WHO is Angelo Comsti? “The late, great Doreen Fernandez urged me to celebrate food and my proud Malolos, my city of birth. But when you’re 16, the wisdom of the food gods is wasted on the young since the only thing I wanted to do at that time was date. I missed out on empanada de kaliskis and the proud ensaymada culture of Malolos.”
It took me years of working on food brands and tourism campaigns all over the world, from Singapore to Ethiopia to the European Union, to realize that food and culture gold mine was just in the same street I grew up in. Until, Angelo.
Fast-forward to reconnecting with who I feel, and what I am about to say will be very controversial indeed, is the Doreen Fernandez of our generation, Angelo Comsti.
Angelo Comsti is not just a great writer and editor—that’s the least I celebrate about him. I have seen this for myself firsthand prior to his initial flirtations with food as a writer for Chalk in his late teens.
But what gets us all out on a holiday amid the Covid-19 chaos and apocalyptic traffic is that Angelo is much more than a great writer and editor.
Just like Doreen, who’s never put anyone down, Angelo has quietly lifted so many food brands and people and, if he didn’t like your food, you’ll never know it. How can someone so low key and soft spoken have an entire country under his spell as @fooddudeph
Angelo is an advocate in the truest sense of the word. While many of you have seen him in glamorous restaurants locally and overseas, my most vivid memory of him was awkwardly balancing in a small cigarette boat in the backwaters of Malolos, interviewing with one of the last three surviving tuberos—that’s artisanal vinegar making to many of you. That experience has yielded an award-winning piece that would hopefully give a new lease in life to many tuberos all over the Philippines.
Angelo is also a community leader and a convenor. He can bring together not just rock star chefs from all over Asia, but the entire food and culinary value chain. From distributors to diners to restaurateurs to argue, discuss, converge the future of food in the country. He’s the founder of the Asian Culinary Exchange and, next year, he’s going to redefine the food scene once more.
From Batanes to Tawi-Tawi, Angelo left no secret kitchen unturned. Everyone, even the most reclusive chefs, openly embraced him because it is the very spirit of Filipino food that commands him. Everyone sensed that purity of intent.
I had the pleasure of talking to him about his new book Also Filipino and he mentioned 10 relatively unknown dishes that are worth the travel.
“It took a single local trip for me to realize that Filipino food is more than just adobo and sinigang. But it took a visit to 22 provinces for me to compile and record 75 provincial recipes for my recent cookbook, Also Filipino.
There’s still so much more to discover in the country food-wise. It’s a good thing that I’m always hungry. Here are 10 dishes that are definitely worth traveling for.”
Also Filipino is more than a book, it celebrates the diversity of our being Filipino as expressed through food.
Madamo Gid nga Salamat. Shukran. Agyamanak. Dios Mabalos Sa imo.
A very grateful and hungry nation thank you, Angelo.