We have a lot to celebrate this 2024 as our chefs and talents got noticed abroad, our cuisine got recognized and appreciated, and the whole food community got all revved up for all the things that happened, consequently making the coming year that much more exciting and promising.
1. Global brands’ influx
All eyes are on the Philippines as Manila is fast becoming a culinary hotspot in the region. Alex Offe confirms this with the opening of his Uma Nota. “I took a big slap on the face when I first came [to Manila] because I wasn’t expecting what it is now. It was quick for us to decide to do something because the readiness of the market is remarkable.”
Other international brands that have set up shop in Manila include Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill and Morton’s The Steakhouse.
2. Collabs
There were a lot of limited-time-only collaborations in Manila, not just among local chefs but with internationally based ones, too. Diners benefit as they get to taste not just these joint efforts, but also witness the remarkable friendships among chefs. Some of the memorable ones were the Avec series of Miko Calo, the Inaya series of Hapag and Aya, and the numerous gigs at Toyo Eatery and Gallery by Chele.
3. Food ambassadors abroad
Some of our local chefs have been representing their brands well abroad. Among them is Jordy Navarra, who has been traveling nonstop to fulfill collab obligations in Seattle, Korea, and Singapore, among others. Metiz’s Stephan Duhesme had his fair share, too, specifically in Japan and Bali, Indonesia. Miko Calo cooked in Hong Kong, while Nicco Santos and Quenee Vilar did that in Singapore.
4. More options for diners
A lot of restaurants opened this year, from small neighborhood eateries to outstanding places offering a tasting menu, giving diners a slew of options. From the get-go, these places got plenty of buzz: Inato, Automat, Hapag, Kasa Palma, Asador Alfonso, and Iai.
5. Out-of-town spots
Manila may be a nest for notable restaurants, but there are also a number of outstanding places outside the metro. In Bacolod, there’s 7 Hectares and private dining Sauma. In Tagaytay, there’s Sau del Rosario’s 180 Degrees, Sinta by Ariel Manuel, and Elaia by Cyma helmed by Robby Goco. Cebu, Davao, and Iloilo have all also built a reputation as worthwhile dining destinations.
6. Prize-winning pizzas
50 Top Pizza World held early in the year recognized the Philippines for having some of the best pizza parlors in Asia: a mano (12th), Wildflour Italian (47th), and crowd favorite Crosta (2nd). Chef Yuichi Ito of Crosta was also proclaimed the best pizza maker of the year.
7. Best pizza chain
News that’s still hot off the oven is Cibo’s recent recognition as no. 44 in the 50 Top World Artisan Pizza Chains 2024 list issued by 50 Top Pizza. It is the only Philippine-based entry in the roster.
8. Chefs’ playground
The Balmori Suites became a veritable venue for chefs with existing brands to show the other aces up their sleeves. And now, more and more setups of such kind are popping up, giving our talented chefs more options for a playground. Some of the memorable ones include Your Local, Taupe Dining, Mrs. Saldo’s, and Anvil by Josh Boutwood.
9. PH’s best restaurant
Toyo Eatery still reigns supreme. In this year’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards, Jordy and May Navarra’s Makati restaurant is the sole winner from the Philippines. It’s their fifth consecutive time to bag the recognition, coming in at no. 24.
10. Top tipple
Makati’s The Curator Coffee and Cocktails was once again named among the best bars in the region by Asia’s 50 Best. It landed at a higher spot, from 34 in 2023 to 33 this year. Southbank Cafe + Lounge also debuted on the list at no. 82.
11. Best chefs
The 8th edition of The Best Chef Awards held in Dubai hailed three chefs from the Philippines—Jordy Navarra of Toyo Eatery with two knives, and Chele Gonzalez of Gallery By Chele, and Stephan Duhesme of Metiz, who each got one knife. Filipina Johanne Siy of Lolla in Singapore also got awarded one knife.
12. Tasting menus
We ate well this year, thanks to the inspired and inspiring tasting menus of our chefs. Among the more notable degustations were Gallery by Chele’s cacao menu, Helm’s street food menu, Toyo’s Kamayan menu, and the recently released Western Visayas menu of Hapag.
