EP95: Chef Check-in Culinary Journeys in the Philippines with Chef Isi Laureano

Chef Checkin Celebrating Filipino Cuisine with Chef Isi Laureano:

Offering insights into Filipino hospitality, culinary heritage, and the value of pursuing one’s passion, this conversational check-in interview features Chef Isi Laureano, reflecting on her journey as a chef and entrepreneur in the Philippines. Isi shares experiences from the pandemic, describing how lockdowns impacted her private chef career and led to a shift toward home-based cooking and food delivery.

The conversation highlights the evolution of Isi’s business ventures, including the creation of Chili Asylum, a brand focused on spicy products sourced from Filipino farmers, and her long-standing involvement with Traveling Spoon, where she hosts intimate Filipino cooking classes and food tours. Isi emphasizes the importance of family traditions, regional Filipino cuisine, and the adaptability required to thrive in changing circumstances.

Exploring the diversity of Filipino food, the role of local ingredients and cooking methods, and the cultural significance of rice cakes (kakanin) as a national culinary symbol, Isi discusses the challenges and rewards of teaching, collaborating with other chefs, and maintaining work-life balance. The conversation concludes with reflections on personal growth, advice for navigating career stress, and ways to connect with Isi online.

00:00 Introduction to Chef Isi Laureano

01:34 Reconnecting and Reflecting on the Pandemic

05:49 The Birth of Chili Asylum

08:12 From Spices to Chili Products

13:12 The Evolution of Haynayan Ketchups

15:59 Traveling Spoon and Culinary Tours

20:03 Malabon Food Tour and Local Heritage

26:42 Finding Passion in the Kitchen

27:11 Dreams of a Filipino Deli

27:56 Recognition and Local Bookings

29:40 Challenges of a Demanding Client

32:31 Rediscovering Joy in Cooking

36:30 A Memorable Trip to Washington

40:48 The Philippines' National Dish Debate

43:42 Regional Cooking Styles in the Philippines

48:59 Final Thoughts and Farewell

Connect with Chef Isi:

https://eatmattersph.wixsite.com/eatmatters
https://www.instagram.com/eatmattersph/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/isilaureano/

Recent artice about Chef Isi:

https://sawasdee.thaiairways.com/cooking-with-the-quiet-ambassador-of-filipino-cuisine/

Original  episode:

https://www.voice4chefs.com/cooking-through-the-philippines-with-isi-laureano-of-eat-matters/

Season2

Welcome Chef Steven Leung as our new cohost.

IG: themindfulwok

Transcript

Host Michael Dugan: 0:52

I wanted to share with everyone a very special guest that we had on the show a couple years back, and this is Isi Laureano, and I'm gonna quote from Traveling Spoon because I feel like she's part of this incredible organization called Traveling Spoon, and her bio really shares who she is. So Isi has been in the food business for over 10 years, creating recipes for dairy companies and restaurants, doing food styling and photography, and selling spices online. She has recently, actually, it's been a while now, started Chili Asylum, an institution dedicated to marketing fresh chilies and chili products sourced directly from Filipino farmers. Isi says she learned everything she knows about cooking from her Nanay, grandmother, who she watched cook fresh lunches and dinners every day Growing up, Isi loves cooking and serving the local regional food she grew up eating. Isi enjoys collaborating with other chefs and food lovers in the food business to create new and delicious foods. Please welcome Chef Isi Laureano.

Chef Isi Laureano: 2:07

Hey, thank you. Thank you for having me again, Michael.

Host Michael Dugan: 2:11

Oh, I'm thrilled to start this episode. This is a chef check-in, and it's gonna be a very special episode, and I'm really excited that our listeners are gonna get to hear you and connect with you and let's get started. Okay. So how long have we known each other? I'm thinking back from clubhouse days.

Chef Isi Laureano: 2:31

Yeah, it was pandemic, so

Host Michael Dugan: 2:34

Yeah, sure so 2022, something like that,

Chef Isi Laureano: 2:36

I think. When did Clubhouse happen? I think so. I think 2021 or late 2020, I started checking out Clubhouse, I think it was 2021.'cause 2021 we were still locked down and we opened up again March of 2022. And when we opened during March, 2022, I had traveling, spoon booking. So I went back to work.

Host Michael Dugan: 3:08

gosh. Oh my gosh.

Chef Isi Laureano: 3:10

I went back to work and it was surreal 'cause I did not expect people would be coming over. Right.'cause it was, we were locked down for almost two years. And I was just kind of surprised, like, hey, people from, they were from New York. I will never forget that because they were my first ever customers again after the pandemic. So it was surprIsing to have a booking right on the dot when we opened up for international travels again, you know, so the tourism was really nothing for two years over here, even for us locals. We can't even just go out and about to go to the other provinces, so it was really a lockdown. We were really stuck here at home and I was just doing whatever I need to do. Of course, there are days that I don't need to cook for somebody. But that was the time that my private chef career was really happening. And also for a traveling spoon. I was doing both at the same time. And then pandemic happened. So my client there, there were some clients who had to let me go. But there was one or two who kind of stayed. So I was just literally working from home 'cause I was cooking everything here and just delivering it to their house'cause I'm not, which is a good setup. Also, I don't need to be in the household of that client because I'm not really cooking for the whole entire family. I'm just cooking for one person. Right now, that's also what's happening. So

