JORDY NAVARRA

Chef and owner, Toyo Eatery and Panaderya Toyo

This acclaimed chef, whose restaurant Toyo Eatery has been on Asia’s 50 Best for years running, started out in the industry comparatively late in the game. “Pursuing it professionally didn’t happen until I discovered the world of restaurants,” Jordy Navarra relates. The people surrounding him lifted him up and provided him with a lifetime of lessons and experiences that have helped bring him to where he is today.

Despite all the success, winning the Miele One to Watch award in 2018 and being on Asia’s 50 Best for three years running make Navarra feel “like we’ve only just started”. While he believes the Philippine dining scene is still quite young, he thinks that what he has contributed is a developing curiosity for what food can be.

“I feel like our food scene has so much potential. It’s really a matter of digging deep into what we Filipinos like to eat and sharing that with the world,” Navarra states.