What’s Next on Star Chef Aisha Ibrahim’s Plate?
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Chef Aisha Ibrahim (Photo by Joe Lubong)
The six men who preceded Aisha Ibrahim as Executive Chef probably viewed it as the summit of a distinguished career. At only age 35 when she joined Canlis in 2021, its kitchen wouldn’t be the last one she runs before she bequeaths her knife to the Smithsonian.
On April 8, 2025 Chef Aisha ends her four-year tenure with Canlis. Either Los Angeles or New York City will be the next destination for her and wife Samantha Beaird, a Canlis executive sous chef, and their Bernedoodles, Mochi and Dashi. Both places have their charms. New York is known for a Yankees team that reached the World Series in ’24, over 500 thousand cats to cull flocks of migrating songbirds that avoided collisions with the hi-rises that form the Manhattan skyline, and those steadfast New York Public Library Lions. Los Angeles has sunny dog parks, organic farmers’ markets, and more Fil-Ams than any other American city.
Los Angeles is in a state whose food Chef Aisha knows well. “California cuisine is all about seasonality, balance, and expression of terroir.” She elaborates, “I still approach food this way as it emphasizes a more symbiotic relationship with nature. My hope is to express what Mindanaoan cuisine is on a fine dining level as it’s never really been done before.”
Some might question why Mindanao isn’t lumped together under the broad banner of Filipino cuisine. Considering that Piedmont, Tuscany, and Sicily are three of over twenty regional cuisines of Italy, that regional differences would also proliferate among three Philippine island groups that encompass 7,641 islands shouldn’t raise an odd number of eyebrows.
Asian Hall of Fame Award Ceremony (with my wife to my left) (Photo by Brian Canlis)
Pivot from Basketball to Food
The odyssey of a girl from Iligan City, Philippines to becoming an oracle of her profession, Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2023, Time Magazine’s 100 Next, and James Beard nominee proves the value of seeking knowledge no matter how far from the comfort of home.
Chef Aisha was six years old when her dad, Oscar Ibrahim, and two little brothers left the Philippines to join her mom, Zurita, once she found work as a physical therapist in a West Virginia hospital. Her parents went on to open physical therapy clinics throughout the tri-state area of West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky.
Chef Aisha remembers, “In the early ’90s states like West Virginia had a real need for physical therapists who were willing to provide home health to an aging population and elderly folks who did not have enough access to healthcare.” Accompanying her mother on appointments left an indelible impression. “I thought at some point that helping people, like my mom did, would be something I could do in the future.”
An altruistic urge beckoned after the door closed on a path that initially took her to Elon University in Elon, North Carolina on a basketball scholarship. “I tore my meniscus playing basketball. It was a tough breakup with basketball for me as I had begun playing when I was six, and it was truly my first love.
“I redirected my desire for competition with myself into a challenging journey by signing up for culinary school.” While training at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, she became chef de partie or first line cook at Oakland’s legendary Commis restaurant. “It was during my first service at a two Michelin-starred restaurant while in school that I became hooked. The physicality, muscle memory, teamwork environment, and the common goal of having a successful service had me feeling the parallels of being on the court. I instantly fell in love with the craft, artistry, and the challenge of mastery cooking can provide.”
Culinary school and an esteemed restaurant did not confine her to a prix fixe course. “I think culinary school can build knowledge and help you feel comfortable with being in kitchens. My initial interest was really to acquire knowledge about different kitchens and cuisines. I noticed an overemphasis on French or European-centric cuisines, and while I found it important to learn about those areas, I decided early in my career that I would carve my own path.
Plating at an event in Bangkok (my wife, Samantha Beaird, to my right) (Photo courtesy of SiriSala)
“After studying more specific cuisines like Basque and Japanese, I worked many jobs in a year to save up for my first work opportunity in Japan to learn about Kaiseki cuisine.” This form of Japanese haute cuisine defined by small plates prepared with a caring attitude. “I loved the spiritual sense brought to cooking by the respect one must bring to every living being we have the gift of sharing with our guests.”
In sum, she states, “Japanese kitchens immersed me in the belief that product was to be respected in a holistic and spiritual sense and really taught me the value of connecting to product.”
Scenic Route Back to Filipino Cooking
While Chef Aisha invented new dishes in kitchens across the US, Western Europe and Asia, she maintained a reverence for Filipino cuisine that is reminiscent of a chef who also emigrated from the Philippines.
