Nicco’s culinary star is shining particularly bright these days. His two restaurants have been more than well-received in the market: Hey Handsome was named the most exciting opening for 2016 in Manila while its sister restaurant, Your Local, was the sole Filipino entry on Condé Naste Traveler’s 2016 list of best restaurants in the world to dine in. This year, the internationally acclaimed chef and his business partner, Quenee Vilar, are set to open three new concepts. Essential Goodness, for one, on the rooftop of Lub D hostel in Poblacion, which, by dusk, transforms into a bar called Essential Goodness for the Pilgrims, will open in May. Nicco, who is into Muay Thai, scuba diving, and photography (with a 30.8k-strong IG following to prove it) also participated in the recently concluded Madrid Fusion and is even looking to open restaurants abroad. Jokes the go-getter: “I deal with breakdowns constantly, which helps get over stress faster!”