Exploring Filipino Kitchens

On this episode we chat with Iona and Paolo Fresnoza, co-founders of Kapé Philippine Coffee. We talk about our memories of growing up in the Philippines, the complexity and depth of defining home after moving to Canada, and what a cup of coffee can tell us about the time and place it's from. We also learn about the realities of coffee farming in the Philippines, through Kapé's partner farmers and the stories from the communities they live in, and cultivate their coffee trees in.

On this episode we chat with Chef Nuit, Jeff, and Joel Regular, co-owners of a restaurant called Makilala in downtown Toronto. We learn about their journey to building Sukhothai, Pai, Kiin, and their other Thai restaurants - truly some of the best in the city - and we talk about how Makilala has become a quintessential part of the family. This year, Makilala landed in Toronto Life’s Best New Restaurants List, inviting more people than ever to the Filipino table.

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!