Renowned chefs Happy Ongpauco-Tiu, Josh Boutwood, Kalel Chan, and Nicco Santos share some of their best gastronomic tips
Around GMA
Around GMA
Bystander who tackled armed man at Bondi Beach shooting hailed as hero Visually impaired soldier promoted from captain to major Farm to Table: (December 14, 2025) LIVEArticle Inside Page
Showbiz News
Last Saturday became a delicious treat, as four of the most talented chefs in the country gathered in one event to indulge lucky foodies with their easy-to-prepare and extremely flavorful dishes.
On March 30, four of the Philippines' best chefs gathered in Greenbelt 3 in Makati City for the Knorr Test Kitchen to prepare dishes that were a sure hit among Filipinos.
Not only did Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu, Chef Josh Boutwood, Chef Kalel Chan and Chef Nicco Santos whipped up the most sumptuous food, they shared some of their secrets in creating lovely meals, as well.
Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu
Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu is all about creating good food without compromising the time with her family. The expert in Filipino cuisine recommends finding an ingredient that will shorten your time in the kitchen.
With the dishes that she prepared, she managed to skip a lot of steps by using key ingredients that will lock in the flavor.
“We don't need to use salt, we don't need to use soy sauce, we just use this (Knorr SavorRich Liquid Meaty Seasoning) and the dish will be very flavorful."
Chef Happy also noted how it makes her tasks easier. “The good thing about this is I have four kids by the way, I'm always in a rush and a working mom; this eliminates steps in cooking. It makes it much easier.”
Chef Josh Boutwood
Chef Josh Boutwood who is well-known for his expertise in fine dining said that having explosive flavors is a must for his dishes. His recommendation is to give meat a good rub so that the marinade will be evenly distributed.
“Massage it and make sure it's all over there.” He said.
Chef Nicco Santos
Chef Nicco Santos is a name that is synonymous with Singaporean and Malaysian comfort food. During the event, he presented a dish that is new and interesting for the Filipino taste buds.
Chef Nicco cooked Coffee Pork Ribs which he revealed as a famous food in Singapore.
To some people, salt and pepper would be sufficient to make their dishes flavorful. But for Chef Nicco, a dish will be more exciting when extra elements are thrown in. “To put a spin on it we added herbs," he revealed.
Chef Kalel Chan
Chef Kalel Chan's Asian Fusion of Pork Sisig Gyoza was one of the dishes that was an instant hit among foodies at the event.
The secret to achieving the satisfying combination of Filipino and Japanese flavors? Chef Kalel says it's is all about having the right aroma of the dish.
According to Chef Kalel, patis or fish sauce is a common ingredient in his Filipino dish. He said he avoided that ingredient to make the aroma more enticing and used another product instead for that burst of pork flavor.
He said he added a pork extract as an alternative when he boiled the pig face. “I am just maximizing the flavor.”
