Find the transcript of my interview with Yana Gilbuena below.
INTRO
Welcome to Exploring Filipino Kitchens. I’m your host, Nastasha Alli.
This episode we’re diving into a book called “No Forks Given” by Yana Gilbuena. It’s a collection of 50 recipes from her 50 US state tour from 2014 to 2015 . Every week, Yana’s crew - which sometimes, was just herself - would arrive in town to hold a “pop up” dinner featuring a kamayan, or hands-only, feast of Filipino food. Yana would find someplace to stay, someplace to shop, someplace to host her dinner and actually get people to attend - a massive undertaking - often within ONE week, with so much on the fly.
So on the topic of fly Pinays, here’s a good-sized list of things I learned from the book.
01:25 Lessons I learned from the book
One. Vulnerability. That’s a big one.
Two. Curiosity. It matters to have it.
Three would be conveying nuance in Filipino culture. Because that can be kind tricky, but if you do it right, and really well, it matters a lot.
Drive. That’s something else that also matters.
I can see how we all seek to understand our identity in many different ways.
That you just gotta deal with what life throws your way.
That risk is real, and rewards can be invisible, annoyingly.
Sometimes, you just gotta say, fuck it. Put it on the line, whatever “it” is for you.
That determination pays off, and that really at the end of the day, this is about food, and I’m gonna talk about how Filipino cuisine is so varied and has so many layers to telling the story.
That recognizing what’s special about our culture is key. So that you, in turn, can share that pride with others, coming from a real place.
I’ve learned to not regret anything.
That we’re all human with complex emotions, and sometimes, you just can’t say everything you want in one conversation.
And that even the headstrong can be fragile.
That we all love to eat, though let’s be honest, I’ve known that for quite a while now.
That Filipino food and many beer styles, and other cuisines, go very well together.
That our adaptability to ingredients, seasons and circumstances is a skill.
That learning how the system works, that matters. That others are curious, and if they’re curious, why not show them what you got?
That the world is vast and lovely.
That we all crave connection, and that doubt is a constant thing, and that’s OK.
That yes, “the universe will provide” is something that you can believe in, and it’s something that Yana believes in.
That sharing your personal story is pretty powerful.
That the truest lessons can transcend cultures and backgrounds, and reveal our layers, the layers that make us human. Like a nice, warm, coconut pie.
And that it’s never too late to try.
So needless to say, I’m pretty in awe of this girl. And can’t even imagine what it’s like to travel through all of the US’s 50 states - getting up, finding someplace to stay, someplace to host a dinner, people to come to that dinner - then creating a menu around it, actually shopping for ingredients, and preparing things and cleaning up - that’s so much work, all to share the wonder and joy of eating delicious Filipino food. I can’t wait, let’s get to it.
INTERVIEW
06:35 Summers in Iloilo
YG: So I grew up in, actually, between two islands. Like my family originally is from Negros Occidental, which is in the Visayas region, and then I also grew up in Iloilo, because my grandfather’s side is from that island. So I grew up between those two, mainly because during the summers, my grandma would like send me to the probinsya, which is where, at the time, we had a hacienda. So we had like sugarcane and all that stuff. And I hated going to the probinsya when I was a kid. Mainly because there was no, like, electricity. So I couldn’t watch my favourite tv shows, you know. When you’re a kid, who lived for cartoons, you know. So that kinda bummed me out a lot, in a sense I kinda hated being sent to the probinsya.
But otherwise, I was really really happy in the island that I grew up in, because it had everything that I wanted. Like if I wanted to go to the beach, the beach was there. If I wanted seafood, everything was so accessible. I didn’t really have to look far. So I kinda had the comforts in life, but at the same time, like you know, it’s still very sheltered. It’s not in the ‘city’ city, like Manila, for example. So I still had, I would say, a great childhood.
I think ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been sent to the kitchen. Cause I’m an only child. So basically that meant my grandma raised me. My mom, classic OFW story. My mom pretty much had to go overseas, and work as a nurse, and I was left with my grandmother because she had to work. My grandmother, at that time, I think she was in her fifties maybe? I’m not sure. But like, she was the one who raised me.
NA: So then I asked, did she learn how to cook from her lola?
