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Top Chefs From PH + the World Come Together for This Four-Day Food Festival
Check out the star-studded chef lineup, event schedules, and more.
(SPOT.ph) It couldn’t be a better time for the food-loving crowd of the Metro. You’ve got restaurant after restaurant opening left and right, from homegrown gems to international superstars, as well as up and coming chefs serving new flavors and leveled-up takes on well-loved favorites. This weekend marks a new milestone for the local scene: GMA Network and Newport World Resorts are partnering up to bring us the very first International Manila Food Festival, a series of dinners, tastings, and talks on Filipino cuisine in the global context.
Also read:
What to look forward to at the International Manila Food Festival 2025
The upcoming festival takes place from August 7 to 10, with special events set for each of those days. There's plenty to look forward to—from collaboration dinners with celebrated local and international chefs, showing us Filipino cuisine in a new light; and a grand congress with talks from key figures in F&B.
Mark these dates on your calendars:
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August 7: Tita Baby
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Filipina culinary talents unite at the Tita Baby dinner. International Manila Food Festival.
Both proud Filipino-Americans nominated for Best Chef in the James Beard Awards, chefs Tara Monsod (of Animae, San Diego) and Melissa Miranda (of Musang, Seattle) are joining forces with Casa Buenas' Christoni Estocada for the one-night only Tita Baby collaboration dinner. Monsod and Miranda will be bringing to the table their French and Italian culinary know-how, respectively, and exploring their Filipino heritage while they’re at it.
This takes place at Casa Buenas, Newport World Resorts, with seats going for P10,000 a pop with wine pairing and pours of San Miguel Premium Beer.
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August 8 and 9: FLVRS 1
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FLVRS stands for Featuring Leaders, Visionaries, Rising Stars. The more you know. Photo courtesy of the International Manila Food Festival.
Save the date for FLVRS 1, a star-studded collaboration dinner featuring chefs Ross Magnaye (SERAI, Melbourne), Monique Feybesse (Tarts de Feybesse, San Francisco), Aaron Isip (Kasa Palma, Manila), and Filippo Turrini (Roots, Siargao). Expect to see the principles of next-generation gastronomy—sustainability, processes like culturing and fermentation, and so on—as applied to Filipino ingredients.
The dinner runs for two nights at Hilton Manila’s Kusina Sea Kitchen, with seats going for P6,000 per head. Unlimited pours of San Miguel Premium Beers, wine, and other alcoholic beverages are included.
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August 9: World Filipino Food Congress
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The by-invite-only World Filipino Food Congress features talks from key figures on the significance of our local cuisine in the global landscape. International Manila Food Festival.
Co-authored by leading hospitality institutions Center for Culinary Arts, Enderun Colleges, and Le Cordon Bleu - Ateneo, the whole-day World Filipino Food Congress features panel discussions on the significance of Filipino cuisine in the global landscape today. Talks cover the likes of modern and traditional interpretations of Filipino food by Le Cordon Bleu Ateneo; sustainability in Filipino food, by the Center for Culinary Arts Manila; predicted food trends for 2026 and 2027 by Clara Ole and TasteSetters; local Filipino spirits by Liquido Maestro; and more. Insights from the congress will be featured in an annual report meant to guide the future of Filipino food.
The World Filipino Food Congress takes place at Newport World Resorts, by invite or for lucky applicants.
August 9: RISING SONS: Orlando x Toronto in Manila
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Both Lalicon and Cancino are heralded for helping make a name for Filipino food in their respective areas. Photo courtesy of the International Manila Food Festival.
Chefs Lordfer Lalicon (of Kaya, Orlando—the only Filipino Michelin Green Star restaurant) and Danny Cancino (of Mineral, Toronto) have helped carve a path for Filipino food in their respective areas. They’re teaming up to present five courses of especially sumptuous takes on Filipino cuisine in the one-night RISING SONS collaboration dinner, to be held at Yawaragi at Hotel Okura Manila. Seats go for P10,000 per person, inclusive of wine pairing and pours of San Miguel Premium Beer.
August 10: LASA x LAHI Grand Tasting
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Talk about a grand, star-studded finale. Photo courtesy of the International Manila Food Festival.
The festival’s grand finale brings together chefs Tara Monsod (Animae, San Diego), Melissa Miranda (Musang, Seattle), Francis Ang (Abacá, San Francisco), Nicole Ponseca (Jeepney, Miami), Erica Paredes (Reyna, Paris), Chele Gonzalez and Carlos Villaflor (Gallery by Chele), Stephan Duhesme (Automat), Josh Boutwood (Helm, The Test Kitchen, Ember), Nicco Santos (Celera), Sonny Mariano (the Tasteless Group of Restaurants), and Sau del Rosario (Cafe Fleur and Saw Saw) under one roof for a tasting event for the books. This will be taking place at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, Newport World Resorts. Seats go for P8,000 per head with San Miguel Premium Beers, Filipino liquors, and wine.
The festival is as much a celebration of food as it is a platform for gastrodiplomacy (i.e., the use of food to help build positive international relations), investments on local culture, and collaborations between sectors.
"The Filipino diaspora is hungry to collaborate and ready to lead," says Nicole Ponseca, chef and restaurateur behind Jeepney NYC and co-founder of Motherland Productions. "IMFF isn’t just about showcasing talent—it’s about unlocking opportunity, building legacy, and reminding the world that Filipino food is here to stay.” The event's timing is "both symbolic and strategic," says IMFF co-founder Anton Diaz (who also founded local blog Our Awesome Planet). This, he explains, is so given the Philippines’ projected rise as one of the world’s largest economies by 2030, as well as the arrival of MICHELIN Guide inspectors in Manila.
Helping make the event possible are San Miguel Beer, Philippine Airlines, and the Department of Tourism -National Capital Region.
Once you’ve decided which event/s you’d like to attend, you can head over to the IMFF website to buy tickets. Slots are limited, so place those reservations, stat!
For more information, check out the International Manila Food Festival website.
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