ANY ANY
Quenee Vilar is on her way to being crowned as the Philippines’ next great female chef.
She’s the Lyanna Mormont of the Metro Manila restaurant scene. Don’t let her petite frame and pretty face fool you. When this lady speaks, the people who usually flock around her—the city’s most highly regarded chefs, most successful restaurateurs, and most influential writers —shut up and listen. And wherever this young chef cooks, her growing fan base— Gen X and Millennials alike—stand up to be counted. It’s apt that her name sounds quite royal, because Quenee Vilar rules.
She’s the executive sous chef of Hey Handsome, that good looking dining destination in the BGC that the cognoscenti consider as the best new restaurant of 2016. That restaurant with the ostensibly South East Asian/Peranakan/ Singaporean menu that’s in a constant state of motion. It’s always a thrill to dine there: there’s always a new ingredient, a new plating, a new dish, a new inspiration. It’s a testament to the unending quest for perfection of Quenee and her mentor, Chef Nicco Santos.
Nicco is the Jon Snow to Quenee’s Lyanna: he’s a quiet and introspective— almost stoic—character. His reticience, a reflection of who he is: a thinker, a conceptualizer, a blue sky dreamer. Together, they make for an unusual pair,
SHE’S THE LYANNA MORMONT OF THE RESTAURANT SCENE. DON’T LET HER PETITE FRAME AND PRETTY FACE FOOL YOU. WHEN THIS YOUNG LADY SPEAKS, THE PEOPLE AROUND HER LISTEN.
but working as one, they complement each other perfectly. Nicco, the brains, and Quenee, the loquacious ever-smiling blur of activity who executes their every shared idea efficiently, and translates each eloquently into their dishes. Theirs is truly an enviable meeting of the minds. From Your Local to Hey Handsome and now, to their newest partnership, Any Any, they’ve built a formidable team together, an army if you will, of some of the most talented young cooks in the country.
It wasn’t too long ago when Quenee herself was starting out in the kitchen. She’s only 24 years old, after all. She was a graduating student at the Colegio de San Agustin when she decided to take a basic culinary course as her senior high school elective. She soon found out that she was hooked, and that she’d discovered her true calling. College was at St. Benilde, where she excelled in culinary competitions. She received an internship at a resort in Florida, where she was so highly valued that her contract was extended, and thus, missed her graduation in Manila. She did come home eventually, and soon after, she and Nicco found themselves in each other’s orbits.
I imagine there must be quite a bit of pressure on Quenee, and other very youthful chefs of her caliber. To have accomplished so much professionally, at such a young age? What should the next move be, when the eyes of so many are on you? The thing is, I have absolutely no doubt that she’ll continue to surprise, and continue to succeed. You see, Quenee, like Lyanna Mormont, is a fierce competitor. And when these young ladies decide to fight, they have only one intention, a singular mission: to win.