Bruce Ricketts & Jae Pickrell: How a Magazine Editor Upped an Already Formidable Chef’s Game

(SPOT.ph) Anyone embedded in Manila's food sphere must be familiar with the name Bruce Ricketts. Known for his inventive takes on and obsession with high-quality ingredients, the guy has not-so-quietly made his mark in the culinary scene—leading memorable omakase-style dinners at Mecha Uma, serving unorthodox yet respectful izakaya fare at Sensei, and assembling flavor-bomb tacos (using fresh corn tortillas, no less, made from scratch and all) at La Chinesca.

And then there's the incredibly stylish former Preview Magazine editor, now-restaurateur Jae Pickrell—a maven in Manila's fashion scene, lover of books, and Ricketts' wife and business partner. She started work behind the scenes with Ricketts as early as 2017 (the same year they got hitched in Tokyo!), beginning with the branding of La Chinesca in BF Homes.

Today, there’s no such thing as a Bruce Ricketts restaurant without Jae Pickrell’s touch—on the books, space, kitchen layout, menu. And to hear Bruce say it, it's like he wouldn't have it any other way. He was already a brilliant chef before she got involved in the restaurant biz, but he’d be the first to say that her observations, ingenuity, and editor’s capacity to process a million details that’s since allowed him to be who he needs to be in the kitchen.

Seeing them in action together, like in their current hit pop-up at The Grid: Go By Sensei—which features kaisendon topped with premium sashimi taken to the height of deliciousness with Rickett’s aging and slicing prowess—its clear they each know the roles they play best, know when to offer a hand and when to step back and let the other do the job. It's a formula that works, obviously, and a formula that will likely see them thru their upcoming joint ventures this year: iai, the chef’s counter and spiritual successor to Mecha Uma; and La Chinesca’s first branch in Bonifacio Global City.

Stepping back from the topic of food, however, you do have to wonder: how did a chef and a publishing goddess end up together? We caught the power couple in a rare lull between serving toro bowls and chatted with them about work dynamics and their love story—which began, believe it or not, with an attempt to dip uni in soy sauce and a slap on the hand.

Also read:  
Bruce Ricketts to Bring His Martial Arts Philosophy + His Stylish Wife’s Eye to Next Restaurant 
Chef Bruce Ricketts' Pop-Up in Rockwell Highlights Kaisendon, His Way

Chef Bruce Ricketts and Jae Pickrell tell us their story:

Let’s go back to before you became partners. How did you guys meet?

Jae Pickrell (JP): We actually met even before Bruce put up Sensei. It was 2010, and his first job in Manila was in Robot, this restaurant-slash-club-slash-bar. But it was not the typical club setting—we met at 7 a.m. on a Sunday, because I was styling a show there. I walk in to set up, and there’s this guy passed out on the floor. I was like, “Who the hell is this dude?” So I called manong guard, “Kuya! Pakigising nga ‘to!”

Bruce wakes up, looks up at me, and says “Hi” before squirreling away. I was there every Sunday for three months for the show. We would pass each other, but he would never say a word. The last day of the shoot, the producers sat us down together because they figured “Bruce is a chef, he's single. Jae's single, Jae loves food.” So we struck up a conversation about food and we have literally never stopped talking food since.

What were your first dates like?

Bruce Ricketts (BR): Jae would take me to restaurants—because I didn't know much about where to eat here [Bruce lived for many years in the U.S.]. So we went on a date at a Japanese restaurant.

JP: I took him to Seryna.

BR: Jae ordered a bunch of specials, and then nag-order siya ng uni. And I'm like, “Of course, I know uni.” I worked with it back in California, but never for a Japanese. I was about to dip it in soy sauce—and she slaps my hand out of reflex. “What are you doing?! You're not about to dip that in soy sauce, are you?” And I'm like, “Huh?”

JP: So it's funny, right? That guy then becomes this Japanese chef! He took it all the way to the other extreme.

Was balancing your schedules as a chef and an editor difficult?

JP: At first, I would almost have to drag Bruce out of the kitchen. I took it personally—“You don't want to spend time with me?” We started living together just six months after we started dating, but he would come home from work and I’d be tulog na. And then by the time I wake up and leave for work, he’s still asleep. So it was years of that.