08:30 Growing up with lola
YG: Um, well the thing is, my grandma was a doña. My grandma doesn’t cook. She was a proper doña, like she didn’t cook, she had people to cook for her. It sounds so spoiled, whenever I tell people, like, I had a nanny, or we had cooks, you know. But it wasn’t like that. They were kind of like extended family, and I think I remember my grandma telling me before, like, they’re working for us because they need to. They don’t have any other option outside. Farming, even at that time, was not a viable occupation to have. And it kinda sucks.
NA: In this sense, I totally stand behind the idea that, at its very core, this books is a book of our time - a book for people like me. And I don't just mean because it's written by someone who miraculously managed to set up 50 pop-up on the fly dinners across the United States - a crazy feat in itself! - but because the themes that Yana talks about in this book, are things that people in the Filipino diaspora, today, tend to think about, and talk about.
10:05 A book of our time
NA: Books, in essence, are a reflection of the society they're written in - and the reality is that the conversations I imagine Yana has with her diners - I remember this from her dinner here in Toronto - these are conversations that happen both online and offline, things that people actually wanna talk about. Things like, the topic of colonialism, and breaking free of this colonial mentality in itself, right now, by educating yourself and learning as much as you can about the history of the country. It comes up in Yana’s book, and resonates with the kind of people who are likely to think that much more deeply about their culture, again, through food.
I know, I can’t help but bring it to light, because understanding this kind of history and how it affects our everyday lives, including our interactions with food and the people who prepare them…that’s such a strong part of the story of our ood and where it’s going. And with communities as complex as the Filipino diaspora, understanding that nuance is key.
So then we ended up talking about this article that came out in The Atlantic a couple of years ago, about this Filipino family who moved to the US and brought their domestic helper along with them. Unfortunately, and this isn't too uncommon, they purposely withheld many of the rights that should have been given them. We talked about this for awhile, because it's an aspect of Filipino culture that both Yana and I - having lived half our lives in the Philippines, and the other part in North America - it’s something we feel strongly about, because it definitely still exists, and it is something that our society in general is still coming to embrace the effects of.
I could talk about this for ages. If this isn’t the first episode you’ve listened to, you’ll know that I often bring up this feeling of being stuck in between two worlds - and what Yana’s talking about is a great example that I can relate to.
Growing up in Manila, both my parents worked long hours, which left my sisters and I primarily in the care of our yaya, our helper who lived with us, who was from the province of Pampanga. I can count on my hands the number of times I actually had to cook in the kitchen - because we didn’t need to, and at the time, my primary responsibility was to study and to do well in school so that, eventually, when we moved to Canada, I could be successful and make it own my own. Yaya Jennie was integral to our household, and she was extended family, for sure - her young child lived with us after some time, my sisters loved him, like, a lot of families have that relationship with the people who live with them.
12:50 Cooking to heal and reclaim
NA: The funny thing is, circling back to food for now…that “success” and “making it on my own” in Canada - to me, very definitely needs the cooking component. And I’d argue that even if you’re not an intense “foodie”, it’s necessary to learn how to cook one or two basic dishes. For me, at least, to get past my own hang-ups on parts of Filipino culture that are less than ideal, that still carry some notion of shame and guilt by association…I guess, learning how to cook and discover, for myself, why the breadth of Filipino cuisine is just astounding. That was really important. Because I hear people talk about ‘healing’ these kinds of cultural wounds and reclaiming parts of that culture that have gotten away from them. And for myself, and I imagine Yana and others who feel a very strong connection to something you really believe in - for us, it would be making food a part of your everyday life, and just, something that helps enrich what you do on a day to day basis.
I imagine that this isn’t really a solitary feeling.
15:00 The Stone Barns Fellowship
NA: I’ve mentioned a book called “The Third Plate” before, by Dan Barber. So for those who’ve read that, or at least heard about the book, or his farm called Blue Hill in upstate New York - the Stone Barns Fellowship is, I believe, now in its second year, or just past it. It’s a pretty big deal for people in the community, who really want get, obviously, a very hands-on experience working with people who, I guess, are considered visionaries in their own sense. Because they are able to recognize that there are much broader umbrellas that food touches, than just the food that’s served on our plate. And thinking about how we can approach some of the problems that are facing our everyday lives today.
At the farm, it’s like an environment where people who are curious, very passionate, and determined to make a change in food and agriculture systems - it gives them a place to thrive, much like the crops that are nurtured on the farm.
