When the lockdowns choked the surfers out of Siargao, one chef took it upon himself to gather his peers in one kitchen to go wild and whip up their best dishes to help the restaurant scene on the island become as much of a destination as the big waves.
Andrew Malarky, owner of Wild Restaurant, said it's simple, "people need to eat". Fellow chefs were also forced to find work out of their home kitchens since many restaurants were shut.
"I saw that and I wanted to give these guys a platform: somewhere where they can express their talents, they can earn, and they can really show what they can do," he said.
Borrowing the concept of a "kitchen takeover", he let these chefs go "carte blanche", with their imagination as their only limit. He lent them his restaurant, staff, kitchen, and even his own expertise, and together, the chefs all worked to make alive Siargao's food community.
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It didn't take long for people to started trickling in, in search for flavor comfort during a troubling time.
"During the pandemic, it was a very entrepreneurial time. There were a lot of side gigs, and things that people would do, and that how they would not only earn and sustain their self, but also maintain their sanity," he said.
They also took advantage of the time to go back to their roots and offer more of the local food exprience to the island, both for foreigners—out to try something new—and for Filipinos themselves—wanting as much sense of normalcy.
"We found that the Filipino market was very misrepresented, and in that way, especially during the pandemic, we adjusted our menu and put a lot of Filipino flavors...We are [also] very big on using local," Malarky said.
He hopes for the spontaneous venture to do more than keep island tourism afloat.
"What I would like to see kitchen turnover turning into, would be maybe then finally opening its doors to other chefs in the Philippines. Now, that can increase the visibility of Siargao as culinary destination in the country," he said.
"That the food here is very good, and I think that we can stand out and we can work together to make that happen," he added.
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