BR: I feel like the beginning years were the ones where we felt like 'di kami talaga nagkikita. 

JP: Yes, very much so. Even if I visit him at work, we wouldn't really interact because he's busy.

BR: You would sit there and read, and if you were tired na, you would take a nap. And then you wake up and you read again [laughs]

How did you start working together?

JP: Initially, my involvement was just branding for La Chinesca. Then in 2018, Preview folded [as a magazine].  At that time, we were building La Chinesca at The Grid so I figured “Okay, let’s just jump into this head-first full-time.” It felt like a foregone conclusion, really. But that's not to say it's been easy. Because I'm the one entering Bruce’s world, and he's such a big name in this field. I felt like whatever I do has to be at whatever level he's doing it at.

BR: I'm very lucky that especially during the pandemic, Jae was so quick to jump in and fill the gaps to keep the business running. She sees things that are common sense to her, that we have overlooked. She starts to ask a lot of questions that make you realize that even we don't know the answer. It opens up to more ways to learn, and then it creates a better system.

JP: I think it's the editorial background. You’re constantly trying to see things in a fresh perspective. You're trying to be as efficient as possible. But it was still difficult because I really came into this with no background whatsoever. I'm a Lit major. I don't know anything about numbers, so in a way, I taught myself and we figured things out together.

BR: But she can forecast challenges and problems. So it’s really not a joke when I say that she’s the CEO, owner, and boss.

JP: I really claimed that title, by the way! I think I deserve it now, after surviving a pandemic. And listen, we're opening two restaurants this year!

Who does what for the business? Do you each have your own territory?

JP: I think one thing that is solidly my territory where you don’t make pakialam is branding.

BR: Yes, so there's definitely territory. But I also like someone looking at what I'm doing. Because I know that even if it's 100% for me, the level of respect is I know that there still might be more from Jae's perspective. Kahit wala, just for her to say, “Okay, it's good,” will give me the confidence that's gonna turn into something else again.

JP: One of the challenges of working as husband and wife—I obviously have a lot of respect for Bruce's creativity and I don't want to get in his way, but I think my strength is putting my foot down when I think it's not a net positive, when I feel that something can actually hurt us.

BR: And it's very interesting because it never feels like being shut down. She’s like, “If you really want to do this, then where is this?” If you don't have it, go back to the drawing board muna.

How do you guys set boundaries between the professional and the personal?

JP: Oh, that's a tough question. Because there are no boundaries. We are both so invested in this, so there's no holding back. Absolutely everything is up for discussion because we have a mutual mission to really improve in everything that we do.

BR: Because sometimes, you get used to doing things a certain way. But then Jae sees it, and for her, it's like, “No, it shouldn't be this way.” And we're just like, “I'm sorry, you had to be the one to say it.” But di ba, it’s like “We’re so lucky that Jae saw it.”

JP: But just imagine my audacity also, right? Like this is my first time working with Bruce. And Bruce is Bruce, right? But I'm here like… “No.” Like this is efficient, this is what makes the most sense, this is logical. I'm still an editor here!

BR: She's still editing so many things. In the end, I can tell you that if people think “Bruce’s food is just Bruce’s food,” that's a big, big mistake. She has like 80%... I'm gonna cry.

JP: Oh my god, are you serious?

BR: Yeah! Because no one will ever understand. People always applaud me. She can say things that can literally turn into a restaurant. It’s like her words are hiyang to create ideas for me. Some people say, “Chef, you're so creative.” No, it's because there's someone literally interrogating me at the back, who has my back, that people will never know. And I feel like people should know, but at the end of the day, they'll still see me behind the counter. But there's a whole big concept of organization, inspiration, creativity that comes not from me anymore.

JP: It's a synergy, is what it is.

BR: I just feel like the eyes are always on the chefs. But not the people who make sure the chef is the chef. Sorry, I got really emotional.

JP: This is hilarious. You're so funny!

Visit Bruce Ricketts and Jae Pickrell’s Go By Sensei pop-up at The Grid Food Hall in Power Plant Mall, Makati until May 31. La Chinesca BGC and iai are set to open this 2024.

Photos by Hans Fausto, and Jae Pickrell on Instagram (used with permission).

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