FilAms Among The 2024 James Beard Award Semifinalists
/This year eleven Filipino Americans were included in the semifinals. Positively Filipino had already included three of them in previous Famous Fil-Ams lists, but they are again added here to complete the list.
Tara Monsod, Executive Chef of Animae
Best Chef: California
Tara Monsod (Source: San Diego Magazine)
Monsod’s Filipino American heritage and flavors are reflected in the new menu of Animae with dishes like lumpia (egg roll), scallop crudo with calamansi (Filipino citrus) and short rib kare kare stew made with peanut oil and bagoong (shrimp paste). She brings with her a decade of experience having worked at Herringbone, Tender Greens, and Juniper and Ivy before landing the Executive Chef position in Animae, an upscale Asian restaurant in San Diego. She is the only San Diego County chef to make the 2024 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinal list this year. Monsod trained with James Beard Award Winner Nate Appleman who encouraged her to continue to hone her craft while also experimenting with pushing forward the Filipino flavors she’s always known. She hopes to be a culinary ambassador and mentor to the legions of Asian American and Pacific Islander cooks who are looking to break into the restaurant business. In an interview with Huffpost, Monsod says, “I think culture is probably the biggest thing that I’ve changed at the restaurant. Everybody’s welcome [to work] in the restaurant — sex, gender, ethnicity, whatever. As long as you’re a nice person and you work hard, you’re welcome. And if you’re not about that, then usually you naturally weed yourself out.”
Lord Maynard Llera, Chef and Owner of Kuya Lord
Best Chef: California
Lord Maynard Llera (Source: Voyage LA)
Kuya Lord is an elevated fast casual restaurant concept by Chef Lord Maynard Llera featuring regional Filipino dishes that he grew up eating in Lucena City, Quezon Province, Philippines. While the food harkens back to his childhood, Chef Maynard applies his classical techniques in enhancing and reinventing traditional Filipino dishes. “Kuya” is the Tagalog word for “older brother” and “Lord” is from the chef’s name Lord Maynard. This was also the name of the garage pop-up that developed quite a substantial following, prompting the chef to use the same brand for this Los Angeles Koreatown location. Born and raised in the Philippines, Llera came to the U.S. in 2004 to study culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He moved to Los Angeles and did stints in several restaurants. He was also the Culinary Director of The h.wood Group where he opened seven restaurants in a span of 10 months. Kuya Lord, he says, is a panciteria, fast, casual Filipino noodle shop that focuses on Southern Tagalog cuisine.
Kimmie and Josh Mcintosh, MILKFISH Bakeshop
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Kimmie and Josh Mcintosh (Source: MILKFISH)
MILKFISH Bakeshop is a Philippines-inspired pop-up bakeshop started in 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada by Filipino American Kimmie and her husband, Josh Mcintosh. They hosted online bake sales with Bakers Against Racism and donated all proceeds. In February 2022, they started a pop-up at Vegas Test Kitchen in downtown Las Vegas and participated in various events in the area like the Asian Night Market and Space and Time: Vegas’ 1st Filipino Night Market. Kimmie grew up in Oxnard, California and was working in restaurants from the mid-2000s until 2020 when Covid 19 struck and restaurants had to close. She decided to focus on what really inspires her – baking. Her baking showcases Filipino ingredients, culture and heritage as highlights in common desserts like mango floats.
Sheldon Simeon, Chef and Owner, Tiffany’s
Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
Janice and Sheldon Simeon (Source: Spectrum)
Born in Hilo, Chef Sheldon Simeon, who started his career as a dishwasher and prep cook, acquired his love for cooking from his parents. His path led from Hilo High to the Culinary Institute of the Pacific and to an internship at Walt Disney World. Upon returning to Hawaii, Simeon attended Maui Culinary Academy. He competed on Season 10 of Top Chef in Seattle where he finished as a finalist and won the coveted "Fan Favorite" title. After serving as the executive chef at Maui's Mala Wailea and MiGRANT, he was named among Hawaii Magazine's Top 5 Best Hawaiian Chefs of 2014 and voted FOOD & WINE Magazine's 2014 People's Best New Chef for the Pacific & Northwest. His first solo restaurant, Tin Roof, in Kahului, Maui, served local dishes like poke, kau kau tins, sandwiches, and noodles in takeout bowls. He and his wife, Janice, took over Tiffany’s restaurant, a mainstay in Maui, and revamped the menu to include Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Portuguese food. Despite the fame, Simeon says he is a “normal Hawaii dude that would rather be wearing slippahs (aka flip flops) and board shorts at all times, who loves playing the ukulele, cares for his community, and puts ohana [goodwill] first.” He published a best-selling book, Cook Real Hawai’i, a 304-page ode to the people, the stories, and food that make Hawaii Hawaii. He has donated sales of the book to Maui Food Bank. Bon Appetit says, “He’s using whatever platforms come his way as a pulpit to preach the gospel of Hawai'i. He’s not selling out. In fact, he’s doing the opposite—he’s doing everything he possibly can to make sure Hawai'i food gets its due.”
