The Bachelor: Jason Go
Professional gelato artisan and entrepreneur Jason Go talks about Manila Creamery and his loving tribute to Filipino culture
EXPLORING your passions can sometimes lead you to unexpected places. In Jason Go’s case, this definitely holds true. He’s always known that he loved to create things, and at first, his world was his music. Go was a club DJ for a good chunk of his career life—his creativity was found in the music he created, and the Manila party scene was his playground. But after years of being a DJ, Go decided to make a surprising shift in his career, and one could agree that it was truly unexpected—he decided to make ice cream. “I wanted to explore new things and another fun avenue is food,” Go shares. “I was always a craftsman—I make things. And so I made a shift and I wanted to try making desserts. It started out as ice cream at home and one thing led to another. I realized I had more talent in making ice cream than making music. It was a little self-realization moment when I had to change careers.”
Fueled with heaps of excitement and thrill, Go hastily packed his bags and flew to one of Italy’s most enchanted and stunning cities: Bologna. It was in Bologna where he received formal training from Carpigiani University on how to master the art of making gelato. Soon after his time in Italy, Go came back home to Manila and started his ice cream business. Staying true to his Filipino roots, he wanted to revolve his concept around local flavors and cultures. He and his business partner wanted to veer away from opening an establishment that put the spotlight on traditional Italian flavors. Instead, he wanted to elevate what it means to be Filipino and create flavors that were uniquely and strongly representative of Filipino culture. With proud conviction, Go shares, “That’s why we’re called Manila Creamery—what we want is for people to immediately know what they’re getting when they step into our shop. We want to highlight specific Filipino influences and flavors.”
Manila Creamery is not only a gelato shop, it is also a cornerstone of what it means to utilize the finest local ingredients and produce topnotch ice cream. You’ll find flavors such as mangga’t suman, Davao Chocolate, leche flan, ube langka, tinutong na kanin, and many warmly familiar yet interesting concepts. It is the great ambition of Go and his team to establish their brand abroad in the next five to ten years. They want to do their part in putting Filipino culture, tradition, and flavors in the limelight, one ice cream scoop at a time.
What are you passionate about? Just two things. One, of course is crafting things. This is where I get the itch to make new ice cream flavors, my creative side. And on the other hand, I’m very much into fitness. I try my best to keep fit and I’m pretty addicted to working out. I’m always active and I’ve been doing it for many years. I try to keep fit and be healthy.
Who is your biggest inspiration in life? I look up to Joe Rogan. He’s many things. He’s a health buff, he’s intellectual, and he hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the world. I look up to him a sense that, when I grow up, I still want to be fit in mind and body. I look up to him.
What was the greatest piece of advice you’ve received? “Accept your shortcomings and accentuate on your strengths” -Gary Vaynerchuk. This is why I quit music too because I felt like I wasn’t talented enough. I focused on desserts because I’m actually good at it naturally. I found what I’m good at, went all in.
What’s the one thing most people don’t know about you? I’m a gamer. I play video games but a lot of people don’t know that I do.
What is your favorite destination in the Philippines? Although I’ve only been to a few islands, I would say the new Boracay is pretty great! There’s nothing that compares to the beach and how it’s so easy to swim. Everything’s clean now, the sand is super soft, and the water is light blue. I know it’s cliché to say, especially coming from the Philippines, but it’s definitely one of the best beaches in the world.
What do you hope to achieve in the next five years? In the next five years or so, I want Manila Creamery to thrive abroad. We want to represent what it means to be “Made in Manila” internationally. We want to demonstrate Filipino craftsmanship in our own ways.
What is your greatest fear? That’s a hard one.
Heights.