Dining in the trendiest restaurants has been one of my favorite activities, as hotelier, I get to check the menu of our restaurants and been arguing with chefs of what should go to our menu, since after all we have to compromise on the interests of our guests and their experience in the kitchen. No worries, I always maintain good relationship with our chefs. This is why in my frequent travels as hotel and brand consultant, I get to try restaurants, (in fact, I am a senior contributor in TripAdvisor) and make sure to leave my comments or reviews online. This is aside from my usual habit to share instant posts on my social media pages.
Then this lockdown happened, although we can still order food, I can’t help to be reminded of restaurants and kitchen, my conversations with numerous chefs, so this prompted me to check on YouTube. I purchased more kitchenware from stove to pans (Lodge cast iron is a favorite), been doing the groceries myself (even in our local wet market, I have befriended our suppliers so I could get the best buys) as get inspired by Chef Gordon Ramsay in his super popular show the Master Chef!
So if you love eating something interesting, local and familiar, or want to try something upscale for a unique experience, then I recommend the following YouTube channels. I’ll share a quick intro about them but it’s better for you to check their YouTube channels and HIT the subscribe button!
- Simpol by Chef Myke Tatung, a successful restauranteur himself , I’m so happy to find his YouTube channel and finally he launched his book and apron, yup get in Lazada or Shopee coz it sells like hotcakes (literally). What I like best is that he makes cooking soooooo easy! Ingredients are easy to source and he teaches good techniques.
- Panlasang Pinoy by Vanjo Merano, I like his videos and he has been vlogging since 2009 and what I like is that he has a huge content online so you can check many versions of doing the same viand. He gets to update them and shares more practical tips on cooking. He reminds me of a Chinese fastfood chef.
- Chef RV Manabat is very entertaining! I like how he throws love advice or “hugot” punchlines in the midst of food preparations. I like his kitchen so much since it’s red, plus his voice is good to the ears. He is very precise that he even uses ruler to measure his pans for more accurate advice to his viewers
- Eats Jeremy by Jeremy Favia, his channel is new but I find his channel entertaining and fresh, very candid. Cooking looks fun and he has good commercial appeal, easy to the eyes.
- Erwan Heussaff or The Fat Kid Inside needs no further introduction , I admire his efforts to promote local culture, the destinations that makes incredible stories behind the dishes. I watch his channel for more local upscale version of meals. I appreciate online shopping since I only “add to cart” which is so easy.
- Judy Ann’s Kitchen is the only female cook that makes it in my list. My respect to her as an actress is elevated further since she has been very consistent in making food preparations with love in dedication to her family.
The list also takes note of their various roles outside the YouTube channel, most of them have shared passionate advocacy towards family, inclusive society, culture and many more. I also noticed their dedication to produce content that possess impressive efforts to come up with a good production. During the pandemic, we certainly love to eat and if we can prepare something special for our families and even to others then we are learning so much about our communities.
Jeoff Solas 