Host Michael Dugan: 4:57

Oh, cool

Chef Isi Laureano: 4:58

he's on a pescatarian diet, so I'm also on a pescatarian diet too. Like whenever I'm cooking for the rest of the week for him, I'm kind of also that's also our food already. So it's more practical for me. And I'm here at home. I get to see my family, I get to see my dogs, I get to see my fun. It's not like. The previous jobs that, being in a restaurant or being in a hotel you

Host Michael Dugan: 5:26

Oh,

Chef Isi Laureano: 5:26

can't even see your family, the demand

Host Michael Dugan: 5:29

Oh yeah.

Chef Isi Laureano: 5:30

know for your

Host Michael Dugan: 5:31

The hours. The

Chef Isi Laureano: 5:32

Yeah. It

Host Michael Dugan: 5:33

on your feet.

Chef Isi Laureano: 5:34

that's why I got out of that, you know, after graduating from the hotels and restaurants life. I mean, I need to be at home. That's why I started all these things and I mean, this year, traveling Spoon, I've been with Traveling Spoon for 10 years.

Host Michael Dugan: 5:54

That was one question I was gonna ask you because, for our listeners.

Chef Isi Laureano: 5:59

Mm-hmm.

Host Michael Dugan: 5:59

We interviewed, I think it was 2020 or 2021, somewhere around there. I met you on Clubhouse probably in 2020. And I waited over a year to interview you and I was so excited when you said yes and we made the time and it was crazy times during the pandemic and we had so much fun and I'll never forget it. And so if our listeners are hearing this check out episode 38, because that's the original episode with Isi and I, and it was raw and it was real and it was energetic and it was positive and it was deep during the pandemic and she was crazy. She was all over the place and we had so much fun. So it's like I normally create my own introductions, but this one I felt very strongly about. Tell us a little bit more about, when I'm reading this Chili Asylum, what is Chili Asylum?

Chef Isi Laureano: 6:52

Well after I, I just said a while ago, after I stopped working for the restaurants and, being trained in some hotels before, after I graduate, culinary, I started doing a home-based business. So at first it was the spices, like I literally was just selling.'cause there's not like a really, like the delis here, or groceries, they don't really have a lot of spices. Like it would only be just the ordinary spices like salt, pepper, chili flakes, something like that. But it's not like the other spices that, that we normally have. And then there's an like an Indian grocery only to get like Indian spices. So I was kind of, oh, I can do this.'cause my aunt, she's from Egypt, she was working back then over there. So every time they go back home she would buy me some spices and I just started selling them. And then I also go to Thailand. And in Thailand there's so many other spices over too, so I started bringing some home. It's not like a bulk thing, it was more of like just a small packet. And then I was literally using, multiply,

Host Michael Dugan: 8:19

Oh,

Chef Isi Laureano: 8:20

that Facebook was nothing yet Back then Instagram was

Host Michael Dugan: 8:24

whoa. What is multiply? Was it social media.

Chef Isi Laureano: 8:28

yeah, it was like a MySpace kind of

Host Michael Dugan: 8:31

Mm-hmm.

Chef Isi Laureano: 8:32

Page, you can make your own page, you can post photos. And then that's pretty much what I use as my selling platform online. And then fa when Facebook happened, that's when I, and then multiply, stop working just like MySpace.

Host Michael Dugan: 8:51

Wow.

Chef Isi Laureano: 8:53

that was like a long time ago. That was maybe about, my son is already 20 years old.

Host Michael Dugan: 8:59

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.

Chef Isi Laureano: 9:02

that's like about around 20 years ago when I started to really do more I mean around that time. And then come 2013, I started, oh, I can make spicy stuff because my grandmother and my uncle are the. They're very good cooks. They cook every day for the entire family.

Host Michael Dugan: 9:28

Wow.

Chef Isi Laureano: 9:29

They pretty much make my grandmother would make, and my uncle would also make the same. They would have their own version of pickled papaya and the pickled chili peppers or the shrimp paste. Like we can literally smell how fermented the shrimp paste

Host Michael Dugan: 9:49

my gosh.

Chef Isi Laureano: 9:50

happening. Outdoor. Like she would literally cook it outdoor because it would be smelling in the whole entire neighborhood.

Host Michael Dugan: 9:59

Oh my gosh.

