Fatherhood is many things to different people. For some it may be a symbol of strength or guidance, while to others it’s the foundation of the values they carry today. These F&B dads reflect on the traditions they observed with their own fathers around food and how they’re creating new ones with their own family.
Jorge Mendez
Chef/owner of Mõdan, Some Thai, Makanai
Chef Jorge Mendez has seen a sharp expansion of his concepts in the recent year, making him one of the busiest chefs in the metro. But this doesn’t stop him from making time for his family. “Most of my free time is spent with my wife and children every Sunday since they don’t have work or school. Our tradition is to enjoy a long outdoor lunch followed by what we call Sunday Steak Dinner, celebrating together after a busy week of work and studying,” he says.
He has two children—a nine-year-old boy and a 17-year-old daughter whom you may recognize as PBB Housemate Caprice Cayetano. His menu is unapologetically inspired by his family. His previous menu at Mōdan, for instance, entitled “Origami,” was named such because the Japanese art form of folding paper was an activity he did with his son during the pandemic.
“Most of my food ideas are dedicated to my family. All chicken dishes are inspired by my son because he loves chicken, especially fried ones. Most cheese-based dishes are inspired by my daughter because she is madly in love with cheese,” Mendez reveals.
Kevin David
Chef/founder of Idalia
After years of working at some of the most celebrated restaurants in the US and doing some pop-ups and private dining here in the Philippines, chef Kevin David opened Idalia in Salcedo. The name of the restaurant was inspired by the Netflix film “From Scratch” when Zoe Saldana’s character named her daughter the Greek word for “behold the sun”—Idalia. David, like many chef-restaurateurs, have a deep connection with the restaurants they open just like it was their own child.
David remembers when his father would prepare his meals for the day. “My dad was not a cook at all but he loved preparing a complete meal with us and he put a lot of effort into them. It can simply be a bento box-style ‘baon’ or cooking his famous ‘Papa’s Fish,’ which was milk fish stuffed with salted egg, onion, tomato, and love,” he reminisces.
Now with a two-and-a-half-year-old boy of his own, David wants to pass his love of food down. “I want to make sure he gets to eat right and appreciate food at a young age. So we eat anywhere he wants from seafood buffets with oysters, scallops and lobsters to eating yakiniku,” he shares.
Michael Concepcion
Creative director of Standard Hospitality Group
As the creative director of Standard Hospitality Group—the group that owns Yabu, Kiwami, and Elephant Grounds—Michael Concepcion admittedly isn’t a stranger to the F&B industry. “We grew up around the food industry. My dad [John Concepcion] was the ice cream man growing up. He made ice cream for a living, so that was always fun as a kid. Seeing how things are made and being part of the process, having all the samples on the dining table and tasting all the flavors. It was every kid’s dream,” he says.
With two young girls of his own, Concepcion wants to recreate that childhood. “I love taking my girls out on ice cream dates. We tried the no sweets thing early on, but the occasional treat with them is too fun and special to pass up.”
Although meal times can get messy with his toddlers, Concepcion thinks it’s an important part of the process. “My wife is an amazing cook and she’s always doing something creative with our meals. So we’re just exposing the girls to different flavors and different types of food. They’re ages three and one so it’s a mess, but we want them to be curious eaters.”
Lawrence Tion Cua
Co-founder, Bun Appetit
“Becoming a dad completely changed how I see the dining experience,” muses Lawrence Tion Cua. “The smaller things matter so much more now—a clean high chair, child-sized plates and utensils, gestures that tell a family we thought about you. It makes me want to do better for every guest who walks in with a little one.”
Since Cua isn’t in the kitchen or on the floor for Bun Appetit, he gets to spend most holidays with his three-year-old son Benjamin. “I come from a Chinese family where gatherings just naturally happen around food. Nothing extravagant—just familiar dishes shared together. Sunday brunch has always been our thing even before Benjamin came along. Now our boy is part of it, too. Some traditions just grow into themselves,” he says.