“I was saddened to hear about the passing of Margarita Fores.” The matriarch of Filipino cuisine died in Hong Kong on February 11, 2025. “Gastronomy lost the first internationally recognized Filipina chef. I admired her from afar, though I did meet her at the 50 Best Awards a few years ago. She was incredibly gracious and kind.”
She is ready to follow in Fores’ footsteps and plunge into the depths of Filipino food without reservation. The breadth of her acquired skills, experiences and ideas will open a new niche with extra room for other young chefs to innovate.
“Up until this point, my expression of my Filipino heritage has been pretty nuanced,” relates Chef Aisha. “One of the reasons I’m ready to leave my current position is that I’d love to realize my goal of cooking the food of my heritage in an unapologetic way.”
An injustice will then be rectified. “Southern Filipino flavors and food have not been represented fully in the world of Michelin fine dining. I feel it’s been this friend that I’ve sort of begun to introduce to folks for a long time, and now I’d like to really introduce that heritage of Mindanao and show people what it is about.”
The current boon in Filipino cuisine is not only a product of innovators like Chef Aisha, who have appeared in Positively Filipino, but also trailblazers in other Asian disciplines. “I think America is ready to stop tiptoeing around the subject, so that you see more serious expression of many cuisines in this moment.”
As an example, she shares, “One of my favorite restaurants in the U.S. is a restaurant by Corey Lee called San Ho Won in San Francisco. It doesn’t rely on trying to dumb down the essence of Korean cuisine and does not shy away from the dynamic flavors or even properly naming their food on the menu.
“I’d love to for us to continue to move away from describing our food in such a way that is relatable and just explain the essence of the food. A great example is when people refer to kinilaw as our ceviche. It is not our ceviche; it is a dish very much unique to our ancient cooking methods and we no longer need to dumb that down. I think diners are becoming more diverse and are okay with heading in this direction.”
Spot Prawn Kinilaw at Ojai Valley Inn (Photo by Matt Morris)
Fact or Fiction and Money Well Spent
A reason why diners are becoming more sophisticated may be sourced to the acclaimed Hulu Series The Bear. The cast incessantly barks “chef” in the studio kitchen. At the same time, it is egalitarian for members of a workplace to call each other by the same title. Real or unreal, everybody going by chef might be attributed to an industry that’s known for a fast turnover. Learning a name might be a waste of brain real estate. Or there’s something deeply personal about eschewing the proper noun for a common title and looking the listener in the eye. I asked Chef Aisha whether the quirk is based on tradition or a script.
Eggplant Zurita (my take on tortang talong named after my mom, Zurita) (Photo by Jim Sullivan)
“The term ‘Chef’ is not always normal to use from cook to cook.” She threw skeptics a soupbone, before explaining, “I think of the use of the term as very important in our kitchen culture. We use ‘Chef’ because when I call you that, it means that I respect you as a professional. It is not a light title but one that must be earned. I call everyone chef in my kitchen at Canlis because I consider it a form of respect, and because I share that title with my team. I, alone, cannot be responsible for the success of this team. Every individual contributes to our goals, and our standard and no job is less important in this space.” Sort of sounds like a primary premise of The Bear.
“It was during my first service at a two Michelin-starred restaurant while in school that I became hooked."
Readers might be uneasy about leaving behind a Ben Franklin or two at a fine dining establishment. “So many Filipinos (including my own family) are not coming from wealth, and there is a beauty and simplicity to sharing what little we may have with our communities and loved, and that has always been something I’ve appreciated about what it means to dine within our communities.”
She calls attention to certain intangibles underlying the ingredients of a memorable dish that’s served in a beautiful setting. “I think fine dining is about access, too. Some experiences are worth it, and some are not. To be a participant and have the title of executive chef means I am signing myself up for either praise or criticism. Food and sharing have always been integral to what dining experiences are in the Philippines. I say if you’re curious and want to invest your time and money in these experiences, then absolutely do it! It is a very different way of enjoying food.”
Chef Aisha’s words provide food for thought now that McDonald’s, dollar menu notwithstanding, stands opposed to the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that undergird a civil society. As a Los Angeles resident, I can only hope that she chooses my town as the place to debut the Mindanaoan menu she has been developing since she sank her last basket.
Anthony Maddela writes grant applications for nonprofits and public agencies. He is married with a daughter, son and two pets from Los Angeles Guinea Pig Rescue.
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