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Ep. 1: Yana Gilbuena, SALO Series Gypsy Chef

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My first guest on the show was one of my earliest collaborators and really stretches the boundaries of what a “moveable feast” means. Yana Gilbuena, who calls herself a “gypsy chef” of sorts, completed 50 pop-up dinners in all 50 states within a year. A task that most would consider completely insane since at times she didn’t even know where she would be sleeping at night. Through her critically-acclaimed “SALO Series”, she’s now bringing regional Filipino cuisine around the world.

We cover:
- transitioning from her job as a designer into the world of cooking (with little professional training at that!)
- the minimum skills and equipment you’d need to learn to cook for yourself and others
- what the concept of “dining” really means
- introducing new flavors to people who have never tasted them before and doing it successfully

HIGHLIGHTS

6:15 - The purpose of the SALO Series
11:50 - How Yana transitioned into hosting pop-up dinners
21:15 - Whether creativity is a prerequisite to cooking well
24:20 - The bare minimum equipment you'd need to prepare a meal
30:00 - How pop-up dinners in general have changed over time
34:25 - How the perception of Filipino food has changed over time
38:40 - One dish Yana would choose to be the "face" of Filipino food
41:25 - The three skills you'd need to become a self-sufficient chef

VOCABULARY

Arroz Caldo - A type of rice porridge often made with chicken
Batchoy - A regional specialty of the province of Iloilo made with noodles, a rich stock, pork organs, and cracklings
Piniritong Isda - fFried fish
Lumpia - Egg roll
Adobo - Vinegar-based stew.  Sometimes thought of as the national dish of the Philippines
Sisig - A regional specialty of the province of Pampanga made by frying roughly chopped pig's ears/face/jowls/etc. topped with chillies and an egg.  Typically consumed as a snack or bar food.
Sinigang - Sour soup usually made with tamarind