Mayordoma

I lost my dad exactly a year ago.  In the time since, I fixated on one of the things he passed on to me: a love for papaitan. I packed it all into the latest podcast. The TLDR/TLDL takeaway? In remembering someone, holding on to bitterness isn’t a completely terrible thing. I love you, pops. I hope the buffet’s great at the majestic casino in the sky. “When my dad was alive, I’d wasted too much time not knowing enough about him; now, I could at least earn some kind of fluency in the food he relished.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mafaldamakes.substack.com

Hey listeners, I don’t know about you but doesn’t this supposed home stretch of the pandemmy make you want to stretch your social limbs a bit? Check in with your amigas? Even some living across the ocean? For me, Singaporean cookbook author Bryan Koh is one of those people. Exactly a year ago, I published an article on CNN about how Bryan’s book, Milkier Pigs & Violet Gold, reintroduced me to Filipino food like she was my long-lost mother. One who now happens to be a billionaire and is besties with Kylie Minogue. Needless to say, I was dying to know more. Published in 2012, Milkier Pigs & Violet Gold was the first of its kind—a feast of information on regional Philippine cuisine, from pili nut tinola in Bicol to Carabao’s milk pudding in Pampanga; from the ubiquitous ube in its title to the little-known cooking techniques of the Lumad down south, all written by a foreigner at that. Bryan’s book taught me that there isn’t just one way to cook adobo; that even the sourness in sinigang exists on a spectrum; that our paths to learning about Filipino food are also many-splendored. Just as Bryan’s Pinay nannies gave him a constant craving for Filipino fare, a Singaporean boy like him could show me just how epic my own country’s cuisine is. Of course, if there was a mayordoma that began Bryan’s fascination with Filipino food, leading to his award-winning cookbook and the two editions that followed, I had to know more about her. So recently, I rang Bryan over Zoom call. It was the day after he held one of his elaborate pop-up dinners in Singapore—an ode to Burmese flavors. Thankfully, Bryan had just enough energy to talk about the first cookbook he published a decade ago; the Pinoy places that still have to make it into a future edition; and the iconic yayas of his youth. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mafaldamakes.substack.com

Hey listeners, I know—it’s been a moment. Your gay granny may have gotten a little too caught up in the season finale of Delta and its spin-off, Omicron. But—it’s a new year, I’m triple-vaxxed, and the Mayordoma podcast is back. And I’ve got a real appetite to bring you more inspiring b*****s who run their kitchens.In fact, our guest for this episode has run a whole lot of kitchens all the way in New York—and with no formal culinary training at that. Pilar Valdes went from owning a catering business to private cheffing it up for clients like, oh, just our quirky queen, Drew Barrymore! Now cooking for America’s reigning sweetheart is one thing, but Pilar wasn’t expecting to cook for the world as well.  For a year now, Pilar has appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show as Drew’s “culinary partner in crime.” If Drew’s talk show has been our sunny escape through this pandemic, Pilar’s cooking segment offers a little wanderlust on the plate. 20 episodes in, she’s put a bright, global spin on comfort food, from rubbing a steak with Vietnamese coffee to scrambling eggs with yuzu kosho. And your girl does it with a gleeful shimmy that’s become as much a part of the show as her co-host’s signature lisp. Last November, she and Drew co-published Rebel Homemaker, a cookbook featuring the whimsical farmer’s market fare Pilar’s dished out at the star’s home, with some familiar Filipino tastes in the mix—a recipe for kilawin, for one, and an Ode to Campbell’s Mushroom Soup, which we cannot deny is a Pinoy pantry classic. Rebel Homemaker has led to some very public things for the once-private chef—from landing the cover of Cherry Bombe with her co-author, to sitting down with Whoopi and the ladies on The View. Amid promotions for the book, Pilar spared some time to discuss the whirlwind that’s taken her from delivering packed lunches on the subway to, uh, serving up a New York Times best-seller! She also tells us how it took a while before she realized she wanted to quit her job in nonprofit work to become a full-time chef. Though, I’ll admit, not as much time as it took to properly connect with her over Zoom. After half an hour of audio mishaps from my end, she still managed to serve smiles all the way from her cozy Brooklyn apartment. Here she is, the serial shimmier herself, Pilar Valdes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mafaldamakes.substack.com

The grander the cake, the greater the celebration, right? With the maiden episode of the Mayordoma podcast finally here, the sweetest celebration is in order: a chat with our country’s cake queen, Heny Sison. Long before my sisters put up their own restaurants, they kicked their culinary careers off studying cake decoration under Heny Sison. Back in the ‘90s, getting Heny to teach you seemed like a rite of passage for anyone serious about baking. Unlike my sisters, I never did go to Heny’s school. But recently, Chef Heny welcomed me like a long-lost daughter to her new casa aka Deo Gracias, the modern Spanish restaurant she opened in QC early this month. With a bodega selling gourmet goods and a terrace perfect for sipping a sunset sangria, Deo Gracias is the divine intervention the QC food scene needs. Callos and other abuela-approved Spanish standbys are worth the trip. Not to mention a mussel and uni-topped fideuà cleverly adapted for Manileños by Chef Alex del Hoyo Gómez. But it’s the sweet stuff that makes me thank the heavens for giving us Heny. The muy moist Tarta de Santiago is an easy holiday craving. What deserves its own place of worship, though, is the Manchego cheesecake—a Daenerys-led dragon burn to all the basic Basque cheesecakes out there. I was about ready for a siesta by the time I finished lunch. But the real meal was about to be served: a delicious conversation with Heny herself. Among its tasty tidbits, Heny shares how her mom taught her to listen to her food—one way to bring the best out of it. I believe the same goes for this podcast. Give it a listen and don’t be surprised if it adds a little more flavor to your day—or the traffic you’re stuck in, at least. P.S: Mr. Mafalda wanted me to name this episode “A Heny for all Seasons.” He’s the one you can occasionally hear giggling in the background, go figure. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mafaldamakes.substack.com