00:00Consistency is number one on our agenda wherever we are in the world and so it goes down to the
00:05training program. I look at the attitude of these young Filipino chefs and it's majestic.
00:11They remind me so much of myself at the age of 22.
00:22I'm so excited to be here in the Philippines. It means a lot. I think it's one of the sort
00:25of sleeping beauties of Asia and now some of the best restaurants in some of the most exciting
00:31cities in the world are Filipino. I've spent a lot of time in Australia recently and the US
00:37and hotspots in the top 10 is Filipino restaurants and so we've removed this blanket of
00:43discovery. There's this incredible excitement behind the Filipino cuisine and so having a
00:50chance to open here. We started this journey nearly two years ago. You're looking at the
00:54sites recruiting, the building, the menu but for me it comes down to the projects. I didn't think
00:59I could create a better fish and chips outside of London and to do it here in Manila with the
01:05lepo lepo fish it's extraordinary. So there's a rich culture here that needs to be respected.
01:11I love the regional diversity of Filipino cuisine as well and then you've got the the complexity
01:18you know the acids, the vinegar, the fish stews, the marinades, its fragrance and so Filipino
01:24cuisine for me now can equally sit alongside Thai, Southeast Asian. I've been a big lover of Korean,
01:33Vietnamese and Filipino cuisine now is ranked certainly in that top five. It's been a long
01:39time coming but there's something quite humble about the approach and there's something sort of
01:46almost reassuring in a way that it's not comfort, it's tradition but no waste. They maximize their
01:54flavor but most importantly the dishes are beautiful, really beautiful.
02:03Oh I think there's lots of challenging daily insights and nothing that we can't handle by
02:09the way and so consistency is number one on our agenda wherever we are in the world and so it
02:15goes down to the training program. I look at the attitude of these young Filipino chefs and
02:19it's majestic. They remind me so much of myself at the age of 22. They don't want to go home after
02:24their shift, they want to come in on their days off, they want to continue educating their palate
02:29and so when you're running an empire on the scale of what we're doing it needs to be consistent
02:35but I teach and we now have culinary academies around the world that are not
02:43two, three, four year courses. We're teaching dishes so you can get up to speed in 30 days with
02:5012 incredible dishes and I think that's been the key to the success in training.
02:59And the most fulfilling for me is seeing the level of execution in terms of just how
03:04quick these young chefs pick it up and they have this intrusion of social media today. They learn
03:09so much quicker because they're looking at their phones, they're looking at their apps and they're
03:13looking at these platforms so you know a great young chef can travel fast if they take notice
03:19to what's around them 24-7 so few chefs you know disregard that intrusion. I welcome it because
03:29it's the modern culture and it's similar to art, it's similar to fashion, similar to sport
03:35food is on all these platforms now so take advantage of that.
03:39I think my secret is staying relevant and having fun with it and so the seriousness is in the
03:44restaurants and the fun is on the platforms. I think we're about 120 million followers on all
03:49those platforms together and so 40 million plus of TikTok and when people ask me to critique
03:55the food I love that so with my down time and we get chance to have a go and have some fun.
04:02Also having three daughters that are young, up-and-coming, future generation potentially
04:08chefs. Matilda is a big, big lover of social media and so we have fun on that and I think
04:16that little bit of family dynamic can translate and make recipes less intimidating, a bit more
04:21fun and so we're lucky from all-day dining, all-day cooking, all-day eating, all-day
04:29from all-day dining to incredible burgers, to incredible restaurants, bar and grill,
04:35one-star, two-star, three-star mission. We need to be, we need to be diverse, we need to be
04:41multi-facet and so I want to show other young chefs that you can do it all, you can have a
04:48great reputation online and a great restaurant reputation. It doesn't need to be one or the other.
04:52I think on the personal front, winning three stars in France, three Michelin stars in France
05:04is the ultimate goal because they taught me how to cook. I got everything I wanted from some of
05:10the best chefs on the planet and so to have two stars, we are so close in Bordeaux and so we're
05:16one star away from achieving. I think after that every year we need, you know, a target, a plan.
05:24I have an Ironman coming up in July so I'm training for that currently so I can eat happily,
05:30I don't have to worry about my weight, I focus and I unwind as I train. So they're the two
05:37real key items on my agenda for 25. Three stars in France and to cross that line as an Ironman in July.
05:46I do spend a lot of time in the kitchen today. Am I behind the line running the fish station? No.
05:51Am I at the front of the orchestra conducting it? Yes I am. If we stay behind the line then no one
05:55gets taught. So that next stage of evolution and developing in terms of how to aspire to become a
06:02great leader, you need to transition and so understanding that transition is crucial. I've
06:08been a line cook, I've been behind the line 18-19 hours but if you don't let go it will take you
06:14down and I look at Alain Ducasse, Joe Robuchon, the late Joe Robuchon. Joe Robuchon had four
06:22three-star Michelin, Alain Ducasse today has three three-star Michelin. Great leaders in their field
06:28and so I think my responsibility now going forward is to emulate what I've been taught
06:33and to teach and to become the most unselfish chef on the planet and so that's the generosity
06:40in me to teach them to get them as good as or if not better than than Gordon Ramsay. I see
06:48examples like Claire Smith, you know first ever female in the UK to win three stars. She was by
06:55my side for 12 years so for her to step out on her own and to win the ultimate accolade, Matt
07:01Abbey will be the next one, Kim will be the next one after that. There could be a rising star in
07:07the kitchen here from a young talented Filipino female chef. So yeah we want future facing chefs
07:14and so that's the role. I want to pass the baton over soon but I'm not done yet.
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