Amado Forés Pays Tribute to His Mother Through Three 'Secret Menu' Items
When Filipino restaurateur Margarita Araneta Forés passed away in February 2025, tributes for the culinary icon poured in from members of the local and international F&B community. But nothing is probably more important than the memories shared by her son, Amado Forés, who's also making waves in the F&B industry.
And for the third leg of Esquire Philippines' Secret Menu, it is these moments with her mother that inspired the off-menu items at three Forés-owned restaurants: a mano (the first concept by Amado's AF Hospitality), Lusso by Margarita Forés, and Grace Park Dining by Margarita Forés. These Secret Menu items are exclusive to UnionBank credit cardholders from June 21 to July 21, 2025.
Esquire Philippines' Restaurateur of the Year (2024), Amado Forés
A family holiday trip to Italy in 2018 inspired Amado to open the Italian restaurant a mano. In photo: with his mother, Chef Margarita Forés.
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Margarita's Favorite Jamón
"On my mom's last trip, she brought home a whole leg of jamón for me. I wanted to make something in memory of that moment—and since she loved the jamón from Txanton, using it on a pizza felt perfect," Amado shares to Esquire Philippines (as relayed by Chef Jonathan Redoblado of a mano).
From that memory, a mano came up with Jamón Ibérico Pizza, in which the "salsa de tomate brings that same juicy, vibrant flavor of pan con tomate, topped with the best Jamón Ibérico de Bellota from Txanton," Amado adds.
a mano's Jamón Ibérico Pizza (P1,850)
Redoblado said that the mother-and-son duo shares this love for the Jamón Ibérico de Bellota from Txanton.
"The sauce base is really new to us actually because we're used to the Italian tomato sauce, right?," the chef at the Italian restaurant says. "But this one needs to have this Spanish flavor. That was quite a challenge for us at first. Then, when I got the right flavor for it, the next problem that we encountered was choosing between red sauce pizza or white cheese sauce pizza."
Chef Jonathan Redoblado of a mano
The a mano team, including Amado, liked both, but after weeks of testing and tasting, they ultimately went with the white cheese, which allowed the jamón to shine. a mano's Jamón Ibérico Pizza is a balance of the saltiness of the jamón, the acidity of the salsa, and the peppery bitterness of the arugula, all working together to keep that memory of Margarita's pasalubong of a whole leg of jamón for Amado.
The Jamón Ibérico Pizza (P1,850) is available at all a mano branches (Power Plant Mall, Shangri-La Plaza, BGC, and Gateway).
Continuing His Mom's Ideas
For Lusso, another participating restaurant for the Secret Menu, the off-menu item is Ikura & Sour Cream Tater Tots, basically an elevated version of the childhood favorite tater tots.
Lusso's Ikura & Sour Cream Tater Tots (P890)
"I'm just using the ideas of my mom here now, which are luxe ingredients like ikura, chives, and sour cream, with something that is relatable to a lot of people growing up, which is tater tots," Amado tells us during a visit to Lusso.
The Margarita-helmed restaurant made its debut at Greenbelt in 2009, while the second branch opened at Rockwell in 2023 and the third at The Podium in January 2025. The dining space is all about luxury, thus the name—from hotel-like interiors to elegant small bites.
"I'm leaning into the fact that some of my favorite dishes here in Lusso are the burger [Demi-Pound Burger] and the mac and cheese [Luxe "Mac & Cheese"]. I wanted to do something with tater tots and Lusso-fying it, making it luxe, basically," Amado adds.
Chef Valery Anthony of Lusso
"We want to incorporate more fun and playful items. So the idea came about: What if we do kind of like a highbrow, lowbrow approach? High-end ingredients pero lowbrow like fast foods with French fries, tater tots, and eventually we want to incorporate corn dogs, but with caviar. So things like that. That's where we got the idea of pairing ikura and tater tots together," adds Chef Valery Anthony.
The result is a glowed-up childhood favorite: crispy tots topped with sour cream and popping ikura, a blend of sour and salty in a bite.
The Ikura & Sour Cream Tater Tots (P890) is available at all Lusso branches (The Balmori Suites, Greenbelt 5, The Podium).
Cooking With Filipino Traditions
Championing farmhouse cooking, Grace Park Dining took a Filipino dish and gave it a spin: Rib-Eye Bistek Tagalog.
Grace Park's Rib-Eye Bistek Tagalog (P2,895 for 500g)
"She loves taking it up a notch," Chef Rafael Lopez says about Margarita's concept for Grace Park. "This is one of the things that I'm sure, she will like. It's part of her vision. Her vision has always been about upholding the traditions of the Philippines and making it at par with the best of the world. 'Yun 'yung sabi niya sa akin."
Chef Rafael Lopez of Grace Park
Rib-Eye Bistek Tagalog consists of a thick slice of tender Australian Rib-eye, served with steak rice and onion jam. The saltiness of the soy sauce, sweetness of the jam, and acidity of the calamansi are a harmony of flavors with the beef.
The Rib-Eye Bistek Tagalog (P2,895 for 500g) is available at both branches of Grace Park (One Rockwell and Gateway).
Aside from a mano, Lusso, and Grace Park, there are 12 other participating restaurants for Esquire Philippines' Secret Menu. Automat's ScallopJoy, Azuthai's Kew Tod and Tom Yum Salmon, Bar Pintxos's Pintxo Platter and Canelone con Rabo de Toro, Bibio's Octopus Ragu, Casuals Dining's King Fish Collar, Cosmic's Vegan Dinakdakan, Green Bar's Hoi An Chickun Rice, Lampara's Bistek Hanger Steak and Turon, Papillon's Lobster Laksa and Vietnamese Coffee Tiramisu, Ramen Marudori's Special Tomato Tantanmen and Onigiri, Taqueria Franco's Fried Chicken & Caviar Taco, and The Underbelly's FoMo Ramen are also available as off-menu items.
ALSO READ: The 'Secret Menu' Is Back With 15 Participating Restaurants in Metro Manila
Secret Menu is exclusive to UnionBank Credit Cardholders. Terms and Conditions apply. Available from June 21 to July 21, 2025. Terms and conditions apply. Per DTI Fair Trade Permit No. FTEB-227824 Series of 2025. Union Bank of the Philippines is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