While Cua remembers his father whenever he passes by a sugarcane juice stall, Benjamin may be developing a core food memory of his own. “Benjamin loves noodles. Even when we eat out, noodles are a non-negotiable. There’s something about them—simple, comforting, easy to share—that’s made them our quiet ritual. We do garlic noodles, and now our mentaiko cream pasta at our own place Bun Appetit.”
Bruce Ricketts
Chef of Iai, La Chinesca, Sensei
Less than a year after opening their sushi kappo named Iai, Bruce Ricketts and his wife Jae Pickrell announced they were expecting a baby. Their baby boy Galo is now seven months old (eight by the time this is published).
“Being a father is nerve-racking, inspiring, and amazing all the same time. It makes me think a lot about how to be a better person. At the same time it becomes easier to focus on what needs to be done. I also spend a lot of time thinking about what he will say about my work and what I’m doing now when he looks back at it as he grows up,” Ricketts reflects.
He reminisces about the days with his father. “We didn’t really have food traditions but I have strong memories of things we ate a lot growing up. Lechon was an important thing on the table and so were late night pig heads from the local Baliwag or chicken inasal after teaching a martial arts class with my dad. Cooking paella became a thing when I started learning how to make it because my dad loves it. Every Sunday after visiting other martial arts masters in Luneta, we would have asado and fried rice in Binondo which is why my obsession with things like sushi rice and turning sushi rice into fried rice became a thing in my menus as a personal reference point,” Ricketts continues. “I definitely wish he was around to try my cooking now. I feel like I would have converted him to a sushi lover.”
The chef is excited to introduce the world of taste to Galo. “I feel like I will be reliving my childhood food cravings with him when he can eat more adult things and we can really have a conversation about taste and texture. I also feel like I might be the one responsible for teaching him to order him to order mysterious items from restaurant menus (like weird things from Szechuan restaurants) and hot fudge sundaes.
Ely Salar
Chocolatier, Patisserie Le Choux-Colat
“My father was a very good cook and was actually the one who first taught me how to cook when I was a child,” says chef and chocolatier Ely Salar. “Looking back, some of my most cherished memories are around the dining table sharing meals with family. My favorite dishes that he would prepare were beef morcon and caldereta. Those moments sparked my passion for cooking and taught me that food has the power to bring people closer.”
Salar has four children of his own spanning the ages of 17 to 1. “My children remind me why I started this journey in the first place. They inspire me to keep learning, innovating and building something meaningful, not just for our family but for the communities we serve,” he shares.
His children heavily influence the various entremets, gateaux de voyages, and pastries that Salar offers through Patisserie Le Choux-Colat. “I often joke that they are my most important quality control team because children are naturally honest. Beyond product development, these moments allow us to spend time together and make them feel involved in what we are building as a family. Some of our best conversations happen over a simple taste test in the kitchen.”
Martin Kaspar
Chef, L’Entrecote
Chef Martin Kaspar lost his father when he was only 11 years old but remembers him fondly through a tradition they observed together. “Every father’s day, we would gather around a pot of cheese fondue. It wasn’t just a meal—it was an experience. Fondue was wonderfully interactive and my father had a set of fun rules. If your bread slipped off and disappeared into the fondue, there was a penalty!”
Penalties included chores and even singing or telling a story. “Those moments filled our table with laughter and created memories that have stayed with me throughout my life,” Kaspar says.
He observes a new tradition with his wife and two adult children Samantha, 29 and Calvin, 22. “On Halloween, we dress up in costumes and gather for a raclette dinner. Just like fondue, raclette is an interactive meal where everyone shares ingredients and cooks their own creations on a grill,” he continues. “What started as a simple family dinner has become a cherished annual celebration that brings us all together.”
Kaspar enjoys cooking with his son Calvin who also shares his passion for food. “Being half Filipino and half Swiss, we love experimenting with flavors and creating our own unique dishes. We call our culinary creations ‘Kaspar Fusion.’ My wife and daughter serve as our official taste testers and they sometimes jokingly refer to it as ‘Kaspar Confusion’!” he laughs.