13. Books, too
Not everything that’s delicious can be tasted. Some come as words and essays, and some as stunning photos. Two mouthwatering food books released this year were “Sangkap 2,” which compiles the winning entries of the Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Competition from 2018 to 2022, and “Beyond Sugar,” a coffee table book featuring the intricate cake designs of Penk Ching.
14. Visayan showcase
The second Terra Madre Visayas took place in Bacolod last month, and it brought farmers, chefs, culinary advocates, and Slow Food communities together for five days of meaningful talk, cooking demonstrations, and a fair that championed the produce and products from all over Visayas.
15. Bacolod as foodie destination
In line with Slow Food’s noble efforts, it was declared—and set on stone with a signing in Italy last September—that Bacolod will be the venue for the very first Terra Madre Asia Pacific in November 2025. This comes after a strong showing in this year’s Salone del Gusto in Turin, where over 70 delegates made quite an impression at the biannual fair.
16. Festival frenzy
There were a number of food and wine festivals all over the country throughout the year. Tagaytay had their inaugural last July. A month before that was in Cebu. Manila had it in September, and Davao staged theirs last October.
17. Sugary spree
There were a lot of winning items that came from the sweet department this year. There’s By Sonja, which churned out yummy galettes, crepes, and pastries. On the viennoiserie front, Masa Madre, Ijo, and Rebel Bakehouse have been providing us an assortment of bronzed beauties. Hey Pie People’s flavor combinations induced curiosity, while Crosta’s soft serve had people lining up.
18. Burnt Basque cheesecake bonanza
When it comes to the burnt Basque cheesecake variations, we are definitely spoiled for choice. Chele Gonzalez and wife Teri have been baking flavored varieties like strawberries and dark chocolate, while El Born released a limited-edition one that uses payoyo cheese. Bolero Manila, on the other hand, came up with a cheesecake that oozes with mascarpone.
19. Steaks galore
When it comes to steaks, we have plenty to choose from as 2024 introduced diners to Beef Bar in Alabang, Morton’s The Steakhouse and Steak and Frice in BGC, and Lobby 385 in San Juan.
20. Lumpia Queen wins
Filipino food content creator Abigail Marquez, known for her lumpia recipes, bagged the 2024 People’s Voice Award for Food and Drink in Social at the 2024 Webby Awards in New York City. She was also nominated for a James Beard award for Best Social Media Account.
21. Industry get-togethers
There were significantly a lot more industry get-togethers this year than any year before. Whenever there’s a chef visiting from abroad, or right after an event or when one’s launching a new menu, chefs, writers, bar owners, and restaurateurs gather to hang out and let loose. They have become a most welcome relief, a cool-off from the kitchen heat.
22. Youngblood
We are seeing a lot of young entrepreneurs enter the arena and becoming recognized for their food. Among the successful ones are Lance Ngo of 717 Deli, who has been churning out delicious subs, and the guys at Jabroni’s NYC Pizza.
23. Kitchen conversations
Discussions help address pressing problems and hasten necessary action. That’s why it’s a good thing that we conduct conferences concerning issues in the industry. I held one, along with Isabel Lozano, to talk about the subject of restaurant service, while Resto Ph hosted another one that covered a range of topics.
24. Dubai champ
Chef JP Anglo’s very own Filipino restaurant, Kooya Filipino Eatery, was awarded the Favorite Homegrown Restaurant at the 2024 Fact Dining Awards Dubai. He is definitely making waves abroad.
25. Filipino Food Month
Now on its sixth year, the Filipino Food Month organized by the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement once again staged a successful run this 2024. It was their first time to launch the much anticipated festivities outside of Manila this year, bringing it to Pampanga. In 2025, Quezon is said to host.
26. Culinary capital
The bill declaring Pampanga as the country’s culinary capital has reached the Senate. This is strongly supported by the province’s recent recognition as a food destination by Conde Nast Traveler in 2022. Furthermore, Angeles City was named one of Asia’s Best Emerging Culinary City Destinations in 2024.