Chef Isi Laureano: 10:00

But that was the best shrimp paste and when we were growing up. And then of course the pickled papaya, we call it Atchara the pickled papaya. It's just, you know, shredded green papaya with carrots, garlic, ginger, onion, and then. Bell pepper. Sometimes some people would put raIsins in them, but we don't, that's not our version. So it's a condiment. So of course you have your pickling liquid, which is sugar and vinegar and salt, and then you would pretty much marinate the whole vegetables in there. And then we would put them in jars and that would be a condiment for anything really, for fried food or grilled seafood or fish, or grilled pork, you know, so it's a tiny condiment and that's like. Where I took my chance to make it spicy, because we love spicy. I remember when I was growing up, my grandfather would always have chili pepper, like fresh chili pepper in the vinegar or in the fish sauce, and that would be our condiment for anything, even for when we're eating something that's already flavorful, we would still have a sauce beside a condiment on the side to, that's why Filipinos love flavor. We don't, we're not shy about that. We're not shy about it,

Host Michael Dugan: 11:41

my gosh, I

Chef Isi Laureano: 11:42

That's why we ha we eat rice with it all the time to pretty much balance everything that we're eating.'cause our dishes are very flavorful. So that's when I started to do chili asylum. I started making chili con carne, you know, like chili pork, beef, vegetarian, I was literally making chili con carne, all the versions of it. And then I started bottling my grandmother's. Atchara, the pickled papa, but I started putting chili peppers in it. So not only the main ingredients of green papaya, onion, garlic, carrots, bell pepper. I started putting chili peppers in it. So that's also being pickled with the Atchara. And that's when I started really to have this line of chili products. I started pickling just the peppers, and then I started making chili jams and chili chutney. So everything is just spicy. And then around after a few years of popping up doing baars, I ended up just, supplying some of my friends stores, like they have like deli stores or just. All local product stores. They started popping up during that time when I was doing bazaars. And then that's when I realized, you know, I'm done doing the bazaars, so I'll just supply these little deli stores or little local ingredient stores. And then Until now, that's what I'm doing. I'm still kind of doing most of my products, but it's not like the way it was before that. I have so many outlets where you can buy my products. Right now I think I only have like maybe three existing stores right now that I'm, 'cause most of the stores closed down during the pandemic.

Host Michael Dugan: 13:47

That's what I wanted to get to is like what's changed since

Chef Isi Laureano: 13:50

Yeah.

Host Michael Dugan: 13:51

We talked.

Chef Isi Laureano: 13:52

yeah. So

Host Michael Dugan: 13:52

There's a lot of things that have probably changed.

Chef Isi Laureano: 13:54

yeah. And then from Chile Asylum, I got into the chili stuff. Really like, just got into that. People started to get to know me that, I started doing all these chili products and then I started the ketchups.

Host Michael Dugan: 14:11

Yeah. That's amazing. Oh, tell us more about that. Let's dive into that

Chef Isi Laureano: 14:15

So, at first it was called Spicy Diwata and Spicy Bathala. When you say Diwata and Bathala, that's the god and goddess.

Host Michael Dugan: 14:26

Oh, okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 14:26

in Filipino, so Diwata is the goddess and Bathala is the God. So pretty much our maker, you know, God, Bathala is our maker. So I just started doing that. It was my friend Drew like a design for spicy Diwata and spicy Bathala ketchup. And

Host Michael Dugan: 14:49

Oh, wow.

Chef Isi Laureano: 14:51

After a few years of making these all natural ketchups, but they're spicy also. I started selling them also during, when I was doing bazaar, so it's not just chili asylum. I also had spicy Diwata, spicy Bathala, and then I met this couple. They're very good with branding, so I asked them, this was my first time really having somebody to brand my products. So we eventually, I was part of the journey of branding. I was really, I learned so much from them and they really made sure that, we can just make it into one word. So I started checking out some Filipino words, like really old Filipino words, and stumbled upon haynayan,

Host Michael Dugan: 15:42

Okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 15:43

Haynayan means. The study of life, which is biology. So when we connected Diwata and Bathala, they're the maker of life, so

Host Michael Dugan: 15:56

I know too, this just reminds me of our previous episode where I believe you started the idea of becoming a marine biologist, right?

Chef Isi Laureano: 16:05

yes. So

Host Michael Dugan: 16:06

that kind of connects a little

Chef Isi Laureano: 16:08

yeah, so everything just kind of got into place when we saw Haynayan, I never knew , the Haynayan word. So when I looked it up, we were like, oh, it's the study of biology, it's the study of life. So it just all got connected. So now it's called Haynayan Ketchups, but I'm still using Spicy Diwata and then Haynayan ketchup, spicy Bathala. So I have different. Fruit flavored ketchups all natural ketchups from banana, pineapple, strawberries since we have strawberries from up north. So I just started making all of these things and then until eventually I got tired of doing bazaars and then I started to teach, that's when I started traveling Spoon also, and everything was just, going all over. People were noticing I am getting so much bookings from Traveling Spoon, because honestly, when 26, I started 2013, around that time, and then 2016 traveling Spoon happened in a span of three years of doing bazaars and doing the ketchups and the bottle, the chili stuff. Traveling Spoon was recommended to me by a good friend of mine. She said, Isi, I think you can do this.'cause they're searching for a host for the Philippines. And Traveling Spoon was just starting at that time. So I accepted, they went here. The owners of Traveling Spoon went here to assess me. And they asked me, why do you wanna do this? I mean, why not? I don't need to open up a restaurant. I just need to open my dining table., But it was kind of skeptical for us, especially for my family who's gonna go here? It was a new idea. It's a new concept. People don't just, open their houses for strangers from all over the world. So at first it wasn't as popular yet, but during, around. After just two years, around 2018, I was getting bookings every

Host Michael Dugan: 18:29

Wow. Wow.

