Former ‘Best Female Chefs’ share their culinary inspiration

Chen Lanshu (left) and Margarita Forés

A lunch made by two award winners of the best female Asian chefs from 2014 and 2016 was organized on the sidelines of this year’s best 50 Asian Chefs of 2018 awards [see above].

During the event – held at Andrea’s restaurant in Wynn Palace – journalists were presented with a six-
course meal personally crafted by Chefs Chen Lanshu (Taiwan) and Margarita Forés (Philippines).

Interviewed by the Times, Forés mentioned the main inspiration for her culinary creations. “I’m a Filipina but my exposure and training to work with food started in Italy, so I try to combine both cultures and the techniques from both kinds of cuisine, as well as ingredients from both in the work that I do.” Nevertheless, Forés admitted to be on a mission to promote Filipino cuisine. “My mission is to showcase Filipino ingredients and cuisine together with the best of the world.”

Winner of the category of Best Female Asian Chef of 2016, Forés is inspired by Filipino’s culture as well as by her travels to different locations and countries.

“A lot of it [inspiration] is pulled from my own culture but at the same time what you see when you travel and things [you get] from personal experiences, like things I love eating when I was a child… All that put together is a real well of inspiration to choose from,” Forés concluded. “We are like sponges all the time and absorb everything wherever we go.”

As for the 2014 winner, Chen’s inspiration to create culinary delights is hard to define. “My inspiration comes from everywhere. From the markets, from everything I tasted, no matter if during travel time or at home,” she said.

Chen was the first Chinese chef named as “Grand Chef” by “Relais & Château,” a global fellowship of individually owned and operated luxury hotels and restaurants. “I follow a principle of different seasons and then I try to [input] something new, for example when I try some sauce from a chef that I admire [and I like it], I will try to incorporate that [by merging it] with my culture and with the [seasonal] ingredients that I can get,” she said, adding that it would be followed by a series of tests to refine the dish in order to “try to get some different sensation.”
“It might come out something really different than what I tasted originally but it’s a new sensation inspired from what I experienced,” she said, concluding that her purpose is to keep it natural and get the best from the best ingredients.   “Nature speaks, we just translate it,” she affirmed.

On the challenges of the work, especially on the difficulties of having to consolidate the job with family life, Forés commented: “The work that we do is so much a part of our fiber, I have a son that is now 27 and he understands [always understood] the demands of the job, but I know my situation is less challenging than Lanshu, where her child is very young, but I think [we can handle this] as everything we do is part of enhancing what we do work wise, for instance, when we go on holidays, we do it for vacation but we also still [take the opportunity] to research for food.”
The chef from the Philippines, who oversees the restaurant chain Cibo in metro Manila,  also noted, “at the same time, I think women are more resilient, we have been so used to ‘juggling’ our roles through the years and once you get into a business like the food industry, it is very demanding. I think we are kind of well trained [for that].”

At the lunch table, the chefs presented several of their creations and interpretations, with the highlight dish being from the “Preserved Turnip and Silkie Hen’s Egg” and “Paella, Squid, Sea Urchin and Jerusalem Artichoke” by Chef Chen. Chef Forés’s highlight dishes were the “Short Rib Balsamico Adobo with Davao Chocolate Jus and Bigas-Mais Polenta,” and the “Black Heirloom Codillera Rice Spuma with First Press Coconut Milk, Three- ways”.