Chef Christian Lansang is a Rising Culinary Star

Fate had other plans for Christian Lansang. The budding chef was on his way to fulfilling his parents’ dream for him to become, like them, a lawyer. But he found his true calling as a student who wanted to earn extra money by working as a dishwasher for a restaurant in Japan.

To be working in a professional kitchen wasn’t even something that crossed his mind growing up, even though he took interest in cooking back in their year high school. “I was part of the judo team, and I had to gain weight for the UAAP,” he says. “To do that, I had to cook my meals every day,” says the 26-year-old. “On my cheat days, I would do a lot and just cook whatever. It started there. But I realized that I wanted to pursue it only when I was in university.” 

On his second year, the then-student came across a celebrated restaurant that was looking for an intern. “I said, why not? I did it and I enjoyed it.” The place was Michelin-starred Inua, which is run by ex-Noma chef Thomas Frebel who served an ambitious and spectacular Nordic take on seasonal Japanese ingredients.

ALSO READ

At Tagaytay’s Newest Luxury Resort, Exclusive Flavors from Chef Margarita Forés

Chef Josh Boutwood on Closing Savage and Looking Forward to the Future 

“I felt very fortunate that they allowed me to stage there with barely any professional experience or background,” Lansang says. “The guy that I was under, the sous chef, really trained me and gave me a lot of tips. On weekends, he would tell me what to practice on like basic knife skills. In the beginning, I did mostly prepping, but towards the end, I was already cooking next to the other chefs.”

Chef Christian Lansang's Roasted Veg, Preserved Lemon, Whipped Keso, Basil Oil

By then, Lansang already knew what career path to take. And even if he wanted to dive deep into it, he couldn’t drop school and do full-time work instead because of his visa. And so he did the most of what he could given his situation: continue studying business while fulfilling a paying part-time job so he could afford interning for free. This, in effect, became his “cooking school.”

Roasted vegetables, keso and preserved lemon

From Japan, he came back to the Philippines for a short while, then packed his bags again and flew to Sweden in August 2022 for a six-month internship at three Michelin-starred Frantzen where he learned to move at his own pace. “The sous said that I should just focus on making it perfect and the speed will follow. In an industry where you constantly hear chefs yelling at you to go faster, his advice helps me keep a level head.”

In February the following year, Lansang went back home and, still with a burning desire to learn, meticulously picked a Manila-based restaurant, which he felt, was in line with his culinary style and philosophy. He remembered dining in Metiz, loved their food, and felt rather comfortable in the space.

Sea bream, miso, tomato, vanilla

“Personally, if I cook something, I want to connect to the food in any kind of way. If I work in a resto that had great food, but I had no connection to, I feel like it’s something I can’t enthusiastically talk about. Things will feel like a chore. And I won’t push myself to do better,” he says. “With Metiz, it’s a good mix of everything I like. They use fermentations, which I learned to appreciate when I was starting out. They do a lot of interesting things with local produce. And the food is still very Filipino. That’s what initially got my attention. And as it turned out, the work environment there was just really good.” He ended up working in Metiz for a little over a year.

Shrimp Toast, Aged Gouda 

Having gained the confidence to finally cook his own food, he left Metiz and, upon the request of friends, hosted private dinners for events and at home. He recently held a two-weekend pop-up at Toka Wine in Quezon City, where a lot more people got to sample his plates—shrimp toast with yuzu kosho and aged gouda, fish crude with miso and vanilla, Hokkaido scallops with fermented cabbage and matcha, veal sweetbreads with dashi veloute, and chicken with fermented lemon and sake jus, among others.

“Cuisine-wise, my style is a mix,” he says. “There will definitely be Japanese influences. Nordic too. Plus, some of my Filipino-Chinese upbringing. I always try to keep the ideas simple. And feature flavor combinations that I enjoy. Food that is just made nice.”

Chef Christian Lansang at work

Lansang may just be relatively new in the industry, yet with what he has put out, plus the opportunities he got from his maiden stint, the budding chef is definitely one to watch out for. Remember his name. 

On November 9, Lansang will do a one-night tasting menu at San Juan speakeasy slash restaurant Guest Room (For reservations, contact +63 933 810-1002). and on the 17th, he will do a collab as part of a series at Automat (For reservations, contact +63 917 155-9008).