I’m Writing a Cookbook!

Some personal news

I’m excited to share I’m writing my debut cookbook on PLANT-BASED FILIPINO FOOD to be published by Workman, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.

A couple of years ago, I wrote an essay on food52 about having difficulty finding vegan and vegetarian-friendly food at Filipino restaurants. Most of the time, the only options they had were desserts, making it difficult to introduce my vegetarian partner to my favourite (usually meat-heavy) Filipino dishes.

Photo by Rocky Luten for food52

Cooking and eating Filipino food has always been a way for me to stay connected with my heritage since immigrating to Canada with my family at the age of 12, so in an effort to share a part of my culture with my partner, I started reimagining the dishes my mom used to cook by putting a vegetable-forward spin on them. Now, I get to share and celebrate these recipes with you, too — recipes I’ve developed with love for the people I cook for and remind me of home.

I went into Culinary Arts at George Brown College right after high school and eventually realized I was unequipped to work at a restaurant due to my scoliosis — a disability that made working on my feet for 8 to 12 hours a day particularly challenging. I left the food industry in 2015 and found my way into the creative field, working in various roles as a writer, editor, marketing manager, producer, stylist, and photographer, leading me to a multi-hyphenate career. I didn’t know how, but I always knew I’d come back to food at some point.

I’ve dreamt about writing a cookbook since I was a little girl watching endless recaps of Food Network shows, and I can’t believe it’s finally happening. I’m honoured to have my book be a part of a collection of plant-based cookbooks with Mehreen Karim, Andrea Aliseda, and Srishti Jain, who are all such incredible women.

A very special thanks to Katherine Cowles and the folks at Workman and Hachette for making this happen; to the wonderful Rebecca Firkser, who accepted my pitch for food52 and let me write the personal story that led to this book; to Bettina Makalintal and Abi Balingit, who are some of my favourite Filipino food writers and continue to inspire my work; to this community, for showing up and supporting each other; and to my family and friends, for always encouraging me as I go through this sometimes confusing multi-hyphenate career I’ve been building over the past decade.

I’m forever grateful for this opportunity and excited to bring this book to life so you can cook plant-based Filipino food at home, too.