Chef Isi Laureano: 18:30

There was even one month that every other day I had a booking and I was doing it twice.'cause I was offering lunch and dinner when I started traveling. Spoon.

Host Michael Dugan: 18:42

Oh my gosh.

Chef Isi Laureano: 18:43

then now after the pandemic, I had to downgrade because my parents are senior. We didn't wanna open our house anymore to the public, so I had to transfer to another property, which is just a condominium. And before I can accommodate up to eight to 10 people here, I had to downgrade to four or five.

Host Michael Dugan: 19:06

So it's very intimate. Intimate cooking classes

Chef Isi Laureano: 19:09

Yeah. It's since the condominium is not like. An outdoor space for me.'cause here in our house we had a, we have an outdoor kitchen here.

Host Michael Dugan: 19:19

Oh, okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 19:21

so we really do everything outside outdoor. But in the condo, it's an indoor thing. So everything is just, you know, I had to downgrade, but that's fine. I still get to continue what I've been doing for 10 years.

Host Michael Dugan: 19:37

I, that's amazing. So think about this, okay.'cause this is the chef check-in. So now we're fast forwarding to now, what key takeaways do you have from traveling Spoon? What is it that keeps you doing it? I mean, you're not doing it for the money, you're doing it for the purpose. Right? And is it the people? Is it the connection? Is it, what is it really that's getting you, keeping you going?

Chef Isi Laureano: 20:01

It's a very, unique platform for me. I mean, back then. We I think we're already celebrating Filipino cuIsine in our own way here. Like we would have the fiestas, we would be having all these food festivals in some provinces, you know, but they do not realize that something like that, that experience that we've been having ever since we were kids, we can actually share that to the world. And Traveling Spoon gave me that kind of platform to be able to share what I learned from my hometown. And during the pandemic we were already planning for our homecoming.'cause I graduated from an all girls school, Saint Three's College. And it was a Jubilee Homecoming. And decided to contribute. By having a fundraiser, by joining a Malabon Food tour. So in my hometown. So I started doing that and then I realized, hey, maybe I can sign this up as another profile, as another tour for Traveling Spoon. And they were so interested. So now it's part of Traveling Spoon. So after the pandemic, people started coming in, of course they wanted to support our homecoming. So a lot of the other batches in my school started doing their group tours and in my hometown. And that's really how I kind of continued the food tour in my hometown.'cause before. The pandemic, there was already an existing food tour by the local government of Malabon and they're actually very good at it because not all cities in the metro, or not a lot of provinces are doing food tours and the local government of Malabon and started to do a Malabon and Heritage tour, even like they were highlighting some of the old churches and old houses in Malabon.'cause Malabon is pretty much an old town. During the Spanish time the Spanish and old heroes of the Philippines, they've been going to our hometown back then as like a vacation place. So since, because we're sea level, we're by the river, so it's very windy. It's like this is vacation area back then during the Spanish period. And then. We're a fishing town, so I literally grew up with fish and seafood. That's like our everyday

Host Michael Dugan: 22:49

That's my heaven.

Chef Isi Laureano: 22:50

Yeah. So that's pretty much our neighborhood over there. So I just started to do it and then when I signed it up to Traveling Spoon, people started to notice like, oh, she's really doing it. And just pretty much saving and keeping what we have in Malabon.'cause back then when I was growing up, people would ask where I live and every time I say Malabon, it's either flooded or it's too far away. Our town is way up north of the metro. So it's already bordering

Host Michael Dugan: 23:30

Where live now. Is North. That's what I remember.

Chef Isi Laureano: 23:32

Yeah. So. Malabon is way up north and already bordering a province of Bulakan if you see it in the map. So it's going up north of the Philippines already. So I can literally take a tricycle to Bulakan.

Host Michael Dugan: 23:48

Oh my gosh.

Chef Isi Laureano: 23:49

That's how close the border is to us of Bulakan and Malabon city. And

Host Michael Dugan: 23:56

you, okay, do you have a car or do you have a motorcycle, or how do you get around?

Chef Isi Laureano: 24:00

So I ran an electronic tricycle now

Host Michael Dugan: 24:05

my gosh. That's what I was trying to understand. Okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 24:09

that's also what what the LGU, the local government started also. They were using the electronic tricycle and the

Host Michael Dugan: 24:16

more for conservation. Okay,

Chef Isi Laureano: 24:17

And the electronic tricycle can handle. Six people at the time. So you know, I could easily have a nice group of five or group of six participants and we could all fit in the electronic tricycle. So it's, and Malabon is really so small, it's a small town, so we can literally go around just using the tricycle because we don't really have big, huge highways in Malabon. So we would go around maybe about three times.'cause literally it's just going around, like literally just going around. And all the restaurants and the carinderias are just all over the town. And one thing that really, I guess sets me apart is that I grew up in a foodie family and my grandfather's eldest sister opened up a bake shop. That bake shop has been there since the 1960s and we literally grew up in that cake shop. And that's really, what sets me apart, that's my gauge of how good food is. And that really became my gateway to learn more about, not just about Malabon, but also how Filipino cuIsine is so regional. It's so different.'cause when I was growing up, we already have this place that we get, lechon wasn't even a festive dish for us, it was a brunch.

