaw droppingly delicious cookies and refreshing assortment of drinks. The dynamic duo and their hardworking team earned the Best Cookies recognition from LA Times. Their menu includes Sunshine Cobbler, Butter Mochi, Fluffernutter, Blueberry Cheesecake Campfire Crunch, to name a few. All of the mixes are made in-house by their pastry chef, Gigi, who went from admiring her grandparents' breakfast skills to building a culinary empire of her own.
Follow Gigi and her business at https://www.instagram.com/gigipascual/ and https://www.instagram.com/doughandarrow/.
3. Carlo Lamagna
Chef Carlo Lamagna is continuously putting Filipino food on the map through his delicious dishes and platform. In 2019, he took a leap of faith and started his own eponymous restaurant, Magna Kusina and Kantina. Since its launch, it has become one of the most popular Filipino food spots in Portland, serving modern Filipino food, beautifully plated and cooked to perfection. Only two years into the game, Magna was named Portland’s Restaurant of the Year. In the same year, Carlo was recognized as one of Food & Wine Magazine’s 2021 Best New Chefs. The following year, in 2022, Carlo received the honor of becoming a James Beard Finalist for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific. In addition to all of this, Carlo and his team opened up yet another space for people to grub at, Magna Kubo, which serves as a Filipino Lechonería.
Through his craft, Carlo has made a large impact on the Filipino American community and beyond. Some dishes on his menu include Lumpia, Pancit, Sisig, Oxtail kare-kare, and a number of other staple Filipino foods with his own twist. Magna’s purpose goes beyond satisfying the stomachs of foodies, it is a way for Carlo to honor his father.
Follow Carlo and his restaurants at https://www.instagram.com/twistedfilipino/, https://www.instagram.com/magnapdx/, and https://www.instagram.com/magna_kubo/.
4. Dale Talde
You may have seen Dale Talde on TV, hosting All Up in My Grill, or in bookstores for his cookbook, Asian American. He is widely known for his work competing in Bravo’s Top Chef, where appeared to compete in Top Chef: Chicago in 2008 and Top Chef: All Stars in 2010. Before all of the recognition, Dale took his passion for cooking in the kitchen alongside his mom to a culinary career in full force. In 2012, Dale opened his eponymous restaurant, TALDE, in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood. He then launched TALDE in Miami, Florida, and Jersey City, New Jersey. Dale’s work also includes opening Massoni in Manhattan at the Arlo NoMad Hotel in 2016, opening Rice & Gold in 2017, at the 50 Bowery Hotel in Chinatown in Manhattan, and opening The Corner, Clare's, and Little Red Truck, all in the Grandview Public Market food hall in the West Palm Beach of Florida. In addition to all of this, he and his wife Agnes joined forces to open up Goosefeather in 2019, which was named Esquire’s Best New Restaurant in 2020, and went on to play a role in Dale’s nomination for a James Beard Award in the Best Chef in New York category.
At Goosefeather, they serve modern Chinese food like Bao Buns, Crab Rice, Kung Pao Chicken Wings, and so much more. Through his work in and out of the kitchen, Dale has proven that there are no limits as to how far you can take a dream.
Follow him on and his Goosefeather at https://www.instagram.com/daletalde/ and https://www.instagram.com/goosefeatherny/.
5. Tara Luansing Monsod
Tara Monsod’s experience in the culinary world consists of work at a number of well-respected restaurants, including Burlap, Tender Greens, Juniper and Ivy, Herringbone and Mozza Pizzeria. She is now the executive chef for Animae, the high-design Asian fusion restaurant owned by Brian Malarkey and Chris Puffer. Here Tara is making big moves and showcasing her Filipino heritage in her recent revamp of the menu to include fan favorites like the Beef Short Rib Kare Kare, Scallop Crudo with Calamansi, Pork Tocino Tomahawk, Batangas Kaldereta, and Tuna Kinilaw to name a few.
Tara’s work in the 2021 Eater Award winning-restaurant has brought Filipino food to another level: fine-dining. Despite being home to one of the largest Pinoy populations in the country, Filipino fine-dining still has yet to reach the level of popularity it has in other areas. Tara has made it her mission to elevate Philippine culture through her food and is continuously putting her heritage on the map in the process.
Follow her and Animae at https://www.instagram.com/tara.monsod/ and https://www.instagram.com/animae.sandiego/.
6. & 7. Chase Valencia and Nico de Leon of Lasita
Lasita is a restaurant and wine bar located in Los Angeles, California, run by co-owners, Nico de Leon and Chase Valencia.
Nico de Leon serves as co-owner and executive chef of Lasita. Under his guidance, the restaurant was featured on Bon Appetit’s list of 50 best new American restaurants in 2022. However, a culinary career was not initially something that he wanted to pursue, he dipped his feet in the art world before diving into the world of food. After culinary school in 2011, Nico landed jobs in highly acclaimed restaurants like Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant in the Hotel Bel-Air and the Michelin-starred Commonwealth. In addition to this, he went on to be named an Eater Young Guns winner.
His co-owner, Chase Valencia, has been in the food industry for more than a decade. Throughout his career, he’s worked his way up the ladder into management. He started out his journey into the world of food at Owen's Bistro, a neighborhood eatery. Since then, Chase has worked with companies like Wolfgang Puck Catering, LA Live, Sony Pictures Studios and Beats by Dre Headquarters. Together he and Nico satisfy foodies’ cravings to get their Filipino food fix. Also on their menu are staple Filipino dishes with fun twists like their Shrimp & Pork Belly Lumpia, Mushroom Arroz Caldo, Bicol Xpress Collar, and Clam Sinigang.
Follow them at https://www.instagram.com/lasita.la/, https://www.instagram.com/mf_food/, and https://www.instagram.com/txeis_valencia.
Written By Nico Belasco
Photographer, Writer, Speaker, Podcast Host, Creative
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