Christina Mauricio, Harana Market
Best Chef: New York State
Christina Mauricio and Eva Tringali (Source: Dan Ogust | Hudson Valley One)
Harana Market, an Asian grocery and Filipino deli in Woodstock, New York was started by Mauricio to showcase her culinary training and Filipino heritage. The menu includes tofu sisig (sizzling plate), fried chicken, arroz caldo (porridge), cassava cake, and other Filipino dishes. California-born Mauricio says she learned lutong bahay or homestyle cooking from her grandmother. The name of the market, harana, means serenade, a form of courtship. Harana hopes to woo neighbors with a cuisine to be proud of. "Ultimately, I want people to be comforted, nourished, and to continue eating the food that makes their heart sing," Mauricio said. "That's the goal." Harana recently moved to Accord in Hudson Valley to accommodate more people, more parking, and extended hours. Mauricio and her partner, Eva Tringali, have made inclusivity and queer and pan-Asian representation central to their business. Harana invites anyone in the LGBTQ+ community to eat for free during Sunday family meals.
Aaron Verzosa, Chef and Owner, Archipelago
Outstanding Chef
Amber Manuguid and Aaron Verzosa (Source: Star Chefs)
Verzosa is the chef and owner of Archipelago in Seattle. “Being able to amplify and showcase stories about Filipino American culture, the communities here, specifically in the Northwest, and the immigrant story that my parents came with” is his aim. “I was just very humbled to be able to showcase what the sacrifice was and be able to represent the region in that way,” he says in a South China Morning Post interview. Archipelago, named because the Philippines comprises 7,100 islands, has been dishing out a seasonal tasting menu since 2018. Verzosa and his wife, Amber Manuguid, wanted a “Pacific Northwest restaurant first and foremost.” But there’s a “Filipino American-ness” intrinsic to the meals too. For instance, Verzosa might swap tamarind for wild lingonberries. He does his own take on Filipino banana ketchup with sweeter tubers or root vegetables. With only 12 seats in the restaurant, Verzosa chats with every patron. “When we have Filipinos coming from the Philippines and we have Filipinos that are here from the U.S. — whether they be first, second, all the way to fifth generation — there’s a really beautiful way to connect with them differently,” Verzosa said.
Melissa Miranda, Chef and Owner, Musang
Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
Melissa Miranda (Source: Eater: Seattle)
Miranda started Musang (her father’s nickname meaning “wildcat” in Tagalog because he drove a Mustang) as a pop-up, cooking over 150 orders of Filipino brunches while working as a sous chef at Bar del Corso. She and her team would sell out every month. To open a brick and mortar location, she turned to the same community to raise $92,000 via Kickstarter in 2019. Musang has lines out the door today. Miranda says, “The biggest thing about Musang is that it is for us, by us.” Miranda feels it’s an act of fate that the restaurant’s location at 2524 Beacon Avenue in Seattle, Washington once served as a community center and temporary housing center for Asian immigrants, many of whom were Filipino elders. Beacon Hill was one of the few Filipino enclaves in Seattle and the neighborhood where her father first settled when he immigrated from the Philippines. At Musang, she focuses on educating the public about Filipino food through the menu. She also founded the Musang Little Wildcats program, a Filipino food education initiative for kids. In 2022, Miranda was named one of Food and Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs, and she also received a nomination for the James Beard Award semifinallist in 2023. She plans to open Kilig in Seatte which will serve bulalo (beef shank soup) and pancit (noodles). Miranda has since joined Bon Appetit as a contributor where she promotes Filipino food and ingredients. She hates the word “chef” as it denotes toxic masculinity and white male culture. In the kitchen, Miranda is called Ate (older or big sister) Mel and Mother.
Nikko Cagalanan, Chef, Kultura, South Carolina
Emerging Chef
Nikko Cagalanan (Source: kulturacharleston.com)
Cagalanan competed on the Food Network Channel’s Chopped on November 22 and won the $10,000 prize. He was born in the Philippines and settled in South Carolina with his wife in 2011. He was a nurse but found himself missing the flavors of home; so he began watching YouTube videos and reading cookbooks devoted to Filipino cuisine. After working for several restaurants, he retired his scrubs and started the pop-up Mansueta’s Filipino Food (named after his grandmother) in 2019 in Charleston. The theme for Cagalanan’s episode was “bizarre foods,” which included items like pork uterus, cricket milkshake, rooster testicle stew, and beef kidney. The only ingredient Cagalanan was familiar with was the purple yam, or ube, a popular Filipino ingredient. “I wanted to prove to myself that I’m doing something right and trying to represent Filipino food on that stage…That was the main reason for me.” He opened Kultura, a space of his own “to share and host outside chefs representing their own cultures through food.” In 2022 Kultura was named Best Filipino Restaurant in South Carolina by Food & Wine magazine. In 2023, Kultura was named one of twelve best new restaurants in the United States by Eater.
