Cover James Beard Awards 2024 hails chef Maynard Llera as the best chef in California (Photo: @cheflordmaynard / Instagram)
James Beard Awards 2024 hails chef Maynard Llera as the best chef in California (Photo: @cheflordmaynard / Instagram)
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We got to chat with the seasoned Los Angeles-based, Filipino-born chef about his recent James Beard win, how life has been since then, and what the future looks like for himself and for Filipino food abroad
“It has not really sunk in,” says chef and owner Maynard Llera of Los Angeles, California restaurant Kuya Lord when asked about winning Best Chef-California at the prestigious James Beard Awards held this month in Chicago. Perhaps it is also because he did not really give himself time to breathe, coming home from the awards and then immediately immersing himself in work. His Instagram post was not of revelry and celebration, but rather, of him stuffing sausage casings with sweet (they also have a savoury variant) pork longganisa that they serve in the restaurant accompanied by fried eggs, java rice (yes, like at chef Llera’s childhood favourite The Aristocrat restaurant), pickled green papaya, tomato cucumber salad, and vinegar.
“In a way, I think, that is how I decided to celebrate,” he reflects. “A friend that has won a JB warned me about the effect winning the award will have on the restaurant and that I should be ready. So preparing for that onslaught of customers eager to try our food does not feel like work but more like the prize for our labour.” When we first interviewed chef Llera during the pandemic, Kuya Lord was a pop-up that he and his wife, Regina, operated from their garage in la Cañada Flintridge, California. Even then, the American media has been generous with their praise of his Filipino comfort food, focusing on Southern Tagalog fare that he grew up eating in Lucena City, Quezon Province.
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With the steady demand extending well past the end of the lockdowns, The Culinary Institute of America-Hyde Park alum then opened his brick-and-mortar on Melrose Avenue. The fast-casual eatery is where his loyal clientele can dine-in or take out their Kuya Lord favourites such as his Lucenachon (slow-roasted rolled pork belly), longganisa rice bowls, laing (taro leaves braised in coconut milk and red chilis), and the humble pancit chami, which got a shout out in chef Llera’s acceptance speech. “I never expected to win,” he admits. “Like I said in my speech, we were only cooking chami. Among the California finalists, Kuya Lord was the only fast-casual restaurant. I really was thinking of not going to Chicago because I sincerely thought I had no chance, but then I decided to go anyway because I wanted Gigi (his wife’s nickname) to have the red carpet experience. Just being a finalist I felt was enough, that already looks good on my resume.”
It was a good thing they made the trip because, as we now know, Llera took home the prize. What do you think made Kuya Lord stand out from the rest? We asked. He admits that he was able to talk to one of the committee members and ask the same thing, and without really divulging the full process, he offered chef Llera some insight as to why he emerged as the victor. “The committee, of course, is composed of gourmands and food experts, and they know what they are doing. More than the looks of the restaurant, they were interested in my story and my background. They really did their research. And of course, they care about the food and how consistently good it is. Consistency, I feel, was a big factor because that committee member admitted that I was not even in the restaurant when he came to visit, and yet he said he enjoyed his experience. I have always wanted this concept to be able to run by itself, and I am happy to have achieved that.”
When asked about his plans, chef Llera admits he still wants to eventually open his fine dining tasting menu concept. However, with the current turn of events, he plans on expanding Kuya Lord to be able to accommodate their growing numbers of regular diners as well as the curious eaters ready to experience Filipino food through the new best chef’s perspective. “One of the welcome effects of this award will be to spread the word about Filipino food. The more people talk about it, the more it is normalized,” he explains. He shares that in the wake of his James Beard win, they sometimes have to turn away customers because they would run out, but not without pointing them towards the direction of their fellow Filipino chefs nearby. “One time, a group said that they were really craving Filipino food and asked where else could they go, and I told them to go to my friends at Spoon & Pork on Sunset Boulevard,” he says, pertaining to the modern Filipino comfort food of chefs Ray Yaptinchay and Jay Tugas. “Then, I called Ray because I had to warn him, I said, ‘pare, get ready. The swarm is coming’”.
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Jaclyn Clemente Koppe is a food and lifestyle writer, as well as a consultant to some of the country’s beloved food and beverage brands. Her passion for food and drink is only surpassed by her devotion to her family, most especially to her soulmate, Pepa the poodle.