Nicco Santos
Founder and executive chef, Celera
Helming the youngest restaurant in the Philippines to be awarded a Michelin star, chef Nicco Santos is undoubtedly a very busy man and clocks many hours in the kitchen. His 11-year-old son Tyler however keeps him grounded. “A lot of my life outside the kitchen revolves around him, and fatherhood has really shaped the way I look at food—not just as something I cook professionally, but as something that creates memories, habits, and time together. Whenever I am home, I make sure we eat together. With my schedule as a chef, those meals are very sacred to me.”
As for food traditions with Tyler, Santos wants his son to understand the power food possesses. “Every year, we try to travel abroad to a country where Tyler can discover new food and experience a different culture through eating. I like seeing how curious he becomes when he tastes something unfamiliar or learns how people eat in other places,” he adds. “We also make it a point to give food to charity and to the homeless every year. I want him to understand early on that food is not only about enjoyment or celebration, but also about care, generosity, and community.”
Some of the food at Celera such as the steak and lamb dishes were created partly with Tyler in mind. “Those are his favorite things to eat aside from sushi and ramen, so I wanted him to always have something to look forward to when he comes to the restaurant. For me, those are a reminder that even in a serious restaurant setting, food can still be very personal. Sometimes the inspiration does not have to come from a complicated story. It can simply come from wanting your child to feel happy, comfortable, and excited to eat something you made,” Santos says.
Juano Gutierrez
Managing partner, Burnt Bean
With Burnt Bean opening up their biggest and busiest branch yet in Quezon City, managing partner Juano Gutierrez knows the hectic schedule in the F&B Report firsthand. “Being a father in the F&B industry can be tough at times since you log long hours at work. There’s not really a fixed schedule and when doing business, you are faced with different issues or problems at times. It’s not something you can shut off. You need to deal with it instantaneously. We’d get calls from our 10-year-old daughter Gabbi asking where we are and what time we’re coming home.”
Tailoring food for his daughter Gabbi has been a way for them to bond through food. “My daughter is such a picky eater and all she likes is cheese and pizza. We try to make her eat healthy so we developed the ‘Gabbi Pasta’ which is our take on a healthy mac and cheese. We cook down carrots, onions and butternut squash and puree it. We then add cream, goat cheese, Grana Padano and a little mozzarella cheese,” he shares.
Ken Alonso
Founder, Proudly Promdi
Through Proudly Promdi, Ken Alonso and his wife Maina aim to support local artisanal spirits. By sharing bottles of tapuey, lambanog and tuba in tastings at the ground floor of his Marikina home, he gets to open people up to these nuanced flavors. His young daughter Ines is exposed to the work he does since in many instances all she has to do is walk downstairs to see him at work.
“When she visits me in the commissary, she always asks for a strawberry shot, which is just strawberry syrup with water in a shot glass! It’s definitely different than being a corporate dad for sure. I’m grateful that I can spend more time with her depending on my work schedule. My wife and I also try to bring her along our ‘work’ trips so we can expose her to a variety of experiences, like trying new dishes, exploring different restaurants and visiting new places,” Alonso beams.
Alonso remembers his own childhood when his father took him to buffets at a restaurant in San Juan called Takayama Kyo. “Birthdays meant it was buffet day so we were always stuffed on the way home. It was the best!” he reminisces.
Now, it’s Alonso’s turn to create traditions with his daughter. “If it’s my day to take care of Ines, I usually invite her out for breakfast or lunch. We go on dates and I always smile when she tells my wife that she had the best date ever with me!”
Carlo Calma Lorenzana
Restaurateur, La Cabrera, Bar Pintxos, Txoko Asador
Carlo Calma Lorenzana is the co-owner of restaurants such as La Cabrera, Bar Pintxos, and Txoko Asador. Coincidentally his three children ages 12, 10, and 6 years old were all born alongside the launch of a restaurant he and his partners put up. “My kids and restaurants are growing together.”
His father was his biggest influence for food and wine. “My dad exposed me to the world of fine dining all over the world including local favorites in Davao. My cravings for delicious food, wine, and experiences were heavily influenced by my dad.”
Based in Davao, his children always look forward to eating at Lorenzana’s restaurants when they visit Manila. “It’s great to have kids that love to eat in restaurants that I co-own. They expect to eat at La Cabrera straight from the airport after landing in Manila.”
