Chefs to watch: Jordan Andino and Francis Tolentino
Jordan Andino is already a familiar face, especially if you watch television. The chef and restaurateur has appeared in and hosted TV shows like “Late Nite Eats,” “Dinner Budget Showdown,” and Netflix’s “Cook at All Costs.” He has also appeared in ads for Jollibee—he was selected as the international face of the fast-food brand in 2019. He runs two restaurants: Filipino taqueria Flipsigi and elevated Americana Carriage House, both of which are in New York, where the Canada-born Filipino is based.
His isn’t a household name yet in Manila, but that’s soon to change—he and chef Francis Tolentino of Taupe are opening a fine casual restaurant next year. This was announced during their recent dinner collaboration at Tolentino’s BGC degustation destination, where they served a flavorful journey through their past.
Discovering their passion
“My love for food started early because my dad and I were always cooking together, since he’s a chef in Toronto,” Andino says. “After spending all of my breaks from school with him from the age of 10, I realized I had a knack for cooking delicious food.”
Tolentino’s love for food started earlier, at the age of 7. “My influence is my grandmother. from Nueva Ecija. She was a caterer,” he says. “I was bullied when I was little, and the kitchen became my escape. This passion grew over the years as I experimented in the kitchen and learned from various sources.”
After graduating from culinary school, he was sent to New York to train in the now defunct Vareli restaurant as part of his university’s program. There, he honed his skills and learned more about Mediterranean cuisine. He was given a chance to add a dish in the menu, and he made his own version of falafel.
“I poured my heart into it, and it became the most popular dish of the night. It was a defining moment as it boosted my confidence and deepened my passion for cooking. You never really know what you’re capable of until you try—no regrets!”
Working together
Tolentino and Andino first met five years ago, when Andino was in town to shoot an ad for Jollibee. Its global marketing head then was Francis Flores, the business partner of Tolentino at Forefront Lifestyle Group Inc., which runs Taupe and the Poblacion bar Almacen.
“The collaboration came to life because both of us opened our own fine dining concepts around the same time, and we thought that a union of two countries would be something people could really get behind,” Andino says.
“The menu was a highly collaborative process. We combined our strengths and unique perspectives. After several tastings and discussions, we refined each dish to reflect our shared vision,” says Tolentino.
All 10 courses collectively tipped the hat to nostalgia, which made each dish more meaningful as they were seasoned with personal memories.
It was followed by street food he typically ate as a kid—chicharon and balut. They came as Wagyu tartare on tapioca chicharon, and chilled chawanmushi of Wagyu marrow and lemongrass, with onion jam, bone broth and potato glass.
Andino’s repertoire started with a delicious tiger prawn number. It was sautéed in chili butter then complemented with Israeli couscous tinted with calamansi. It was a riff of something his lolo would make for them whenever he visited Toronto.
Tolentino had a seared scallop in a pool of onion consommé gel and champagne veloute, as well as Iberico secreto that came with crab fat-laced suman and a squash flower filled with scallop mousse.
Andino, on the other hand, prepared a ricotta-stuffed corn agnolotti with saffron cream, and steak with creamy horseradish and potato pavé, as the last savory course.
The meal ended with Andino’s “redemption dessert.” He lost in the finals of a reality cooking show called “Chopped” where he served champorado. Had he been given another chance, he said he would serve this: olive oil cake soaked in a mix of two milks, then drizzled with salted caramel.
Manila will certainly be given a lot more chances to get to know both chefs as they open their anticipated high-end restaurant in 2025.
Taupe is located at 26th St., The Meridien Tower 2, BGC, Taguig, tel. no. (0962) 718-9892. Follow the author on @fooddudeph on Instagram.
