United front
Back in February, chef Tina Legarda of Kumba and Bamba Bistro fame assembled what might be one of the strongest collectives of Filipina chefs for one night—Glenda Barretto, Myrna Segismundo, Jessie Sincioco, and her mother, Betina Legarda.
That momentous occasion, dubbed the “Sapnay Series,” was her bid to highlight the “great heights” of Filipino food in her own corner in BF Homes.
“You know how we all say that every Pinoy family has their own version of adobo? I wanted Sapnay to celebrate exactly how diverse and beautiful our culture is through the way each chef was raised, where they are from, and how they like to eat our food,” she says.
Women supporting women
Five months later, Legarda revisits this narrative with Rhea Rizzo, Miko Calo, and Bettina Arguelles, a zany group of characters who not only drive delicious flavors in their respective domains but also break down barriers in a still male-dominated industry. The fact that their friendship is an important factor in their growth in the culinary space confirms the positive effects of deep bonds and emotional support systems.
In an industry that sees women work persistently harder for recognition, have fewer senior leadership roles, and possibly even paid less than their male counterparts, the sight of Legarda, Rizzo, Calo, and Arguelles recreating the Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover in Aguirre sans pedestrian crossing demonstrates their off-kilter passion to become role models for the younger generation, especially young women in food service—whether through their kitchen competencies, relationship dynamics, and leadership styles.
Says Legarda about collaborating with the group, “My favorite part is learning from them. It’s almost impossible not to learn something new. And in the middle of that, we get to root for each other, which this industry needs a lot of, especially with the day-to-day things we need to cope with.”
“Cooking for ourselves”
More than just a celebration of Filipino food, these women coming together for one night in July is the main plot of Ubà, the second installment in Legarda’s Sapnay Series. Translating to “be naked or undressed” in Ilonggo, Legarda and the gang created a menu that “sums up who we are at this point in our career,” she says. “To allow ourselves to work with the intention of getting ‘naked’ and ‘cooking for ourselves.’”
The idea is founded on flavors they run to “when the world gets a bit more complicated… the kind of cooking that feeds our souls [while] also showing off how far Filipino cuisine can go,” explains Legarda.
And how far did they take it? By blending an unprecedented variety of ingredients and flavor profiles to fashion a multilayered experience.
Mapping the Filipino food scene
The four chefs practically mined their memories and mapped the Filipino food scenery in 14 courses, free from any specific limitations—except to flaunt the breadth of local produce and “how it really is something to be proud of,” says Legarda.
There’s a “chicharon” of rice, tomato, and patis; a carb-on-carb combo of sourdough and silky noodles coated in tinola butter, and a lovely plate of crispy beef tadyang and pampano. Elsewhere, Calo’s fine specimen of a duck breast rubbed with garlic, honey, and chili is pleasant without unnecessary complexities. In contrast, Rizzo’s rich vegetable curry, which is part Indonesian and part Thai, deftly showcases her mastery of calculating stewy chaos on a plate.
The desserts section is a fun identity conundrum for the customer with each chef creating a sweet course representing one another—“The Rhea” (choux pastry of rhum creme and banana langka purée) by Arguelles, “The Bettina” (a cake made with sikwate or a traditional hot chocolate drink) by Legarda, “The Tina” (coconut macaroon, guava, cream cheese) by Calo, and “The Miko” (hazelnut and chocolate tart inflected with Champagne vanilla cream) by Rizzo.
“I felt it would be so awesome (and kind of funny) to see what we thought of each other,” Legarda admits.
Different women, same goals
In less able hands, this could have easily been a schmaltzy pursuit, but the instincts and intuition of Legarda, Rizzo, Calo, and Arguelles on collaborating together and assimilating into new environments enable them to consummately express their intentions without losing the personal meaning in their food and the colossal statement in this collaboration.
“It also made me realize that although we are all very different from each other, our goals are very similar,” says Legarda. The Sapnay Series ultimately manages to define not just a vision with friends from the industry into a coherent dining experience but also continues to redefine the norms of women in leadership positions.
Like what Legarda has been doing, sometimes, it just takes an embrace from those who paved the way or an openness to vulnerability to carve out space in the industry.