Host Michael Dugan: 26:02

Oh, okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 26:04

can literally buy half kilo or one foot kilo of that lechon being chopped. In the morning of Sunday, and that's like our brunch.'cause my grandmother would probably not cook so much on Sundays. She would just buy some other stuff that's being sold in the market in the palengke, which is so nearby to us. Like we can literally walk to the palengke every day. And our culture in our household, we don't stock food because my grandmother and my grandfather would always buy fresh ingredients and then go home by before lunch and she would cook lunch, freshly made food, and then in the afternoon it would be my grandfather who's gonna be doing dinner. And then. They also have a little store in the palengke in the market, so they would pretty much close that by lunchtime and then go back in the afternoon again to open it.'cause they still have Siesta. You know how the Spanish, during the Spanish time, they kind of got that culture of Siesta, like they close the store and then they rest, and then they open up again in the afternoon.

Host Michael Dugan: 27:23

That's European too, I

Chef Isi Laureano: 27:24

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,

Host Michael Dugan: 27:26

Italy is big on that. The gatherings in the afternoon with all the people. Oh my gosh. Like we work in Seattle, we work all day. We don't sometimes don't take a luncheon. People take a two hour lunch, you know, but then they work later. Right. So it's a trade off. So I have some core questions for you. So last time you were, last time you were on Voice for Chefs, what chapter of your life were you in back then, and what chapter are you in now?

Chef Isi Laureano: 27:54

still the same,

Host Michael Dugan: 27:56

Same.

Chef Isi Laureano: 27:56

still working in the kitchen, which I love.

Host Michael Dugan: 27:59

Good.

Chef Isi Laureano: 28:00

I think that it's just really a matter of, finding where you're really place at. And right now I am so glad that I'm doing what I love still. I am in, I've been in the kitchen for 20 years.

Host Michael Dugan: 28:17

20 years. That's amazing. But see, you love it. So you're in the right, you're in the right space, You love it and you're in the right space.

Chef Isi Laureano: 29:20

yeah, I'm not like a restaurateur or like, own a hotel, and I don't think that's really what I need to do. All I wanted is to just teach and.

Host Michael Dugan: 29:31

And you teach at school too?

Chef Isi Laureano: 29:33

Yeah, and like just, maybe someday I might be able to open a Filipino deli, which all my products will be there. All my favorite Filipino products products will be there. And then probably like a small cooking school, just teaching all about Filipino cuIsine. I think that's really what I want eventually, but right now I'm okay. I'm a private chef for a very good client That's literally working from home set up. And then now I'm still doing Traveling Spoon and now Malabon. My Malabon tour is getting recognized even more so this year. So I'm really getting more, not just foreign bookings, it's also local bookings now because of that article that came out recently and that. Yeah. Chef Reggie is like a pioneer. I've looked up to her for the longest time and she

Host Michael Dugan: 30:34

Send me a link to the article and I'll put it in the show notes so people can click on it and maybe even reach out to Chef Reggie

Chef Isi Laureano: 30:41

Yes, yes.

Host Michael Dugan: 30:43

that would be so cool

Chef Isi Laureano: 30:44

and it flourished into, we're doing a cooking class about Malabon

Host Michael Dugan: 30:49

Oh. Oh, that's

Chef Isi Laureano: 30:50

So she's opening up her house 'cause she does cooking lessons in her house and she has like a private, yeah, she does also private cooking lessons, but just on her own. And she literally started to offer Heritage cuIsine classes and I'm one of the first ones. And she really loved Malabon. She really loved my aunt who's running the cake shop now. You know, everyone knows Chef Reggie. That's why I'm so happy that she, recognized me and now I'm getting local bookings too because of her. So I think it's really a matter of just working your best at whichever you are really capable of. And this is really what I am capable of. This is really what I love and I'm not a millionaire, but I love what I do. And that's

Host Michael Dugan: 31:49

I have to say, Isi, you seemed more stressed before and

Chef Isi Laureano: 31:55

That was a very demanding, that was a very demanding client. And also that was really my first time having that kind of client. So I was really, yeah I was getting sick and I don't really get sick

Host Michael Dugan: 32:13

Oh

Chef Isi Laureano: 32:14

and I don't really get so stressed with kitchen work. I love my work, I love

Host Michael Dugan: 32:20

Wow.

Chef Isi Laureano: 32:21

But then

Host Michael Dugan: 32:21

You're such an inspiration. You don't realize that people that are gonna listen, some of them get stressed. Right.

Chef Isi Laureano: 32:26

Yeah.

Host Michael Dugan: 32:26

But it's like you provide hope. You provide hope,

Chef Isi Laureano: 32:29

and it's like, I don't think I want to end up like having trauma with the kitchen work.'cause I've experienced friends who do not want to cook anymore. Because of the stress they had from working in a kitchen or for working for a really bad employer and they don't wanna cook anymore. I don't want that to happen to me.

