Margarita Forés

Simplicity, responsibility and lots of determination are the fil rouge in 30 years of work for Filipino chef Margarita Forés, Asia’s Best Female Chef 2016 for the San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna 50 Best. She began almost by chance: in Italy for 4 months in 1986, among the markets of Florence, Rome and Milan she discovered a passion for our culinary tradition and took Italian cooking classes.

When returning to the Philippines, she brought her experience and created her first business, catering Cibo di M. The turning point arrived in 1997 with her first restaurant, Cibo, which starting off as a small café-bistro then grew and, 18 years later, counts as many as 10 branches in Manila. Then came the other restaurants: Lusso, a champagne and gastro bar, and Grace Park, specialized in farmer-to-table cuisine. She thus imports the local-product philosophy. A further addition is Alta, in the Ascott Bonifacio Global City complex, where Forés manages the entire F&B offer.

In every restaurant she focuses on simplicity and high quality ingredients for her Italian dishes. In 2013 she became a partner of Casa Artusi, opening in Manila the only foreign branch for the prestigious institution. Three years later the school is an important point of reference for the training of many young Filipinos looking for a restaurant career.

She doesn’t forget her roots. Margarita is indeed the ambassador of Filipino flavours around the world through Cibo di M. She has thus served even Prince William and the Spanish monarchs during the official visit to the El Pardo Royal Palace by the then President of the Philippines Arroyo, in 2007. Her connection with local producers is strong and she has them involved in various projects on sustainable agriculture.