In 2017, the first group of Stone Barns Exchange Fellows gathered for a 3-week residency at Blue Hill - getting on their hands and knees, like digging in the fields, holding workshops, learning exchanges, and I imagine, absorbing absolutely everything that each of the ten fellows brought to the table. From fields like journalism and law, to being an entrepreneur, community organizer and of course, farmers and producers involved in the whole food distribution system - to listen and act upon what it takes grow and produce food that’s resilient and regenerative, holistic, and approachable.
Yana was part of that first group of fellows - yet another feat achieved.
So earlier, we were talking about this type of rice grown in the Philippines, in the northern Benguet province. This variety called pirurutong, which is technically a black rice. After you cook it, though, it develops like this really beautiful purple colour, like that lovely ‘ube’ hue. Traditionally, it’s what gives my favourite rice cake - the bamboo-steamed puto bumbong - its intense colour.
I guess to bring it to, kind of a broader conversation about food in general…that touches on farming, and the importance of trying, at the very least, to create en environment where, you know, you don’t have like, a vast majority of your population really just relying on this one thing. Which, for a lot of Filipinos today, is very much still farming rice. And a very shitty system, because it’s obviously not, you know, gotten many people the prosperity that they’ve wanted, over generations.
I feel very optimistic as a young person in day and age, because I do hope that there’s, you know, an openness to a different kind of system, that would allow that to happen, in the Philippines and other places in the world where that’s still happening.
18:45 "We're an agricultural country"
YG: Mmm hmm. Yeah. And it sucks because it is what we are made of. You know, like, the thing is, we’re an agricultural country. That is the backbone of our country, is that, like rice, and [native] crops, and all of that stuff. Like, food should be equal, I think we talked about food equality earlier. And I hate the fact that organic is ten times more expensive than non-organic. I think that isn’t fair for people who are actually trying to grow things and make a difference. Just because there’s this invisible hand that kinda sways, you know, the trends, or the kind of seeds that we’re putting out there. The kind of crops that we’re growing.
And also, as a side note, that’s something that I learned while I was at Stone Barns. There’s a whole trend of monocultures, versus having the diversity that we once had, you know, in agriculture. So trying to go back to that, and wanting to like, [work] on the fact that yes, Filipino food is not there yet, in terms of like having to charge x amount of dollars for it…but I would like to justify that it should be, you know. Because the kind of care, and the amount of preparation that you do is the same, if not more, than all the other western cuisines out there.
20:50 Why storytelling takes drive and courage
NA: Coming back to present-day for a second - leafing through No Forks Given is really like being in the driver’s seat of Yana’s thoughts. Or at least, as far as she’s letting us into that process. To shine a little light on why completing this 50 state tour meant a lot to her. For sharing a story like that, I’m grateful. It’s reassuring to see that people can and will make it, out of the muck that you sometimes just find yourself in.
And while I’m on the honest train, here’s a particular passage that struck close to home. It’s on page 70, the intermission:
“The road ahead seemed more daunting, even though I was already halfway through. Half done, or half not done, right? I had a mind to just crawl back to Brooklyn, call it a day, and never talk about it again. But I knew in my heart of hearts that I would regret it if I did that. I recognized that this project was bigger than me, bigger than my little life setbacks. I had to remind myself why I was doing this in the first place. That gave me the jolt to get back on track. I told myself everything was going to be fine. I took a deep breath. A simple reminder of the life I was gifted.”
Girl, you don’t even know. This rings so true. And I mean, this idea of placing yourself out there, for the world to see…it’s exciting, but at the same, terrifying. And to be honest, for me, the entirety of last year was just a blur. The one thing pulling me through right now is knowing, at the very least, that even if I’ve lost one thing that I really really loved…if I’ve got this other thing that I really really love, which is doing this, I can’t have lost everything.
23:45 How we shape our food culture
I’m into the idea that on an everyday level, we get to shape our own food culture. And if what you want is a bowl of pancit - well, make it! Or go and find a restaurant that makes it, if you can. Living in someplace like Toronto, this sometimes what I struggle with, because when I crave Filipino food, I want it really bad. But I’m not always up to cooking, and so my options then are to go to a good Filipino restaurant, then travel back home, or actually spend the time to make it myself, even if all I wanna do is veg out on the couch and watch RuPaul’s Drag Race. I know, this doesn’t really make much sense, in the scheme of like how big my problems are, but sometimes when eating something that just gives you so much comfort, is the thing that saves you from a very shitty day…you’re gonna go the lengths to get that thing.
