This Michelin Young Chef Awardee Was Once Just a Junior MasterChef Hopeful

(SPOT.ph) “It’s a childhood dream come true,” Chef Don Baldosano tells SPOT when we caught up with him just after the Michelin ceremony at the Marriott Hotel. The 27-year-old chef’s face glistened with beads of sweat from having to shake so many hands and going up on stage twice. Not only was his restaurant Linamnam among the eight restaurants in the whole Philippines to have gotten a Star; he himself had also been given the Young Chef Award as part of the Guide’s Special Awards leg.

It’s definitely no small feat to have attained Michelin recognition—twice!—before even hitting 30, but it’s a well-deserved achievement for Baldosano, who’s long been one to do what many are afraid of: try. And keep trying, even when one faces failure or setbacks.

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If you're a TV fan, you might recall seeing a 12-year old Baldosano on the Philippine edition of Junior MasterChef, which aired from 2011 to 2012 over ABS-CBN. In a 2022 feature on ANCX, he recalled how he auditioned for the show even without much cooking experience, although he had definitely grown up around good food courtesy of his family from Visayas. Passing the interview for the reality show gave the kid the push to take cooking more seriously, and he found himself learning his way through the show's home kitchen to learn basic techniques. As one of the show’s 20 contestants, Baldosano—who then went by the nickname Patrick—found himself going through all sorts of cooking challenges (he won the Basic Skills Test for Herbs, Spices, and Leaf Vegetables) , and working with the likes of balut and even frog legs.

Despite a newfound eagerness, Baldosano only landed ninth place in the show and was eliminated on January 2012, much to his young heart's dismay. This discouraged him from picking up anything that involved cooking for a time. “I didn’t cook the whole time that I was in high school. But I told myself, one day I’ll be in the kitchen again and I’ll be a good cook,” he recalled to ANCX.

There was no doubt being on the show ignited Baldosano’s passion for the culinary craft. “That’s when my passion for cooking started to grow because I got to experiment a lot in the kitchen," he said. "It makes you imagine ano ang pwede mong magawa in the future.” He initially took up Biology at Dela Salle University and made it to medical school, but eventually decided to make the big shift and pursue a culinary degree at the College of St. Benilde.

While at Benilde, Baldosano joined countless competitions and even staged at Toyo Eatery, which led him down the path of learning about Filipino food and working with local ingredients. He did some stints at Fyre Rooftop Lounge and started a stall called Saing at Mercato Centrale. This would bring him next to a culinary education with a certificate course at Enderun Colleges in 2018.

His fascination with the local cuisine only continued to deepen from there.

The culmination of this growing love for local came in late 2018, when Baldosano—at the tender age of 19!—turned their family backyard in Parañaque into his own culinary playground through Linamnam. Through the years it’s been open, the chef has whipped up countless dishes that showcase Filipino cuisine in a reimagined, boundary-traversing light, often referencing history and using livestock he raised and produce he grew himself in their backyard. Some creations over the years: 20-day aged talakitok with coconut cream and slivers of sigarilyas; a claypot dish of pig leg in the style of tinowa, for a menu inspired by the adventures of Pigafetta; and bites of fried Mindanao cricket with kesong puti and ube in a more recent Carte Blanche menu.

And to think he used to frown at local cuisine. “When I was cooking in Junior Master Chef, I hated Filipino food," he told ANCX. "I considered it secondary to all the other cuisines. Back then, I was keen to learn French and Italian cooking because I thought dun lang pwede i-apply ang fine dining.”

As of October 30, 2025—seven years after it debuted—Linamnam is now a proud holder of a Michelin star, with the Guide emphasizing Baldosano’s “deeply personal dishes… rooted in regional tradition, shaped by the chef's philosophy.” Raves the Michelin Guide website: “Dining at this hidden gem is truly memorable."

Before the Philippine restaurant selection of the Michelin Guide came in, Baldosano told SPOT he was just “hoping to get anything." No doubt his two awards speak of his hard work and perseverance, but he’s adamant that it’s really a collective win. “It’s good for the industry and the business, and for us it’s a reward for the farmers and the team that we work with, really." At 27, we’re certain this former MasterChef hopeful has come a long way, but also just getting started.

Read more about Don Patrick Baldosano and Linamnam on the MICHELIN website.