Healthy Filipino Cooking with Chef Charleen Caabay
In collaboration with our non-profit partner SOMCAN, we are proud to announce another episode of Balay (Home) Cooking, a series where we showcase a new chef every month to feature a healthy Filipino dish you can recreate at home.
This month we have the one and only, Chef Charleen Caabay, stopping by to cook Pancit Malabon in our FREE online demo!
Chef Charleen made history in 2016 by being the first Filipino-American to win Chopped.
Chef Charleen is a culinary creative, and cannapreneur. She is the first Filipino-American to win Food Network’s Chopped in 2016. A reality tv gem, she has also competed on The Cooking Channel’s Farmer’s Market Flip, and more recently on Food Network's Supermarket Stakeout in 2021. As one of the CoFounders of The People's Ecosystem, Chef Charleen has been actively advocating for the legalization of cannabis, and striving for a more inclusive and equitable industry. In the kitchen, Chef Charleen has been working on food projects, such as her own cannabis edible line which is soon to launch this year, and a cookbook.
Chef Charleen at her restaurant, Kainbigan, in 2013. The name is a mash-up of two Tagalog words that translates to “Let’s eat, friends.”
She is a self-taught chef, picking up her skills from her grandmother, mother, and older sister. Filipino food has always been front and center in her culinary practice. Upon winning Food Network’s Chopped in 2016 and making history, the Chef said, “When I went into Chopped, I wanted to put down Filipino food from the get-go…this was my chance to show Filipino food to the world.”
Since then, she has stayed true to her roots and expanded the Filipino food scene right here in the Bay Area by opening two restaurants - one in 2013 with Kainbigan, and another in 2017 with Craft & Spoon.
It’s been a mission of hers to provide Filipino comfort food to everyone, stating in an interview about her cooking, “whether you are well-versed in Filipino cuisine or a newbie to Filipino food, I guarantee you will love every bite you take.”
“When I went into Chopped, I wanted to put down Filipino food from the get-go…this was my chance to show Filipino food to the world.”
She’s bringing her homegrown culinary skills to the Balay Kreative studio on Wednesday, March 23rd from 4pm-5pm PST, where she will be leading a food demo on a classic Filipino dish, Pancit Malabon - a dish originating from Malabon, Metro Manila, Philippines that uses thick rice noodles. Its sauce has a yellow-orange hue, attributable to achuete (annatto seeds), shrimp broth, and flavor seasoned with patis and taba ng talangka.
To the Chef, Pancit Malabon is a dish that reminds her of fiesta, family gatherings, and many celebrations.
So come gather with us at our FREE online demo! You’ll be able to join from the comfort of your own home and cook along with Chef Charleen.
Register below! We can’t wait to cook with you!
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