Now I know that by saying that, this puts me in this position of being like, how are you undervaluing your cuisine, and I know, that is something that struggle with, but I’m saying this because I’m not the only person who has thought this. There is, certainly, still that hesitation to go out to eat at a Filipino restaurant, because most Filipinos who regularly cook it, think, well I can just make that at home.
The thing is, for me, I’m more than happy to pay for the service, and the food and the experience of going out to eat - and I want to stress that that’s important, it’s a vital thing for the restaurant culture of Filipino establishments to really support each other, and to show that this is a worthy investment to go and spend an evening out, at an establishment that does that what they very well. These kind of restaurants are the frontrunners to promoting our food culture. But given everything though, there’s this reality we can’t escape.
YG: To be fair, if I’m like, serving hand-pulled rice noodles, then I would definitely charge $25 for pancit. You know, but it’s again, like, something the craft isn’t there. Like I don’t know anyone here in the United States who’s making rice noodles from scratch, let’s put it that way. Although I know a lot of people who are making pasta from scratch, so there’s that.
NA: So if the craft and technique of making rice noodles from scratch, or even knowing how to cut up a chicken, for example, so like the bones aren’t cracked into these tiny shards that float in your bowl of chicken tinola - stuff like that, if that isn’t there, it eventually contributes to the acceptance that Filipino food is a little “less” than others, if we measured cuisines by their perceived value for diners in the western world.
27:15 Immigration and the loss of knowledge
YG: And I think there’s another factor where culture and heritage is not actually transferred over, just because of the immigration story. A lot of the immigrants who come here, don’t necessarily come from that industry. You know what I mean? Like for example, my mom, who’s a nurse. She doesn’t cook. She’s one of those Filipinos who just doesn’t cook. And it’s sad because she never transferred any of those recipes to me. I think the only thing that she knows how to make from scratch is the Ilonngo version of bagoong, the pink one.
But it’s like, where do you get the small, tiny shrimp here? You can’t. No one in our family makes rice noodles, or egg noodles in our family. Like we just go straight to the market, and they pretty much just get it from the guy who makes it, from the suki. We don’t make lumpia wrappers from scratch. And probably the people who do make lumpia wrappers from scratch, are not the people who are gonna be immigrating from the Philippines to the US. So the point I’m trying to make is there’s a lot in our cuisine that is not being transferred over to the younger generation. It’s because we don’t have the tools to do so. And we weren’t prepped for that. So it’s a sad reality, but that’s kinda where we are right now, in terms of getting in touch with our heritage and culture.
NA: Next, Yana and I chat about how we eat today. What our habits are like, how often we eat, and why Filipinos in general love to have people over for dinner.
29:30 Creatures of convenience
YG: We are now all creatures of convenience. Like, why would I want to make my own wonton wrappers, when it’s already there in the market? That’s also another way where we’re losing a lot of the preservation of these ethnic foodways.
NA: Going off of what you’re saying, you know, we are creatures of convenience, that’s true. And for several generations, many people in the Philippines were also, and still are, creatures of convenience. We got used to canned goods, with the arrival of the Americans, and the flood of canned and convenience foods that came into the country, that became absorbed by the local people…and then ended up coming back to North America, with those families that immigrated, and still want to eat Spam for breakfast.
YG: Well, the thing is, it’s like, can we talk about, really quickly, how canned goods were suddenly considered kind of like an elitist thing? Like if you’re eating canned goods, oh my god, you’re rich. Do you remember that? And it’s just like, it’s so ridiculous. How again, we were kinda tricked into this thinking that oh, if you’re eating canned goods versus the fresh fish that you get from the sea, your social status goes up, just because you’re eating Spam, or Vienna sausages. And then when you come to America, you’re just like, oh shit, no one even eats that here.
