Gene Dacula
Filipino food has been a huge impact on my life. It has given my family, friends, and me the opportunity to really sit down and spend quality time together. From catching up, to heated debates, to loving and laughing with each other, food brings everyone together. Not only does it mean family in my eyes, it ignites my passion for cooking and eating. The unique flavors and ingredients in Filipino food have taught me so much about my heritage and culture. These many influences have affected the food in numerous ways, that makes it so unique and even more special to me.
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YANCY GANDIONCO
Yancy Gandionco grew up in the Cebu, Philippines where at a young age he learned to prepare meals for his family from scratch. His love for cooking and fascination on how different ingredients compliment each other were born. He moved to America in 2004 where he worked different front and back of the house positions in a number of restaurants further nurturing his love for food and cooking. In 2010, working at friends' kitchens, he started catering for small events and parties in the Filipino community in New York City. He is currently passionate about the food culture and culinary diversity of NYC. He hopes one day to sample all of the city's more than 20000 restaurants.
Follow on Instagram: @itsfancyyancy
JOEY GOLJA
My relationship to Filipino is always going to be nostalgic. Experiencing the different dishes always reminds me of times when i was younger watching my mom or Lola cook dishes like pancit molo, arozz caldo, sotanghong, palabok and adobo. The smell the taste hits senses that trigger memories of all those times growing up. Each bit also brings this comforting feeling almost feels like a hug with every bit.
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FRANCIS MALING
A Queens kid by way of The Philippines, Francis knows that Filipino food is his soul food. Sweet, tangy, unctious and nostalgic are flavors that he incorporates in his definition of Filipino food. Francis' passion project "Bad For Business" is a call to empower his culture through food and hospitality.
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NATHALIE NERA
The vision for me has always been to cook Filipino food. Even when i was younger, i would watch my Lola and my Mom in the kitchen laughing, tasting, and telling stories. Thats when i fell inlove with cooking Filipino food. When most people think for our food, it translates to home. That warm gooey feeling, that whatever it is, its made with love. But I wanted it to be more. I want it to be fun, playful, relatable, and reimagined. I want the younger generation to remember that nostalgic taste of youth (maybe a nice bowl of arrozcaldo when they were a lil sick) and i want the older generations to try something new but familiar at the same time. (Its a riceball, but it taste like arrozcaldo) Our food is much more than just food, it is a feeling. Every time that we as a community eat our food, there is always a memory attached to it, whether who makes the best adobo, or “my lolas secret ingredient is” to “that time i made sinigang” we all have a story and most of the time its with food. And I want to tell my story through food.
Follow on Instagram: @natnatzkitchen
WILL SIMBOL
Before migrating to the US, my great grand aunt, grandparents, grand uncles, and grand aunts were originally from Pampanga. From WWII into the postwar years, they migrated to Long Beach, CA as quite a few of them were in the American Navy and were stationed there for awhile. Back in the 50s of course there weren't any Pilipino restaurants or markets in the area, so my family made their own food and ingredients in their homes, and eventually shored up their income by catering to the neighborhood's demand of all kinds of Pilipino/Kapampangan dishes and even ingredients like homemade lumpia wrapper, pindang babi, bringhe, longannisa, and so many desserts and stuff. For the Simbol family, love always seemed synonymous with food, so I try to tap into the pudgy 8 year old version of myself eating all their and my parents' amazing cooking for guidance.
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MARIA TANGLAO
As someone who is part of the Filipino diaspora as a first generation immigrant, my relationship with Filipino food is as complex as the flavors that run through our most beloved national dishes. Growing up in NYC, Filipino food was a way for me to connect to our rich culture while navigating this sense of dual identity: am I Filipino, am I an American, am I both? Stories of poverty, war, colonialism, and corruption were often talked about through our dad as mom would fill our bowls full of rice and ulam. As children, we took these valuable stories and lessons for granted, but as the years went by, I grew to appreciate that our parents fought hard to make sure we knew where we came from. Filipino food will always remind me of home and the struggle we had to go through to get where we are now.
Follow on Instagram: @gary.buseys.teeth