Chorney-Booth: New dinner series celebrates the possibilities of local Filipino cuisine

Article content

Calgary has a thriving Filipino community and a nice collection of casual Filipino restaurants, but distinctively Filipino flavours aren’t typically seen at so-called “higher-end” restaurants in our city. There’s certainly the potential for fancier creative takes on modern Filipino fare: we have a strong cohort of Filipino-Canadian chefs working in kitchens throughout the city and the food itself, a delicious confluence of Asian, Spanish, and American influences, leaves plenty of room for playful reinterpretation. But for the most part, dishes like chicken adobo, lechon liempo, or kare-kare don’t see a lot of action on ritzy local menus in the same way we see Korean, Indian, or Japanese influences.

Article content

Or not yet, at least – there is a bit of a revolution brewing among keen Filipino-Canadian chefs. Calgarians can get a taste of it with a special collaborative dinner at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel’s Hawthorn restaurant later this month.

Hawthorn’s chef Rupert Garcia has been an increasingly vocal advocate for the proliferation of modern Filipino cuisine in Calgary. Over the last couple of years, the flavours he grew up with in his Filipino family have quietly emerged on his menus, particularly at special events and pop-up dinners. Earlier this year, as the local champion in the regional Calgary qualifier, Garcia placed second in the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa, with Edmonton-based private chef and culinary consultant JP Dublado – also a proud Filipino Canadian – winning the bronze medal. Even though neither chef was making explicitly Filipino food at their respective day jobs, their cooking is still naturally informed by a Filipino perspective.

“A personal goal for me is to get the Filipino food movement going,” Garcia says. “I promise you that many Filipino chefs are waiting for this to happen.”

Article content

Article content

Meanwhile, chefs and restaurateurs in other cities are also exploring innovative ways to express Filipino flavours. Ambitious chefs throughout the United States started generating excitement about contemporary Filipino food, with Chicago’s Kasama becoming the first Filipino restaurant to win a Michelin star in 2022. Over in Vancouver, food writer Joie Alvaro Kent and entrepreneur Celine Bacani were also thinking it was about time Canada became better acquainted with chef-driven Filipino food. That feeling was crystallized when Alvaro Kent, a judge at those Canadian Culinary Championships, met Dublado and Garcia. Seeing their passion for the food closest to their hearts and their respective success in the competition put her and Bacani on the path towards developing an organization called Indáy to produce collaborative dinners featuring Filipino chefs.

The inaugural pair of Indáy dinners took place in Vancouver in late September, featuring dishes from Garcia and Dublado as well as Alden Ong of Farmer’s Apprentice and Ralph Cravalho of Gary’s, both in Vancouver. The team will repeat the multi-course dinner this month in Calgary, with dishes delving deeply into the world of Filipino food – expect more than your standard lumpia or sisig – while making the most of each chef’s considerable skills. The idea is to not just create a fun night out for guests, but to educate diners about the potential of Filipino cuisine and to create an appetite for similar dinners (and maybe even dedicated restaurants) here in Calgary and across the country.

Article content

“None of these four chefs are cooking Filipino food in their restaurants,” says Alvaro Kent. “I can’t wait to see what they’re doing with Filipino food when they’re given free rein and can go for it. We need to claim our right to expression.”

The Calgary Indáy Filipino Chef Exchange dinner takes place Oct. 21 at Hawthorn at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel (133 9th Ave. S.W.) at 6 p.m. Tickets are available for $165 per person through OpenTable and include a seven-course dinner and a welcome drink, as well as take-home treats. Both alcoholic and zero-proof beverage pairings are available on-site for an additional fee. For more information on Indáy and its vision, visit inday.ca.

***
Speaking of the Canadian Culinary Championships, Canada’s Great Kitchen Party, which serves as the regional qualifier for the competition doesn’t take place for over a month, but it’s time to start making plans to attend if you want to get in on the action. This year’s Calgary event will take place on Nov. 21 at the Telus Convention Centre and will feature eight local chefs facing off for the chance to follow in Rupert Garcia’s footsteps and fight for the national title in Ottawa in early 2025.

Article content

This year’s competitors include Shamir Bechara of Bar Chouette, Salt and Brick’s Alejandro Buzzalino, Primary Colours’ Matthias Fong, Jenny Kang of Orchard, Tracy Little from Sauvage in Canmore, FinePrint’s Francis Martinez, Ryuko’s Jun Young Park, and Lam Pham from Pure Street Food. Attendees get to sample each chef’s offering (with wine pairings) and then take in a performance from Steven Page and his band. It’s a charity gala and guests must request an invitation to purchase a table or tickets. For more information, visit greatkitchenparty.com.

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth can be reached at elizabooth@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @elizabooth or sign up for her newsletter at hungrycalgary.substack.com.

Article content