Cover Chef Kevin Villarica
Chef Kevin Villarica
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What has Kevin Villarica been doing since his days as part of Hapag’s founding team?
Hapag Manila used to have three chefs at its helm. But as the years went by, marked by the Filipino restaurant’s multiple accolades, impactful collaborations and major location transfer, only two chefs have become synonymous with the brand—John Kevin Navoa and Thirdy Dolatre. Kevin Villarica, the third partner, faded out of the discussion and for many years, remained silent with regard to his reasons, until recently.
Over dinner in his new steakhouse Le Feu in Hotel Celeste, he confessed, “It started when I accepted an offer to have a restaurant in Tagaytay called Ayutthaya. I tried to balance my time going to Cavite and Hapag (it was still in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City then). Though everything was going well for both, I got burnt out. And then the Taal Volcano erupted. I remember that night I had a full house for dinner service and I got so stressed, trying to make sure my clients and employees were safe. We tried to rebuild but then the pandemic happened and so we decided to close the restaurant.”
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Above Crispy cochinillo from cochi
Crispy cochinillo from cochi
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He adds, “It was around this time when I started to have anxiety and panic attacks. I still tried to work and help out in Hapag but my attacks got worse and I didn't know how to handle it anymore so I stopped working in the kitchen.”
Things turned for the worse when, on top of his perturbation, he got diagnosed with depression. For weeks, he found himself locked within the confines of his room, with his wife tending to his needs, from giving him his medication to making sure he attended his sessions with the doctor. “My parents would always check on me,” he recalls. “Only my wife and my family knew about my condition. I'm not really comfortable talking about it before but I'm better now.”
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Above Halibut with lemon and caper cream from Le Feu
Halibut with lemon and caper cream from Le Feu
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He admits that his career hiatus had affected his confidence to work in a professional kitchen, but thanks to a couple of consultancy projects, along with the trust the brands gave him, he slowly gained back the bravery to pursue his passion. This also gave him the enthusiasm and courage not only to jump back in the game but to manage his own restaurant once more.
He recently took on the role of a chef partner in Marvin Agustin’s Cochi in BGC and will be releasing a new menu later this month. Villarica also launched Le Feu, a new steakhouse inside Hotel Celeste in Makati where he serves Black Onyx pure MB3+ Black Angus beef raised in the cool climate of Australia's New England tablelands, along with a variety of compound butters and choice sides, including prawn paella, pommes aligot, Japanese sweet potato purée and garlic steak rice. Villarica has hit the ground running and excitedly reclaims his title as chef–in fact, he is working on two more concepts that are set to open in 2025.
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Above Dark chocolate cake from Le Feu
Dark chocolate cake from Le Feu
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As for Hapag, he still remains involved as a business partner. “I try to help out by bringing people and doing my meetings in Hapag and Aya so I can promote both to my clients. I know my partners will accept me back in the kitchen but I don't want to mess with something that's already working perfectly. I'm really proud of them and I'm [always here] ready to help if ever my Hapag boys need me," Villarica notes.
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