Crafting A Taste: How Do Top Manila Restaurants Curate Their Dishes?

Behind every spectacular restaurant are the chefs oozing with culinary ingenuity—the people responsible for the dishes we can’t seem to get enough of.

- Tricia Quintero

Just how are they able to come up with their culinary masterpieces? Here, we take a closer look and piqued into the minds of the people behind three of Manila’s most popular restaurants—Chef Carlo Franco of Tomatito, Chef Jack Flores of Made Nice Supper Club, and Chef queenee Villar of Hey Handsome.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

While the three chefs have different approaches on the tastes of their dishes, they all underscored the importance of having an overarching mantra when it comes to creation. These mantras encompass what their restaurants stand for and serve as guidelines to every member of their kitchen to ensure that every aspect forms a cohesive experience for their customers. For Chef Carlo, it’s all about getting out of your comfort zone, “For Tomatito, it’s about being adventurous, but also following the line of Spanish-Latin cuisine.” For Made Nice Supper Club’s Chef Jack, it’s imperative to break some rules and be different. Meanwhile, Hey Handsome’s Chef queenee says their number one guiding principle before putting something out on the menu is that it has to be liked by everyone on the team.

GO BEYOND