Host Michael Dugan: 32:54

No,

Chef Isi Laureano: 32:54

I don't think so

Host Michael Dugan: 32:54

You don't that way at all. You don't seem that way at all.

Chef Isi Laureano: 32:58

and I was able to work there for almost three years. I worked hard. I really wanted this, I was recommended. It wasn't like I, you know, I look for this job and I just didn't want to, make my, the one who recommended me feel embarrassed of me, not working for at least for a whole year with them. But I was able to work for almost three years over there. And, but then again, eventually I. Wasn't seeing my family anymore. I'm literally tired 'cause I only have one day off. And during the day off, of course I have to do everything that I can do because I don't have time every day to do whatever I can do for, you know, for my personal stuff. But it was all work, work, work, work, work. And it was really very demanding. But then again, I strived it. I was able to do it for almost two years, but I was already feeling it. It wasn't like I, I'm not enjoying it anymore and I don't want to end up like my other friends who don't wanna do it anymore. So I had to stop it because I was already getting sick. I mean, I'm healthy. And then I started getting sick because of the stress, the kitchen stress stress that I'm I'm getting from that place. So I just stopped it and I realized this is not the end of my career for quitting that job.

Host Michael Dugan: 34:41

No way, You're doing a lot of things, Izzy. You're doing a lot of things right

Chef Isi Laureano: 34:45

After I quit last year I started doing Traveling Spoon again. I opened up my calendar again'cause I had to block my calendar.

Host Michael Dugan: 34:54

Right?

Chef Isi Laureano: 34:55

So for almost three years, traveling Spoon was not happening

Host Michael Dugan: 35:00

Mm-hmm.

Chef Isi Laureano: 35:01

and I. Kind of felt so sad and bad for declining bookings. And I also felt bad to say to the owners of traveling, I'm sorry for not being able to do this for almost three years.'Cause the, my previous employer told me I cannot do it. I cannot have a double income job

Host Michael Dugan: 35:25

Wow.

Chef Isi Laureano: 35:26

so they, I have to stop everything just so I, you know, I don't get, you know, anyways, so I just literally went back, opening up my calendar again, getting some bookings, and then another chef friend recommended me to this new client

Host Michael Dugan: 35:46

Oh boy. And that's when it happened.

Chef Isi Laureano: 35:47

And that's that's when it happened,,

Host Michael Dugan: 35:48

that's where you're getting

Chef Isi Laureano: 35:50

yeah, when, after meeting you guys and I literally just had the interview before I went to Washington.

Host Michael Dugan: 35:57

So meeting us, but that's where that, let's stop for a sec. But that's where you get your inspiration, I think, is from your new client, from the things you're doing now. So what advice would you have for someone if they're stuck in that rut, if they're. Going in the restaurant every day, if they're getting sick, if they're really stressed out, You give them to say it's gonna get better? Maybe think a little different because you did, you pivoted and you're happier.

Chef Isi Laureano: 36:24

I think for me, I'm pretty lucky 'cause I have a fallback. I have traveling spoon, I have chili asylum, I have all these homemade brands So I think that's one thing that you need to have is that you would always think, there's still an opportunity for me to move away from this, or after moving away from something that I've been working on so hard. But then again, I'm not happy. At that job anymore. I think what you need to find is another opportunity or a fallback, just like what I have.'cause I have these things. I have traveling spoon, I have my homemade brand, so it's not a loss for me,

Host Michael Dugan: 37:10

Yeah.

Chef Isi Laureano: 37:11

Quitting that job. That's, that I'm not happy anymore. So I think what they need to find is an opportunity for them to really, assess themself. If they can really quit this job and have another, thing to do that you also, that you're gonna love and you're not going to get so stressed. I mean, there stress is everywhere, but right now I'm very lucky to finally, you know. Find this new client and working for this new client and doing traveling Spoon at the same time is not demanding me to stop doing that. You can do whatever you are doing. As long as I have my food delivered, that's the priority that I have to do every week, you know? So it's not stressful. I get to do my Malabon Tours. I get to do Traveling Spoon. This is really what I was doing before the pandemic. I was at the highlight of my career before Pandemic happened. I was getting so much opportunities during that time, and then look at it now, 2021. 2020 pandemic happened. 2022. We opened up 2026, so it took almost four years. Finally recover and to find my grounding again. Like, this is

Host Michael Dugan: 38:46

you did.

Chef Isi Laureano: 38:47

this is really what I wanted to do. And going to Washington was really our vacation. Like, you need a vacation

Host Michael Dugan: 38:53

Well tell us. Yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna wrap up and we have to talk about this because you told me you were coming to Seattle. I'm like, oh my gosh. I get to meet Isi. I get to introduce her to Carrie.'cause you're always like, Carrie, how's Carrie doing? And Carrie is my wife for everyone that's listening or watching. But I've wanted to make that connection for so long. And I knew that Isi would be an amazing human being. And I got to meet her and her boyfriend, Eric, and some of Eric's family. And it was incredible. And so, can you tell us a little bit about that trip? Maybe in two, three minutes?

