Yesterday on April 6, Gwyneth Paltrow posted a morning reel on Instagram where she was trying her hand at pork tocino—a favorite sweet and savory Filipino breakfast staple.
She saunters up to the camera in a fresh, no-makeup look, blonde hair glowing, wearing a breezy white linen co-ord, and doing light stretches while Royel Otis’ indie track “Oysters In My Pocket” plays in the background.
The caption reads: “Tried my hand at making pork tocino this morning—sweet, savory, and incredibly flavorful. Brad requested cauliflower rice for a carb-light #boyfriendbreakfast.”
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From garden to Gwyneth’s pan
“Tocino” translates to “bacon” in Spanish, so viewers might first assume it’s from Latin America. But Paltrow’s post links directly to the NYT Filipino version—solid proof of its roots. A quick flash of her online references confirms Paltrow used the classic pork tocino recipe from New York Times Cooking by Romel Bruno.
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In the montage, the do-it-all maven pulls pork slices out of a marinade. We also see her chopping spring onions straight from her garden. Although she uses just three slices of garlic (maybe a bit too tiny for Filipino tastes) then sautés a cauliflower rice mix in place of the traditional garlic rice—true to her LA health-conscious roots.
In between cooking steps, Paltrow casually applies Goop under-eye cream from the refrigerator and sneaks in a shot of her dog, Gaucho.
By the end of the reel, the pork tocino, eggs, and veggie rice are plated on a Mediterannean-style blue dish, ready for her husband Brad Falchuk.
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Filipinos take to the comments
The comments section was earnest with love and support for everyone’s favorite Pepper Potts actress. Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco chimed in with, “Filipino Food is ❤️❤️❤️🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭.”
Meanwhile, a user @bigbadbawang wrote the suggestion, “Wow. You’re making a Filipino meat home staple—Pork Tocino 🇵🇭😊 You need garlic rice and vinegar and some tomatoes on the side 😊.”
Even Jennifer Garner left an encouraging comment.
While her version veers more LA than Luzon, one thing is clear: Paltrow just gave pork tocino a glow-up a la Gloop.
