Asia’s best female chef Margarita Forés gets her own CNN show
MANILA, Philippines - Asia’s Best Female Chef 2016 Margarita Forés grew up around food more than most people. She comes from a family of foodies and, as a child, she would tag along during market days and walk next door to the Farmers Market in Cubao, where she learned what went into the food she ate.
Summers were also spent in the sugar lands of Negros, a province known for its mouthwatering dishes and the lifestyle revolving around them.
During Martial Law, her family went into self-exile abroad. So she took part of her high school and college education in New York during the Italianization of the city, falling in love with all things Italian; even working in Valentino — that’s when she really started cooking for other people.
Soon, she would travel to Italy and learn under three signoras the real meaning of dolce far niente, which ironically, was hard work. When she came back to the Philippines, she strove to get her act together. And then she became a mother, realizing the importance of feeding, nourishing and nurturing other people, particularly her son Amado, wanting to make something out of herself so he could depend on her and one day, make him proud.
Since Amado was born, she toiled to build her culinary empire, which includes Cibo di M and Fiori di M (her catering and floralscape businesses), M Healthline (a diet meal delivery service), 11 branches of Cibo (her love letter to Italy), Lusso (an Old World-style champagne bar) and Grace Park, her platform for farm-to-table cooking in honor of local farmers and purveyors of artisanal produce. She also helms the F&B of Ascott Global Fort Bonifacio.
Who would have thought that this little girl would cast such a large shadow in the culinary world? By partnering with the government, she shone a spotlight on Filipino food, championing our cuisine at the APEC, Salone del Gusto, Casa Artusi, Madrid Fusión, and Identità Golose Milano, for example.
After 30 years in the industry, she believes what inspired her was the love of a mother: her own, the women in the kitchen, the Italian signoras, being a mother to Amado, and acting like a mother to the people she works with and feeds in her restaurants and catering events.
Now she focuses on her love for the motherland, the Philippines, through Harvest with Margarita Forés, a four-part series of 30-minute programs that will air on CNN Philippines. Margarita will go to key destinations in the country, learn about the ingredients that thrive there, at the same time unearth nuggets of history and culture, and cook dishes to really savor the local flavor.
“I have always felt that maybe the reason why I’ve been working in this industry for 30 years now — it’s actually my 30th year this 2017 — is really because it fulfills this maternal instinct to feed and to nurture,” Gaita says. “The show in itself is an opportunity to share that nurturing by allowing viewers to see a little bit more of our mother country and to see how rich our culture and our cuisine are.
“Every kind of regional cuisine has its own strength, and I think if I can use this maternal instinct and fulfill it by showcasing how other women cook all over the country and sharing their passion as well — that’s a very big thing,” she says.
* * *
Harvest with Margarita Forés will premiere on Feb. 18, Saturday, 7 p.m. on CNN Philippines Free TV Channel 9 or via livestreaming on cnnphilippines.com/video.
