Filipina Margarita Forés Named Asia’s Best Female Chef

The awarding ceremonies will unfold on February 29 at the W Hotel in Bangkok.

Filipino chef-owner Margarita Fores from Manila was named Asia’s Best Female Chef today, as part of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards.

It’s not surprising that her foray into the food/dining industry, which started with the Cibo di M catering service to her Cibo restaurant chain a decade later, uses the Sicilian word for food, as tradename. Since its debut 18 years ago, Cibo has expanded to 10 outlets throughout Manila. Her line of restaurants include champagne gastro-bar Lusso and, since 2013, Grace Park, which champions the farm-to-table movement.

This is all quite an achievement for a chef without any formal training. In 2013, she partnered with Casa Artusi, a historic culinary institution in Forlimpopoli, Northern Italy, to open Casa Artusi Philippines.

She also became the first non-Italian to be bestowed with the Marietta award by Casa Artusi in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, which touts itself as the centre of gastronomic culture for Italian home cooking.

As passionate about Italian cooking as she is about Filipino cuisine, Forés is also an advocate of locally sourced ingredients. She also co-authored Kulinarya, a compendium of regional Filipino dishes & delicacies.

The Philippines is in the news once again with the announcement Tuesday afternoon of restaurateur Margarita Fores as Asia’s Best Female Chef 2016 by the group Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

William Drew, group editor of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants said: “Margarita Fores is… a true leader in her country’s restaurant sector”.