Since graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, the seasoned Los Angeles-based chef yearned to make Filipino food globally accepted — and with three Filipino food concepts raring to launch, that has not changed
It was a little after 11 in the morning Manila time when I received a message on Facebook from US-based Filipino chef Lord Maynard Llera: “I’m free to talk now.” I am not sure about the time difference, but it would be safe to assume that he and his wife, Regina, were just wrapping things up at Kuya Lord— the Filipino food pop-up that they are currently operating from their garage in La Cañada Flintridge, California. A respected figure in the Filipino-American food and beverage community, Los Angeles Times food critic Bill Addison describes Kuya Lord’s “Filipino feast as food of power, finesse, and delight.” While the accolades stateside are steady and generous, it seems that very little is known of him in the homeland.
Kuya Lord is chef Maynard’s nickname amongst his peers—“kuya” being the Tagalog word for “older brother.” His pop-up is a celebration of Southern Tagalog food, a cuisine he knows well growing up in Lucena City, Quezon Province. He makes his own Lucban longganisa which goes over a tray of java rice, served with fried eggs and a tub of pickled green papaya. Pancit chami— thick egg wheat noodles cooked in a sweet and spicy braise which he tops with fishcakes and vegetables— is not something you would easily find in Metro Manila, but the noodle dish is a Quezonian staple and a justifiable mainstay in Kuya Lord’s menu. He calls his Filipino-style porchetta "Lucenachon" because, as chef Maynard simply explains it, “I’m from Lucena and I’m making it.”
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While we chat, I hear the rambunctious chatter of children, most probably between his seven-year-old daughter and four-year-old son. “They taste all of my food before I decide to put them on the menu,” chef Maynard admits. “Children are more picky when it comes to food. So, if they like it then most probably the grown-ups will like it.” Besides, the shrewd entrepreneur has picked up on the marketing strategy of a Filipino capitalism icon." Isn’t that how Jollibee does it?” he cheekily asks. “They make their food attractive to children so that the kids will drag their parents to their restaurant.”
However, this off-the-cuff parallelism does not mean the dishes from the fast-food chain can even compare to what comes out of chef Maynard’s kitchen. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, the then twenty-something-year-old was focused and determined to land a job and earn his green card. He hit the ground running as a working student since he knew he had to be “more aggressive,” wanting to learn as much as he can to develop the edge he felt he needed over the competition. Fresh out of culinary school, he could have worked in legendary LA eatery Spago, but they needed a month before they could sponsor his green card petition. Another celebrity chef was willing to do so off the bat, and chef Maynard started work for Neal Fraser at his now-defunct yet critically-acclaimed Grace restaurant.
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