NA: I find that totally fascination. Like I love reading about the history of food. To me, it’s the kind of questions I ask myself, right. And I’m finding that I’m able to understand myself as a person more through food. And that is one of the great characteristics of food. As you say, with the SALO series, if you think about it on a personal level, you know, all of those people go to those dinners and gather to build their communities around food. Because they themselves, on a personal level, kind of realize that this stuff actually matters to me. Like I want to know where my food comes from, and I want to support alternative methods of how my food is grown. Support the fact that there’s not enough research being done in certain fields, specifically relating to sustainability and foodways and that kinda thing.
With that said, how do you feel [about] food and everything you’ve learned with cooking, having played a role in how you’re developed as a person, and how you kinda shape your identity?
32:35 "Food has always been part of our identity"
YG: As a Filipino, food has always been part of our identity. I don’t think you can ever separate the two. Just because, for me, like every single waking moment in a Filipino household revolves around food. Like we eat six times a day. There’s almusal (breakfast), there’s merienda (a snack), there’s pananghalian (lunch), there’s merienda (another snack), and there’s hapunan (dinner). And then after that, you might even get another pulutan (foods paired with a drink) at the end of the night. So that’s six times in a day. Like how many cultures out there can say that they eat six times a day? Just saying. And on top of that, for me, any reason to come together at eat…we’re there. Like, ‘oh, si neneng, gumraduate.’ Oh, tara, let’s go! Let’s go out and eat. Food trip!
33:45 Barkada's first question
YG: Or like, with me and my barkada. Every time I would come home, you know, either from university or if I come home from the States…we’d all meet, and the first thing they would ask me is, what do you want to do? Either we go for chicken inasal, or we’d go for oysters. They know me so well. They just know. They’re like, Yana only wants two things, whenever she comes home. It’s chicken inasal or oysters. It doesn’t matter [in] what order, I just have to get them. And I have to get them every day. And that’s the thing we used to do even when we were in high school. Like after school, guess where we would go? We’d go to the talabahan (oyster shacks), you know, and grab talaba (oysters). Like, come on. Now that I think about it, I was like, what did we used to do? All we did was eat. We were the worst. All we did in high school was eat, how were we not fat?
NA: It’s a very good question. It’s interesting though, because that kinda just boils it down again to [how] you know, Filipinos are crazy hospitable. And it’s so integral. And I think that’s one thing, to gather around something to eat. Even if you’re not hungry, you’re gonna be forced to eat, or like take a little bite of something.
34:55 Pride in hospitality
YG: Yeah. And it’s like, everyone takes pride in like entertaining. Like my grandma would hate me if I would just like, bring friends over to the house and not tell her. She’s like, how could you do this to me? You don’t understand, you don’t bring people unannounced into our house. Like, I have to prepare, our house is not prepared to entertain guests. And I’m like, what do you need to prepare in our house? I don’t get it. Like, we’re fine. And she’d be like, well I didn’t make merienda, and I’m like it’s okay, we’ve got Tang (orange juice). It’s so funny.
But now that I’m older, I actually kinda like, inherited that, from my grandma too…now I’m just like, oh yeah, whenever I kinda have people over, well, when I had a house, you know, like I wanna have everything set and prepared. And not just have random people like just show up at my doorstep. Now I hate that. It’s kinda funny how we become our elders when we’re older.
WRAP-UP
My warmest thanks to Yana Gilbuena for chatting with me, quite a while ago, for this interview. As soon I put in my Kickstarter order for “No Forks Given”, I was like hey, I would really love to ask you about the book.
We’ve talked about a lot of things this episode, so head over to the show notes to find links to things like the Stone Barns Fellowship, and some of Yana’s media coverage from places like The New York Times, National Geographic, NBC, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Follow Yana and the SALO Series on Instagram and Facebook @saloseries and saloseries.com/merch to order a copy of No Forks Given. There are e-books at this time, but who knows, maybe if you’re listening to this in the future - if we say we all want it, I say never give up on another print run! Salamat Yana, for sharing your story and those of countless others who gave life to the SALO Series.
Head over to exploringfilipinokitchens.com for past episodes, subscribe to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you download your shows.
Our theme music is by Eric Szestay, segment music is by Eric and Magill, Blue Dot Sessions and Podington Bear. Visit fma.org for their music and more. As always, if you enjoyed this, I would really love if you told a friend, or anyone who might enjoy it. Your good word means the world to me, and if you got another minute to spare - I’d really love a review, on whatever service you’re listening to this episode on.
Maraming salamat, and until next time - thank you for listening.