Never too many cooks
Over the weekend, four prominent restaurants—including a legendary institution from Hong Kong—showcased a masterclass in how to do collaborations right. If you haven’t noticed, collaborations seem to have transcended its trendy status when it first arose in the 2010s.
Now, its evolution—powered by a post-pandemic desire for connections and community— have transformed collaborations as we know it.
On the surface, limited-time collaborations are great avenues to market your brand, reach new customers, and generate buzz that could potentially lead to additional revenue. But these unique culinary experiences often transcend all of these, seeking instead to foster knowledge exchange between staff, build new communities, come together for an important cause, or, quite frankly, just to have fun for a night or two.
Local rebels
Take Your Local and Rebel Bakehouse for example—cult favorites from Manila and Baguio, whose two-day partnership marked the bakehouse’s first foray into actual service in the capital.
“Rebel has always functioned through our values so we don’t go into collaborations where our values aren’t aligned,” says Rebel Bakehouse co-founder Donna Aldana in a 2024 interview at their Yardstick pop-up collaboration in Greenbelt.
Together with Danica Santos, the two have built a brand that is well-known for its pastries and regular pop-ups in Manila (as well as the resulting commissary in Quezon City due to popular demand). But alongside Your Local’s Patrick Go and Rebel Bakehouse food consultant Diego De Rivera (who were classmates back in ISCAHM), the Baguio bakery goes beyond its comfort zone to churn out some pounding dishes, drinks, and desserts that not only shake things up in the kitchen but also hint at what could be the next big step for the brand.
With beautiful plates that utilize Baguio ingredients and produce, customers felt the permanent power of short-lived collaborations.
There was an unoy rice congee with Baguio pork kiniing as an homage to a familiar favorite; a krapow Danish with mushrooms and roasted broccoli bursting with savory-swicy flavors, which snapped like a fiery wake-up call; and a halibut with smoked beef banas (traditional Igorot sausage) and pumpkin and bean stew that dared diners to soak in the clean, buttery, smoky, and creamy elements in one dish.
All of these are, in a sense, symbolic associations that explore cultural connections between brands and customers—from stronger relevance as a pioneer Asian fusion restaurant and artisanal viennoiserie to their legitimacy as brands that continue to spark imagination and creativity.
And for Rebel Bakehouse, this is another opportunity to reinforce their deeper intention: “to bring ingredients from home, the Cordilleras, into the conversation,” says Aldana.
“Our coffee comes from Kalinga and Benguet, while our cacao and tapuey (rice wine) are sourced from the Mountain Province,” she adds. “Rebel is a viennoiserie at its core, but we’re very intentional about pushing bread to be seen as an essential part of the menu, not just a side or an afterthought.”
Ultimately, the collaboration dubbed “Your Local Rebel” succeeds in capturing a new audience while nurturing relationships with long-time customers. And that’s what matters really, letting customers see the value you bring into their lives.
New French in Old Manila
On the other end of the spectrum is another collaboration that exemplifies the fact that partnerships don’t always have to be permanent to be effective or memorable.
Old Manila’s new executive chef Remy Carmignani is not even a year into his role but an excellent four-hands collaboration with former colleague Anne-Sophie Nicolas to start 2026 displays the depth and commitment the young French chef has about reestablishing Old Manila as the city’s flagship of French-inspired cuisine.
And how does he intend to do that?
“By integrating local premium ingredients, theatrical tableside service, and elevated ingredient storytelling—all underpinned by rigorous training,” he says, on top of the notable new addition to the Old Manila kitchen—chef de cuisine Matthieu Fournier—formerly from The Peninsula Paris.
With his two-night collaboration with Gaddi’s chef de cuisine Nicolas, Carmignani eloquently expressed prime examples of the permanent mark that fleeting partnerships leave on customers.
Interestingly enough, the two had previously worked together “a long time ago,” says Nicolas, but it’s this shared background dating back to 2009 that gave the seven courses even more of a high-quality and exciting experience, coming across like a condensed anecdote of their memories of fine French cuisine and everything they have learned in gastronomy in between.
In short, this is four-hands fine French cuisine at full throttle. Take, for example, Nicolas’ caviar and king crab tart. It’s a glorious course that harmonized briny and buttery with an accompanying sheet of lobster jelly; a perfect portrait of modern French haute cuisine that exemplifies her modern influence on Hong Kong’s Grand Dame, as well as staying true to her values as a chef.
“When I create a dish, I use my memory to find inspiration in what I eat, what I cook,” she says.
For his part, Carmignani delivered equally remarkable and beautifully plated dishes that paired well with wines from Bordeaux and Beaujolais, among others. His Moroccan tangia-style lamb shoulder fagottini—a standout of the night—is comforting in its deceptive simplicity, sitting in lamb consommé, finished with coriander oil, and derived from memories of soaking in the sights, smells, and sounds of Marrakech.
Carmignani and Nicolas didn’t just nail their four-hands dinner; they also succeeded in cultivating connections both with customers desiring curated dining experiences and Old Manila’s culinary team hungry for knowledge from elite industry figures.
It’s just like what Carmignani had always wanted to be since he was a child: “A person that will bring happiness to others… Cooking for someone is the true definition of that.”