Chef Isi Laureano: 39:27

I mean it was surreal for me going to Washington 'cause I've been in the States, but this was my first time going to Washington State and in the Pacific Northwest. Like I, I've been to Vancouver the year before I last year and I was just like, this is the life. This is what I wanted. This is real vacation that I wanted to see. And then now I, we went it was Eric's first time also and to see what his older brother's family is doing over there. So it was really like a first for us. And I remember that you are from Seattle.

Host Michael Dugan: 40:09

Yeah, I know. It's crazy.

Chef Isi Laureano: 40:12

and then I literally looked at our past conversations and asked, I know Michael is from Seattle. I know somebody from Seattle.

Host Michael Dugan: 40:21

I know. It's just crazy, but I

Chef Isi Laureano: 40:23

I messaged you guys and then I said, Hey, I'm coming over. It would be lovely to meet you guys. Finally in person. So that was really something. And I mean, that was, there were so many highlights of that

Host Michael Dugan: 40:39

I know. I know. But Musang.

Chef Isi Laureano: 40:41

We needed that trip. We needed that vacation after, you know,

Host Michael Dugan: 40:47

All the

Chef Isi Laureano: 40:47

so much work, even for Eric, at his workplace. So yeah, everything was just amazing. And I, I love that we met, I love that we ate at

Host Michael Dugan: 40:59

Musang. Yeah. Oh my gosh.

Chef Isi Laureano: 41:02

And then all my cousins from Vancouver went down to meet us. Like, that was just a really good one month vacation over there in Pacific Northwest.

Host Michael Dugan: 41:14

I still love the picture of Melissa Miranda and, um, and you and me and like that whole experience was really special to share with Carrie and Eric. And it was just a lot of fun. Just a lot of fun

Chef Isi Laureano: 41:29

I have a backlog of posts I haven't even

Host Michael Dugan: 41:32

I'm sure you were all over the place, all over the Pacific Northwest in a week.

Chef Isi Laureano: 41:36

about that. I haven't posted about everything. But I was just so lucky to be able to do that and to be able to experience America again. I mean, I haven't gone to the States since 2017 and you know, because of the pandemic. And also we don't really go to the States because of work. I can't really go all the time. So that. It was something, it was really, really happy vacation for us and to really not think about anything really. I mean, I was supposed to be thinking about the adoption of my new dog, but yeah, before I left, my friend already told me, Isi, when you come back, you're going to get the dog. I'm gonna give you one dog. And then it did not sink into me when we were having a vacation.

Host Michael Dugan: 42:29

And your dog is? Your dog is Poppy. Right?

Chef Isi Laureano: 42:32

Yeah, poppy. And then when we came back, she message Isi, are you back? I'm like, yes, I'm back. And then she's like, you can get the dog. And I'm like, what?

Host Michael Dugan: 42:42

Oh my

Chef Isi Laureano: 42:43

So I was so, so happy adopting Poppy. And we have this new dog at home and I get to see him every day here here while I'm cooking. He's there.

Host Michael Dugan: 42:57

Wow. So as we carry out, is there any final, well, actually, let's pause for a sec. But I have a friend, really good friend from Clubhouse that really got me started in Clubhouse, and that's Chef Mimi Lan. And she asks, why? Why is the, or sorry, not why, but what is the Philippines national dish?

Chef Isi Laureano: 43:21

That's a very hard question.

Host Michael Dugan: 43:23

That's what she said. She was researching. She's a researcher and she's like, I can't figure it out.

Chef Isi Laureano: 43:27

no, there's no, there's not one dish that would equate to Philippine cuIsine. But I would tell you something that I learned from one of my good friends, Ige Ramos. He would always say, it's not adobo,

Host Michael Dugan: 43:46

Ah.

Chef Isi Laureano: 43:46

our kakanin. The kakanin are the rice cakes of the Philippines, and.

Host Michael Dugan: 43:52

okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 43:54

kakanin is like everywhere. Every place in the Philippines would have their own, not just one version of kakanin, but a variety of kakanin. In my hometown, we have the sapin sapin, we have another type of kakanin, we have our cassava tarts, we have black kochinda, and these are all made with rice, sticky glutenous rice and made out of coconut milk or other root crops like cassava or taro. Of course, like these are all types of rice cakes everywhere. So I think we just forget about our. you know, old and indigenous cooking, and I think right now that's what really, what we're really protecting and what we're really highlighting, because these are the things that has been done for the longest time, ever since pre-colonial times we've been harvesting rice, we've been doing so much with rice, and I think it overcomes boundaries even in our religion. You know, of course there's Christianity and Muslim and over here in the country and even in Mindanao, in the Muslim areas, they make kakanin. So I think kakanin is the most universal thing that people don't talk much about. But every time I'm getting asked, what's the national dish of the Philippines? I think it's supposed to be this, not adobo, not sinigang, not our.

Host Michael Dugan: 45:41

Oh, not sinigang. Okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 45:43

Not, not our pancit, pancit is of influence from the Chinese culture. So if you're really going to think back about indigenous cooking, it would be our rice cakes. Since we love rice.

Host Michael Dugan: 45:57

great. And then another question from my friend Baxter. He, his nephew, says or asks. What's the difference in cooking styles or techniques between different areas of the Philippines, and also is there a difference in the way that people source spices in the Philippines to the us?

