‘Philippines can kick Southeast Asia’s arse’: Gordon Ramsay wants to study Filipino cuisine, lauds Pinoy chefs
MANILA, Philippines — Global culinary icon Gordon Ramsay was all praises for Filipino food and chefs – even if some Filipino content creators made him dance “like having a stroke.”
At a fan meet-and-greet in Newport Performing Arts Theater in Pasay City earlier today, the iconic host of cooking reality series “MasterChef” had nothing but the kindest words for Filipino chefs and cuisine here and abroad.
“Yeah, the heritage is incredible,” he said of Filipino culinary traditions.
“Filipino cuisine for me is like the 'Sleeping Beauty of Asia.' It's now prominent and it can give Southeast Asia, you know, a big kick up the arse, and really become one of the front-runners across Asia,” he affirmed.
It was a dream come true, he said, to collaborate with some Filipino chefs and content creators during his first ever visit to the country, including making a “Lumpia” or spring rolls version of his trademark Beef Wellington dish with “Lumpia Queen” Abi Marquez; and dancing with half-siblings Niana Guerrero and Ranz Kyle at Ramsay’s Manila Bar & Grill.
“There's no reason why I can't, and to be part of that and to share it with the team, honestly it's a dream, it really is a dream,” he said.
According to him, his kids would probably tease him after seeing his new dance video with Niana and Ranz.
“I have three daughters and they got me on those (social media) platforms, so… I often, I should not be dancing at my age,” he shared. “And last time I did dance, she said that you look like you're having a stroke.”
If he would have more time, he said he would like to make more content and to study more about Filipino regional fare.
“The culture and the complexity I think of Filipino cuisine and it's so regionalized as well, which is so lovely and so having a chance to study it immensely…” he said.
After scanning some local markets, he discovered that the Philippines, too, has been blessed with ingredients, and not just with good cooks and great food.
“The markets, we're back there tomorrow morning at 5:30 and freshness is incredible, you know, from the live squid, shellfish, it's just awash with incredible ingredients. That's 90% of our value, the ingredients, so I said it before,” he said, sharing that the fish and chips in his Manila Bar & Grill uses local Lapu-Lapu and is now “an amazing staple” in the menu.
“We're using the local fish, you know, Lapu-Lapu, and we've now created this unique Filipino dish called Ramsay Fish and Chips, but I couldn't do it without the ingredients from Manila, so yeah, we're blessed, we're blessed with fantastic ingredients.”
As a chef, it is his job, he said, to also preserve local culture and heritage.
“It's our responsibility to continue that evolution and so we take the basic recipes for multiple generations. We evolve it and we don't disparage it, we evolve it,” he stressed.
“We respect the ingredients… whatever that is, we will respect the DNA and then it's every chef's responsibility… and so like I said, it'd be very averse to come over and ignore the prized possessions they have in the sort of culinary fields, the farming we take very seriously and we really emphasize everything coming local as much as we can.”
Overall, he believes that Filipino cuisine deserves a spot – and to stay – in the global culinary map.
“Over the last five to 10 years, I think that the Filipino cuisine has a prominent role in among global cuisines, and some of the best restaurants in New York have Filipino, amazing chefs! London is awash with Philippine restaurants. I was in Melbourne recently and Serai, again another number one restaurant across Australia, Filipino, so it's here to stay for a long time, let me tell you.”
