27-Year-Old Filipina Restaurateur Brings Pandesal Magic to London's Food Scene

"Pag di ka marunong magluto, hindi ka pwedeng kumain."

London-based Filipino restaurateur Florence Mae Maglanoc remembers her mother, Maria Fe, admonishing her as a young girl whenever she asked for something to eat. "She never let me eat unless I learned how to make the dish with her," she fondly recalls.

Maglanoc, the youngest of five siblings, was born in the Philippines but raised in the United Kingdom. At the age of seven, playtime for the precocious child was helping her mom knead the dough for their homemade pandesal. "While other kids were in bed watching cartoons early in the morning, I was awake making pandesal from scratch by hand," she tells Esquire Philippines.

Little did she realize that those childhood experiences would shape her future. "Pandesal quite literally changed my life," quips Maglanoc, now the CEO of Maginhawa Group, a London-based restaurant management company that operates seven brands and 10 food outlets.

Five-year-old Florence Mae Maglanoc and her mother Maria Fe.

Photo courtesy of Florence Mae Maglanoc.

"I eat everything with pandesal. I've eaten it with pancit canton, sugar and butter or Star margarine, Nutella, peanut butter, jelly. I've had pandesal with Irish stew. I've eaten it with everything," she says, smiling. "That's probably why you'll find pandesal on the menu at most of the restaurants I have a hand in."

The Maglanoc household are food aficionados, largely because their matriarch loves to cook and bake. "It was my mom's dream to have a restaurant and bakery when she was younger. She didn't just love cooking Filipino food; she enjoyed making everything—British, Chinese, Thai food. So, we experimented with a lot of recipes together," Maglanoc shares.

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Blending Passions
While this passion for cooking clearly influenced her, Maglanoc initially didn't envision a career in the culinary world. Instead, she pursued Branding and Design at the University of the Arts London. "I really thought I'd end up in marketing, editorial work, or maybe even journalism or fashion. I believed it would be within that scope," she says.

But then she found the culinary scene in London to be incredibly inspiring, prompting her to seek opportunities that would let her combine her passions for both food and the arts. It was during this time that she encountered Filipino restaurateur Omar Shah, who managed a couple of family-owned restaurants. Their paths crossed through Maglanoc’s chef brother when she went to pick him up from work.

Maginhawa Group founders Omar Shah and Florence Mae Maglanoc

Courtesy of Maginhawa Group.

"Omar's such a lovely guy...super friendly. He asked what I did, I asked what he did. And then we started working together straight away for his existing restaurants, Bintang and Guanabana. I handled all the marketing and branding for a while," she says.

Working alongside Shah, Maglanoc started getting exposed to the intricacies of managing a restaurant business, an experience she found to be incredibly fascinating. "It was a really fun experience for me," she recalls.

Donia's Lamb Caldereta Pie

Courtesy of Donia 

Sweet Beginnings
In 2017, an opportunity popped up for Shah to open another restaurant concept, and he asked Maglanoc to become his business partner. "He wanted to open a dessert place, but he wasn't quite sure what direction to take it in," she shares. Their initial idea was to offer Pinoy dirty ice cream, until they finally decided to make it a full-on Filipino dessert place, serving Halo-Halo, Buco Pie, and their signature Bilog, a toasted milk bun filled with ice cream. They named their first venture Mamasons—a play on the words "mama-san" (meaning boss lady) and Mama's sons. Their first venture did amazingly well. 

Ramo Ramen's Oxtail Kare-Kare Ramen

Courtesy of Ramo Ramen.

Mamasons opened a lot of doors for them, and they became inspired to continue the partnership. They opened Ramo Ramen which reimagines the Japanese staple through the lens of Magnaloc and Shah’s backgrounds. The menu features traditional dishes with a creative twist. For example, the Oxtail Kare Kare is turned into a noodle soup, and the Sinigang Ramen combines the classic sour tamarind flavor with grilled king prawns and a nitamago egg for a fresh take on a familiar classic.

"Omar is half Filipino, I'm full Filipino. So making sure we insert Filipino flavors in our restaurant ideas or concepts was really important for us," offers Maglanoc.

Mamasons' Ube Bilog

Courtesy of Mamasons.

The breakfast place Panadera, which was conceived during the lockdown, "is a tribute to Southeast Asian flavors through unique baked goods and Filipino dishes," according to their press material.

Besides the bakery's signature Japanese-style 'sandos,' guests can also expect to find Filipino classics such as Pandesal and Pan de coco, a traditional bread roll filled with sweetened coconut. The drinks menu draws a similar inspiration, with specials including an iced Milo mocha, buko pandan frappe, and the bakery’s beloved iced ube latte.

Maglanoc admits that she was reluctant about launching a new brand, yet she recognized the growing demand for a complete Filipino restaurant from the Maginhawa Group. "When your community asks for something, you really need to listen because they're the ones that are taking our business to where it is now," she says. "So I made a new brand, made sure it was fully Filipino-focused. Donia is my little love letter to all the Filipinos in the UK."

Located on the top floor of Kingly Court, Donia's menu features a curated selection of snacks and smaller plates, like Chicken Offal Skewers and Prawn and Pork Dumplings, as well as larger plates designed for sharing. Dishes include Pork Belly, roasted léchon-style until perfectly crisp and served alongside liver peppercorn sauce; and Chicken Inasal, served with an indulgent butter emulsion.

Panadera's Pandesal 

Courtesy of Panadera Bakery.

Balancing Acts
Maglanoc sees Shah as a "lifetime partner," attributing the success of their business partnership to their complementary strengths. She admires Shah's ability to identify and predict trends, problems, or conduct analyses—areas she admits are not her primary focus. Instead, Maglanoc is drawn to defining the project's message, its soul, and nurturing its creativity. This dynamic synergy between their skill sets and priorities is the foundation of their thriving partnership.

"I think it's difficult to find someone that will push you to the best result. And I think that's the reason why both of us exist in this business. It's not just my direction or his direction. It's potentially a battle between both of our directions that gets to the best outcome, which is the middle of the two," she says.

Donia's Chicken Inasal

Courtesy of Maginhawa Group.

Maglanoc admits she feels a significant amount of pressure regarding Donia's potential influence on the perception of Filipino cuisine in London. While acknowledging the weight of such a responsibility, she says her primary goal is to ensure Donia continues to offer exceptional food and maintain high standards in every facet of running a restaurant, all while competing with other excellent establishments in London.

"I would love Donia to get a Restaurant of the Year Award here in London, and for it to get as many accolades as it possibly could," she says. "That's something we're definitely striving for."