27. ‘Oishi’ options
We ate a lot of good Japanese food this year, thanks to the wide variety of Japanese food available at Filipinos’ disposal. There’s the newest spot of Bruce Ricketts called Iai, Kei from the Wildflour Group, the reintroduction of Kiwami, the Counter at Ginza One, and the opening of Tsumura.
28. International awards
The Philippines was well represented in the James Beard Awards. Filipino chef Lord Maynard Llera of Kuya Lord restaurant in Los Angeles won Best Chef: California, while cookbook author Abi Balingit took home the Emerging Voice Award 2024. Digital video channel Featr was also nominated in the Docuseries Visual Media and Visual Media—Long Form categories.
29. Best pastry chef
An award-giving body in France, La Liste, handed out the Talent of the Year award to five pastry chefs, and among them was Margarita Manzke of Republiqué Cafe in Los Angeles. She and sister Ana Lorenzana De Ocampo established Wildflour Café + Bakery in Manila.
30. Philippine Culinary Cup
The Philippine Culinary Cup, considered the most prestigious culinary competition in the Philippines, once again played a big and pivotal role in harnessing the capabilities of local chefs by giving them an internationally recognized platform to compete in. Held last July, this year’s top winners were Newport World Resorts hotels with 55 total accolades.
31. Dessert champ
Pastry chef and culinary instructor Timothy Faller took home the championship win in the recent Singapore Expo’s FHA Dessert Challenge in Singapore, beating out 29 other contestants from the region.
32. French favorite
Erica Paredes, who helms Reyna in Paris, France, continues to wave the Philippine flag by serving Filipino-inspired dishes in her acclaimed restaurant. In 2024, she gained more attention via features in magazines like Cherry Bombe and Fooding, as well as participating in food events during the Olympics.
33. TV star
Toyo Eatery’s Jordy Navarra can be seen in Netflix’s “Chef’s Uncut” docuseries, which features six culinary maestros who have left a significant mark on the Asian food scene. He is joined by Thailand’s Pichaya Soontornyanakij and Thitid Tassanakajohn, as well as Singapore’s Bjorn Shen, Janice Wong, and LG Han.
34. Philippine cacao
Back in January, Chele Gonzalez once again took the stage at Madrid Fusion and shared to the international crowd his recent findings and work regarding the Philippine cacao. It’s the inspiration behind one of his best tasting menus at Gallery.
35. Pinoy pride abroad
The Moment Group finally brings their homegrown brand abroad. Hayop, which is an offshoot of the beloved Manam in Manila, is Singapore’s very first Filipino fine casual restaurant. And the feedback has been good, getting a lot of fan base this early on for their Crispy Sisig, among many others.
36. Chicken champ
Crowd favorite food chain Mang Inasal wins big at the 21st International Business Awards, known as one of the world’s premier business awards competitions. It bagged a total of four awards (two golds, one silver, one bronze), including one for its marketing campaign.
37. PH best resto, hotel resto
The City of Dreams has a lot of champagne bottles to pop as both Nobu Manila and Crystal Dragon were recognized at the World Culinary Awards 2024 as the Philippines’ Best Restaurant and the Philippines’ Best Hotel Restaurant, respectively.
38. More food events
It has been a pretty busy year for Tatler Philippines given the many events they organized this year, all of which injected excitement into the industry. There was the two-day Mood for Food, annual Off Menu, a kitchen pop-up by Miko Calo and Stephan Duhesme at Balmori, and the regional Tatler Best Awards where brands like Bombivnos Bodega, Metiz, and Helm got recognized.
39. Bottoms up
Manila’s bar and wine scene just keeps on getting more vibrant, more so now with the addition of new players such as Bar Good Times in Proscenium, The Grasshopper Bar in Legazpi, and the Good Morning Wine Shop in Makati. Even drink events such as the very first Natural Wine Fiesta last April show just how happening the metro is beverage-wise. INQ