Joseph Fontelera, Chef and Owner, Boonie’s Filipino Restaurant
Best Chef: Great Lakes
Joe Fontelera of Boonie’s Filipino Restaurant (Source: Eater: Chicago)
Fontelera's family immigrated to Chicago in the 70s from the Philippines. He worked as a chef at other restaurants before opening his own restaurant. Boonie Foods started as a food stall in 2020 at the Revival Food Hall where he continued to fine-tune what he wanted from a restaurant. After a successful GoFund Me campaign and some help from family members, he was ready for Boonie's Filipino Restaurant. The longganisa (sausage) Vigan is a favorite with its cane vinegar, black pepper and soy sauce. "The bistek crosses over to Korean with cuts of LA Kalbi" per Eater. Fontelera earned the Michelin Bib Gourmand award given out to places that have delicious food at a reasonable price. He also made an appearance on the Food Network show "Chopped" on Season 51. In nileswestnews.org, his Math teacher Olga Shafram said, “He has switched to being more than just a chef. He is an ambassador of Filipino culture through food. He gets to explore his roots and research old recipes, he gets to influence the way the restaurant industry functions,” A review at timeout.com says, "He toys with intensity while maintaining astonishing harmony in dishes—for instance, sneaking kewpie mayo into the already umami-rich sisig. His crunchy lumpiang Shanghai cigars shatter in satisfying percussion to reveal succulent, Berkshire ground pork seasoned with house-fermented sambal, ginger and garlic. Coconut vinegar, fish sauce and burnt tomato lend magnetic tang and umami to paksiw, a vinegary soup teeming with cured mahi mahi that warms like medicine for the soul.
Kaya, Orlando, Florida
Best New Restaurant
Lordfer Lalicon and Jamilyn Bailey of Kaya, Orlando (Photo by Stephen Dowell | Orlando Sentinel)
Kaya's website says the restaurant "showcases a lively and flavorful taste of Filipino techniques, ingredients and stories alongside the freshest Florida ingredients and a thoughtful beverage program." Sama-Sama (togetherness) menus, the Bayani Bar and the Bongga Brunch bring a sense of community where family and guests can feel a sense of belonging and ease. The restaurants is owned and managed by Lordfer Lalicon and Jamilyn Bailey. Michelin Guide's Point of View describes Kaya as : "Kaya occupies a small bungalow-style building in the Mills 50 district. Inside, there's a quirky charm along with views of the open kitchen. Diners enjoy a tasting menu served in multiple courses, some with more than one element. Expect a modern spin on classic Filipino dishes with local seafood and central Florida produce taking center stage. Kinilaw na isda, a ceviche-style dish with madai and finely diced fruit in a vinegar sauce is a stunning dish that wakes up the palate for a strong start. Then, the menu changes often, but you may enjoy kare, a rectangle of braised fork-tender oxtail resting in the classic and flavorful peanut stew/sauce, along with various vegetables. It's served with their pitch-perfect garlic rice, served classic or with a luxe update with King crab." “Kaya natin,” which means “we can,” is a philosophy the restaurant’s co-owners hope to imbue in the food and culture of their business. “It’s kind of like our way of saying, like, we can all do this together. We can all think differently. We can all participate in this community together,” said Lordfer Lalicon, Kaya’s chef who has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in New York and serves as co-owner of Kadence, Winter Park’s sushi and sake bar.
Pacific Cocktail Haven, San Francisco, California
Outstanding Bar
Kevin Diedrich of Pacific Cocktail Haven (Source: Pacific Cocktail Haven)
Located near San Francisco’s prestigious Union Square, P.C.H. is a lively bar that has quickly grown into one of America’s most acclaimed cocktail destinations. Founded in 2016 by “Best American Bartender” Fil-Am Kevin Diedrich, the bar has transformed from a neighborhood bar into a must-see destination for locals and visitors alike. P.C.H. is known for its creative, balanced cocktails served in a welcoming atmosphere. The cocktails are inspired by Asian-Pacific ingredients. The staff is knowledgeable and attentive, and never pretentious. Since its inception, P.C.H. has been recognized as one of the nation’s best bars. P.C.H. won “Best American Cocktail Bar” at the renowned Tales of the Cocktail awards. Kevin Diedrich has also been nominated four times for “Best American Bartender”, winning the award in 2020. The World’s 50 Best also recognized P.C.H. as among the top 100 bars in the world in both 2018, 2019 and most recently named No 28 in North America World’s 50 Best Bars. Recently, Diedrich was nominated as one of the best U.S. Bar Mentors by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation in 2022. After a devastating fire in 2021, P.C.H. reopen in its current location at 550 Sutter Street.
Source: Google and Wikipedia
