Carlo Lamagna is the Chef / Owner of Magna Kusina in Portland, Oregon. As a child he moved from the Philippines to Canada back to the Philippines and then to Detroit, then later moved back, spurred by his mother Gloria. She wanted young Lamagna and his elder siblings to live with their father, Wilfredo. Gloria and Willie wanted their children to be in touch with their culture. As you'll hear this connection with his culture is fundamental for Carlo and his restaurant Magna. What a great interview, as Chef Lamagna shouts out so many #UnsungHospitalityHeroes, and it is clear how much the people in his life, mean to him. We talk to certified Master Chef, Brian Beland from the Country Club of Detroit, who was an early mentor of Chef Lamagna.

First job in the industry?

Banquet/prep cook , at 20 years old, in Detroit, Michigan

Proudest moment of your career?

Opening my restaurant and being able to share my Filipino culture through food

Food and/or drinks staples in your house?

Rice, spam, La Croix, coconut water, noodles, and mac and cheese (for the kiddos)

Two things most people don't know about you?

Am an avid martial artist and am terrified of heights

Words to live by? 

Keep on evolving!

Website - MagnaPDX.com

Facebook - MagnaPDX

Instagram - @MagnaPDX @TwistedFilipino

Philippines-born Carlo Lamagna was 9 months old when his family immigrated to Canada. His parents were nurses, and when their contracts were up, the family moved to Detroit. Lamagna’s father went on to a surgical residency in the Philippines, and 11-year-old Lamagna went with him.

He returned to Detroit to attend college but dropped out, finding direction in restaurant kitchens instead. In 2005, Lamagna earned a culinary arts degree and met mentor and Certified Master Chef Brian Beland at Country Club of Detroit. From there, he went on to the Culinary Institute of America.

Next, Lamagna worked at Chicago’s North Pond, taking a sabbatical after year two when his father died, practicing charcuterie in Germany, and cooking rustic French cuisine in Lyon. Back stateside in Chicago, he spent two years at Perennial with Paul Virant, who helped Lamagna develop a Filipino dish for the menu.

During his three-year tenure as executive chef of Portland, Oregon’s Clyde Common, Lamagna started pop-up Twisted Filipino, an outlet for his personal mission to amplify and elevate Filipino cuisine. In 2018, Lamagna earned a StarChefs Rising Stars Award, and has now opened Magna Kusina with a fire pit out front and progressive Filipino menu within. It will be the first restaurant of its kind in Portland.