Complete Author and Contributor Bios: CHAPTER 1: Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young is the author of Cora Cooks Pancit and Chasing God's Glory among other books. She's also a speaker, podcaster at Eat Pray Run , and spoken word artist. Dorina and her husband Shawn are raising three multiracial daughters who love to travel and cook together. Connect with her at www.DorinaGilmore.com. Chef Paolo Mendoza , a 2023 James Beard Award semi-finalist, and his wife, Cheryl Baun , are the couple behind the restaurant Karenderya in Nyack, New York. Paolo worked in high profile restaurants in New York City and the Hudson Valley before Karenderya, while Cheryl, the restaurant's manager, has translated her skills from her career in nonprofit management into hospitality Kathy Vega Hardy was an accountant turned cook. She started 'A Taste of the Philippines' Food Truck in Denver in 2012 and competed on Food Network's hit shows Cutthroat Kitchen (twice) and CHOPPED . In 2018, she moved her food business to Chicago and in 2020 opened a small restaurant inside the Chicago French Market. Half Filipino and half English, Zosima Margaret Fulwell a.k.a. Cooking with Mama Z has been serving Filipino Food to the North West of England since 2017. She's a founding member of the Filipino Food Movement UK. In 2022, she opened a Pan Asian Cafe in Manchester called Yes Lah. CHAPTER 2: Jacqueline Chio-Lauri (@myfoodbeginnings) is the editor and lead author of this collection, as well as the highly acclaimed, The New Filipino Kitchen . Keep an eye out for her upcoming picture books based on the lives of Filipino food icons Maria Orosa and Ma Mon Luk. Jacqueline currently lives in the UK Liren Baker is an IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Award-winning writer and creator of the food blog Kitchen Confidante. She is the author of Meat to the Side: A Plant-Forward Guide to Bringing Balance to Your Plate and shares stories of the culinary world in the Kitchen Confidante Podcast. Ganthel E. Vergara is chef, owner and founder of ATO's Sisig & Grill, a Filipino Food truck in Richmond, Virginia, which he runs with the support of his wife Anne. He received his culinary training at Portland's Culinary Workshop in 2017. Ganthel worked as a paramedic before veering completely into food. CHAPTER 3: Philippine-born and raised, multiple James Beard Awards nominee, and winner of the 2023 James Beard Award Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker, Margarita Lorenzana-Manzke received degrees from Le Cordon Bleu, London and the Culinary Institute of America, New York, before moving to Los Angeles. In 2017, she opened Sari Sari Store, a Filipino restaurant in the Grand Central Market in Los Angeles. Meshelle Armstrong is the co-owner of Kaliwa Restaurant, DC. She is also the ring mistress behind the EatGoodFood Group of restaurants, the partner of Irish Chef, Cathal Armstrong, and the tiger mama of Eve and Eamonn. Philippine-born and Detroit-raised Carlo Lamagna is the chef-owner of modern Filipino restaurant, Magna Kusina, in Portland, Oregon. A James Beard Awards 2022 Best Chef finalist, the chef he most reveres is his late father, Willie, who, alongside his mother Gloria, serves as his driving force in Magna Kusina. Roger Asakil Joya is the chef and founder of Michelin-starred restaurant, Sabi Omakase. At 17, he moved from the Philippines to Norway, where he now still lives with his family. He is a sushi master who co-founded and co-owns a popular chain of restaurants in Norway called Sabi Sushi. A staunch advocate for Filipino cuisine, culture, and communities in Australia, Grace Guinto celebrates Filipino talent as co-founder of The Entree.Pinays and Merkado-Market. She is also the chief baking officer of Sweet Cora--a catering business specializing in Aussie and American desserts with a Filipino twist. CHAPTER 4: After notable stints in Las Vegas restaurants including Michael Mina, and Daniel Boulud Brasserie, and in Los Angeles at Sqirl and PCP, Ria Dolly Barbosa is opening her own Filipino restaurant, Peso Neighborhood and Lumpia Bar, in Honolulu, Hawaii where she is Executive Chef and VP. Helen Orimaco-Pumatong moved from Bohol, Philippines to Vancouver, Canada when she was 6 years old. She's been a Chef Instructor in the Hospitality Management Department at Vancouver Community College for the past 12 years. Mae Magnaye Williams is the owner and chef of Food with Mae. She cooked with Mary Berry on national TV in 2016 teaching her how to make the Filipino Lechon. She is a founding member of the Filipino Food Movement in the UK. Cynthia Cherish Malaran aka DJ CherishTheLuv is a radio host and DJ for Heritage Radio Network, the nation's largest food radio station. Her shows, Wedding Cake and Primary Food , explore conversations about food, as well as the activities and people that nourish our heart, mind and soul. She is the author of Baking with Blue (May 2022, Penguin Random House + Nickelodeon), a picture book based on the Blue's Clues episode "Blue's Big Baking Show". CHAPTER 5: Benedicto G. Marinas is a classically trained chef (Le Cordon Bleu) with a university diploma in Gastronomy (Universite de Reimes). He travels around the world for his current book project, In Search of The Perfect Meal , and is the author of The Malian Kitchen (New York-based). Richgail Enriquez-Diez is a cook and a purveyor of both traditionally vegan and veganized Filipino recipes. Her cooking show on YouTube is called Astig Vegan Cooking . Born and raised in the Philippines, she and her family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was 15. Chef Joel and Rachel Javier are the husband-and-wife team behind the awe-inspiring, Brooklyn-based food business, Flip Eats--their story of New-American Filipino cuisine. They create exclusively unique dining experiences for guests with seasonally driven and global flavors, while paying homage to treasured Filipino fares. Born and raised in Capas, Tarlac, Francis Zarate Sibal moved to Los Angeles when he was 10 years old. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology at San Jose State University and became a sous chef at Google Cloud in Sunnyvale, California. He is currently the Executive Chef at CZ Ranch. Mario Llorente Babol is a chef and guitar player. He worked in restaurants in Spain and the US before taking a job as head chef on a private yacht. His band, The Balingkitan All Stars, held yearly mini-concerts to support a foundation in the Philippines for children with special needs. Queenie Laforga is a Filipino American born and raised in Oahu, Hawaii. Battling with diabetes for over 12 years, she recreates healthy versions of childhood-inspired Filipino favorites and writes about them on her website, Queenies Food Journey . CHAPTER 6: Jennifer Fergesen is an American food journalist of Filipino and Nordic descent. Her project, The Global Carinderia , a series of essays that profiles Filipino restaurants around the world to showcase the diversity of the global diaspora, has received multiple awards. Marvin Braceros is an Italian-trained Filipino chef specializing in Filipino and Italian cuisines. His gourmet restaurant in Milan, Yum Taste of the Philippines has been on Gambero Rosso's list of best restaurants in Italy for three consecutive years. He has also opened restaurants in the Philippines and Malta. Pangasinan-born Will Mordido moved to New Zealand with his family at age five. He won silver at the international Jeunes Chefs Rotisseurs competition and became the country's first ever representative at the finals of the world chef championship--the Bocuse d'Or. He started Buko, a pop-up restaurant that celebrates Filipino flavors. Of Bicolano roots, Amormia Orino started hosting pop-ups when she moved from Virginia to Atlanta in 2018. Her Kamayan pop-ups gained popularity and has won her awards and media features. She's part of a PBS documentary about food in Atlanta and the South, a contributor to the city of Atlanta's cookbook, and a James Beard Awards 2022 semi-finalist. Jeremy Villanueva is the executive chef of Romulo Cafe, a Filipino restaurant named 'Second Most Loved Local Restaurant in London' by Time Out . Jeremy worked at various renowned restaurants, including Tony Tobin's La Poste in Banstead as head chef after working on board of Holland America Cruises. CHAPTER 7: Glen Ramaekers was born in the U.S. to a Filipino mother and a Belgian father. He opened Humphrey, a Filipino-inspired restaurant in Brussels with a menu based around homegrown Asian vegetables and herbs from a family-owned garden run by Glen's wife, Julie and her father, 'Thierry de Block'. Rezel Kealoha is a food stylist and recipe developer with focus on clean eating and healthy living. Her Instagram was selected as one of the best Instagram accounts to follow in 2018. She is a 2019 IACP Finalist for Best Editorial/Personal Food Photograph. AC Boral is the chef and owner of Asian-American restaurant and snack shop, Baba's House Kitchen in Oakland, CA. Since 2014, AC has shared his unique take on Filipino identity with a brunch pop-up called Rice & Shine. Los Angeles-based Jennifer Estacio is a mom of 2 kids. While working full time in the marketing industry, she started a small business called 'Flipp Family' to create a community for families to learn Filipino culture through food and fun activities. CHAPTER 8: Minerva Manaloto-Lott a.k.a. Bebs with her husband Armin Lott created the popular Foxy Folksy , a personal Filipino food blog. Some of her works have appeared in Expo World Recipes, Chowhound, BuzzFeed, Well + Good, Homedit, Brit+Co and many other food related sites, magazines and cookbooks. She has over a million followers across her social media platforms. Evan Cruz held Executive Chef level positions at various prominent restaurants and worked himself up to Chef, Director of Food and Beverage, and Area Executive Chef for the San Diego Marriott hotel group. Currently, he's the Corporate Executive Chef for the Cohn Restaurant Group, a group of 26 restaurants in California and Hawaii. Beverly Magtanong is a professional opera singer, Jelynn Malone a Hollywood Film/TV actor, Mike Arquines a traditionally-trained chef, and Sam Magtanong an Infantry Officer deployed to Iraq in 2005-2007. Together, they opened and run Mostra Coffee in San Diego, named 2020 Roaster of the Year by Roast Magazine. Francis Maling has roots in Manila but grew up in Queens, New York. A graduate from The Culinary Institute of America, he's worked in many kitchens all over NYC. From fine dining to cooking in the streets, he hopes to share his Filipino food with his project called 'Bad For Business Popups'. Christiana Marie Cunanan is the founder of Cheeri Cheeri, a handcrafted Filipino vegan ice cream pop-up. For the past eight years, she has worked full-time in production management at Walt Disney Animation Studios making her one of the few Pinays at the entire studio. Excerpted from We Cook Filipino: Heartwarming Recipes and Stories by 36 Leading Food Personalities from the Philippines All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
