SoulPhil: Bridging Filipino and South American Flavors

South American and Filipino fusion food isn't as popular as Filipino-Chinese, Filipino-Spanish, or Filipino-American. But rising culinary star, Chef Tiana Gee, who is behind the YouTube Channel "Cookin' With Tee," believes that Filipino and South American cuisine possess striking similarities. This gave the 28-year-old Filipino-Black American chef the idea to launch a pop-up restaurant she aptly calls "SoulPhil." This passion project took her across the US, marked by rave reviews, glowing write-ups, and consistently sold-out events.

We recently met the pretty and vivacious chef at Japonesa, a hip and happening restaurant and bar in Poblacion, Makati where she hosted a five-course tasting menu, co-presented by the award-winning Ube Cream Liqueur. True to her word, the dining experience highlighted "the rich and comforting flavors of soul food with the bold and aromatic elements of Filipino cuisine, using locally sourced ingredients."

Macapuno Cornbread and Coco Butta

The tasting event was short and sweet, yet it had elements that offered delightful surprises throughout. It began with some heartwarming Macapuno Cornbread and Coco Butta, which I savored alongside an Ube on the Rocks.

Next up, a refreshing transition arrived in the form of Kinilaw na Tuna, thoughtfully prepared with pickled okra, sweet potato crisps, blackened spice, and avocado.

Kinilaw na Tuna

This was followed by the Mustasa and Kamote Salad, which featured crispy chicken skins, black garlic, tamarind vinaigrette, and ripe mangos, offering a medley of textures and flavors.

Mustasa and Kamote Salad

For the main event, she served Adobo Short Rib, fork-tender and deeply flavored, paired with a luscious bed of Creamy Corn Grits and complemented by sitaw and talong.

Adobo Short Rib and Creamy Corn Grits

Capping off the meal was Coco Nana Pudding, Chef Tee's inspired take on traditional banana pudding, made with banana leche flan, tapioca pearls, and vanilla wafers.

"I think Filipino food is also soul food," Chef Tee told this writer after the dinner. "The term 'soul food' in America is related to the comforting food from the South. But to me, 'soul' food is anything that fills your soul. So 'SoulPhil' is not only a play on soul, Filipino fusion, it's also a feeling. It's a feeling of being fulfilled, it's a feeling of what fills you, what nurtures your soul. For me, out of all the Asian cuisines, Filipino food is the most soul-filling. So I kind of felt like [South American and Filipino food] was the perfect mix."

Chef Tee observed that beyond braising and slow cooking, both Filipino and South American cuisines feature pickled and fermented foods, a culinary practice associated with the need to preserve food with limited resources.

Coco Nana Pudding

Childhood Dream

Chef Tee's culinary journey began remarkably early. By the tender age of five, she already knew her destiny was in the kitchen. She was often found playing with her food despite her Lola's gentle chidings.

"I think at that age, I was always trying to express that I really wanted to be around food," she recalled. "By the time was five, I told my mom I wanted to be a chef."

Ube Colada

Her passion for food grew stronger when she enrolled in her first cooking class in middle school, a path she continued through high school, eventually competing and earning a culinary scholarship.

But beyond just cooking, Chef Tee harbored a dream of being in food media, which she brought to life with a YouTube channel called "Cooking with Tee" when she turned 18. "It's always been my childhood dream to do what I'm doing. So I'm really grateful that I get to live out this dream," she said.

Being Filipino has been a big influence in her love for food. She grew up enjoying her lola's cooking, and among her favorites are Sinigang na Salmon, Nilaga, and Lugaw.

Chef Tiana Gee with her mom, Mary

Watching Chef Tee's video making TasteAtlas' "number one Filipino noodle dish"—that's Pancit Palabok—will have you craving the dish for sure. She said it's her favorite noodle dish of all time. Her version of Chicken Adobo will make you consider adding garlic crisps, toasting your peppercorns before crushing them, and using fresh bay leaf instead of dried.

In a Mother's Day-themed video she posted recently, Chef Tee cooked Pinakbet with her mother, a recipe passed down by her lola. She even had a written recipe to show for it.

"I think that being a foodie naturally comes with being Filipino. It's not on us, it's in us, really, I think," she said.