Maida is a forty plus year seasoned (no pun intended!) master in the art of Filipino cooking. That is if you count the years she has spent in the kitchen as a young child, watching with exciting curiosity, the inner workings of a food catering business– with her mom and other chefs in action.

Her parents were in the business of food for over 25 years — operating a restaurant, a number of canteen concessions in schools, hospital and manufacturing plants, and a full-service catering! She had the privilege of learning the business from the bottom up, doing tasks in the kitchen- from dishwashing, cutting vegetables, counting utensils, cooking simple to complex dishes, to handling monies, to doing paperwork to managing people, to running the restaurant.

She spent a lot of her growing up years in the kitchen starting at age 10: either observing her mother cook and preparing the food or being hands-on, chopping, peeling, sautéing, mixing, garnishing, the list could go on. She tried and did it all! Flipping fresh lumpia wrappers from a dozen to hundreds was her favorite!

Maida has attended several hands-on cooking classes in the Philippines and training in proper food handling and quality management systems.

“… being in a batch of food enthusiast  with fellow business owners, winery owners, deans of uni and other sous chefs, inspires me to be better everyday at my craft and commit to cooking food at a high standard. Cooking from the heart is the key to having delicious & hearty meal… “ -Maida

In 2017, she finished courses at the renowned Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York, United States. Lectures, classes and hands-on training included: Knife Skills, Culinary Fundamentals, Baking & Pastry, Italian and Asian Cuisine, Bistros & Brasseries and Menu Critique and review.

Her stint at the CIA reinvigorated her passion and love of cooking even more. She believes food is an experience, not merely sustenance. Being meticulous in the kitchen and being clean & hygienic is consistently reinforced. CIA has not only taught her how to be a great chef but also to be consciously responsible for the environment & the produce; That organic farming is now the best way to eat healthily, using only the best ingredients. It inspired her to do fusion of cultures to reinvent Filipino cuisine and hopefully bring it to the next level.