Chef Isi Laureano: 46:21

Well, for regional, I mean, if you look at the regional cooking all over, it would probably only differ not just by the cooking method, but. It'll be very different on what ingredients they're using

Host Michael Dugan: 46:40

Okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 46:41

because when we say adobo, which is the name of the dish, you are already cooking something in vinegar. That's pretty much the meaning of adobo for us.

Host Michael Dugan: 46:53

Okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 46:54

That's why we named our dishes in how we cook it. Like sinigang. When you say sinigang, that's the sour soup. But then again, in other areas, their sour soup, the sinigang would be using tamarind. Others would be using unripe pineapples.'cause pineapple farms are very, popular over there in that area. Some would be using another type of sour agent for making a sinigang, but it's still sinigang.

Host Michael Dugan: 47:26

Okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 47:27

And then, you know, just, and then of course when you say ginataang, you, it's either a savory dish. Or a sweet dessert. When you say ginataang, it means it's cooked in coconut milk. But then again, everything would be different. You can have ginataang vegetables, can have, rice cooked in coconut milk. That would be a sweet dessert, versus having a savory coconut based dish. But then again, we're still using ginataang when you say that, when you see that on the menu, means that dish is cooked in coconut milk. So that's pretty much how we identify the dish and also how the dish was being made. But then again, there's no standards of like, when are you gonna put the vinegar? When are you gonna put the souring agent, you know, every household would have their own version of sinigang. Every household have their own version of adobo, so we really cannot just. Make it into one recipe. I'm sorry. That's just not how Filipino cuIsine is because every time you go to a different province, like for me for example, when we were kids, we know this is our lechon in Malabon, but when I went to Cebu it's different. They stuff their pigs with this fruit called batuan and lemon grass. In Luzon we don't do that. We don't stuff our pigs. In my hometown, we don't do that. And in Luzon this area up north, we have a liver sauce,

Host Michael Dugan: 49:11

Okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 49:12

a very peppery liver gravy. So that's what we use as a condiment for our lechon, in Cebu, they don't have that. When I went to Cebu for the first time when we were kids, we were searching for the liver sauce and they told us, and they told us, no, we only use vinegar over here as a condiment for lechon,'cause their Cebu lechon is so flavorful already because of the stuffing, you don't need the liver sauce anymore. So I was blown away when I was a kid, like, wow, that, that took me, you know, I guess from a different perspective, like, oh, it's lechon in every province. It's actually made differently also, or adobo is made differently over in this province. It's much more sweeter in this province or much more savory in this province. Some

Host Michael Dugan: 50:12

Hmm.

Chef Isi Laureano: 50:13

adobo would have ginger in them, so it's that's not my, my, you know, the way we cook adobo in our household. So that really gave me that perspective that everything is different here. People just have to embrace that, that our

Host Michael Dugan: 50:30

Yeah, yeah yeah for sure,

Chef Isi Laureano: 50:32

cuIsine is, you know, very regional. There's so many ingredients here in the Philippines that a lot of people, I don't think know. So That's That's why every time you go to a different province, oh, they have this, oh, that doesn't exist in our area. When you go down in Mindanao, there's so many ingredients there that don't even go up north here.

Host Michael Dugan: 50:56

Okay.

Chef Isi Laureano: 50:56

Like that's only being grown over there, and that's what they use for making sinigang or, you know, other coconut based dishes and they love their spice there. But here, up north, we don't really like spicy so much. You know, we're not, we were so influenced by Spain and Chinese cuIsine, and that really was the mixture and the fusion of Filipino cuIsine right now that you're experiencing.

Host Michael Dugan: 51:28

Wow.

Chef Isi Laureano: 51:30

So

Host Michael Dugan: 51:30

So, so as we wrap up first of all, thank you so much my friend

Chef Isi Laureano: 51:34

thank

Host Michael Dugan: 51:35

For For doing this. I miss you. I really miss you the best to Eric. A big hug to your dog. You know, there's just so much. I want you to come back to Seattle and vIsit again.

Chef Isi Laureano: 51:47

For sure, Eric.

Host Michael Dugan: 51:49

It would be really cool. Good. Well, you know, you are very special and of the 90 episodes that I've done, you're one of the most memorable, and I'm gonna put it out there to the universe because of your energy, your positivity, your willingness to help. Just, there's so many things, you know, Isi, that I can't even begin to say how much I appreciate you as a human being, as a friend, as a chef. But anyway, leave you with that. This was a, supposed to be a shorter chef check-in, but I'm like, I love this so much. And I'm so grateful. But the last thing, very last thing is how do people find you two places that they can find you online?

Chef Isi Laureano: 52:35

Oh, you can just follow me on Instagram at Eat Matters pH, and then from there you can just look and then also you can just vIsit traveling spoon.com and click on Philippines and you would see us all the other hosts that do this cooking classes for Filipino food. So yeah,

Host Michael Dugan: 53:00

Amazing.

Chef Isi Laureano: 53:01

just let me know when you guys are over here and when you can finally vIsit me with

Host Michael Dugan: 53:07

Oh that would be incredible.