Seven Star Chefs, One Table: Filipino-American Cuisine Gets a Fresh Take at Isang Kusina

 

Inside the Frank Gehry-designed Keep Memory Alive Event Center, a landmark culinary celebration unfolded. Istorya LV, a pop-up restaurant and cultural storytelling hub, brought together Isang Kusina, a collaborative dinner honoring Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. The evening traced the journey of Filipino food in America — from its first recorded landing in 1587 at “Morro Bay to the bayous of Saint Malo and beyond.”

Walbert Castillo, founder and co-owner of Istorya, presented Isang Kusina with Mama Sita’s as Title Sponsor, whose brand of heirloom Filipino recipes and ingredients has travelled far to reach Filipinos. He shares that “for generations, Mama Sita’s has been the true taste of home for Filipinos everywhere.”

As noted by special guest speaker Cecilia Pacheco Morais, granddaughter of the "Mama Sita" Teresita Reyes, "Filipino cuisine is more than food: it is memory, family, history, and home."

Many ingredients were sourced from the chefs’ respective cities and thoughtfully paired with Philippine artisanal products, including Mama Sita’s all-natural vinegars, Pure Labuyo Hot Pepper Sauce, fruit and vegetable powders and flakes, Balatinaw rice pinipig, tropical fruit syrups, extracts, and other heritage ingredients that elevated the evening’s storytelling through flavor.


The journey kicked off with Las Vegas’s own Michelin-trained Chef Dio Buan, who elevated familiar flavors into high-roller luxury with a Bibingka Blini and a Foie Gras Tartlet topped with Mama Sita’s langka (jackfruit) flakes.

As the night progressed, coast-to-coast regionality took center stage: Chef Patrice Cleary (Purple Patch, D.C.) delivered comfort via a rich Ginataang Alimasag utilizing local Maryland blue crab. Chef Aaron Verzosa (Archipelago, Seattle) showcased innovation with handmade Washington heirloom-milled grain Miki Noodles tossed with lion's mane mushrooms.

 

Chef Cristina Quackenbush (Milkfish, New Orleans) bridged Creole and Filipino roots with her soulful Lakbay Gumbo, spiked with Mama Sita’s fiery Labuyo hot sauce. James Beard Award-winner Lord Maynard Llera (Kuya Lord, L.A.) brought bold refinement to the table with a perfectly grilled venison paired with a huckleberry adobo chipotle gastrique.

The evening also featured cultural performances and music celebrating the richness of Filipino and AAPI identity, culminating in a collaborative halo-halo dessert created in the spirit of bayanihan.

In every sense, Isang Kusina lived up to its name: one kitchen, many journeys, one shared heritage.