Jun 13

Jun 13 theW+ Food: Margarita Fores' Grace Park / Manila

Manila's Celebrity Chef Margarita Fores (@margaritafores) has been called a lot of things in her life, but the latest moniker, "Asia's Best Female Chef" in 2016- crowned by regional voters of the World's 50 Best set, must be the best label yet- and it's a winning one. Always one to wear multiple hats, Fores- whose culinary career began in her 20's- on a 4-month solo trip to Italy post her grandfather's passing, was able to learn Italian-style cooking from three female mentors. That was in 1986, and 20 years later in 2016- she receives the Asia's Best award- showing that through sheer will, passion, determination, and focus- success is really measured in longevity and preserverance.

Okay now unto Grace Park! After opening popular casual (@Ciboph) and high-end dining (@Lusso_manila) Italian/Euro-centric establishments for Filipinos, Fores decided she wanted to go aspirational dining with a farm-to-table approach in the newly minted and chic Rockwell district. The purpose of Grace Park, launched in 2012, was to create a kitchen (in rustica style with concrete, iron, and reclaimed timber interiors) connecting local "farms, friends, and purveyors"- (of which the menus list their names-over 30 establishments total)- to an audience hungry for local seasonal ingredients and dishes.

The name Grace Park is the name of the neighborhood her grandmother once lived in, allowing Fores to make a direct link between this restaurant and the concept of a "meal made by Grandma". Unlike her straight up Italian-based restaurants, Grace Park offers a mixed assortment of Filipino Dishes (Adobo, Sinigang, Kinilaw) with Italian Pasta (Fettuccini Ragu of Organic Lechon).

As I told Chef Fores after the meal, my friends from Hong Kong who tried Grace Park for the first time, truly loved each dish individually and as a whole experience. We also appreciated her elevated take on local flavours, prepared and plated in her own signature "Italian style." Viva Filipina!