19/07/2026
There's this awe when working with heritage food/ ingredients. Partly because majority have a risk of being endangered and some may be gone forever if we don't do something about it. Am I being too dramatic? Maybe. But learning about these ingredients that have been part of our culture, knowing the farmers, foragers and indigenous people who have kept these, not for show but to nourish them and as part of the knowledge passed down from their great grandparents, and how it has sustained them as a community, gives a deep sense of reverence to their meaning...It's like holding a cultural treasure you can taste, smell and share.
Working with these wild foraged mushrooms is really an honor. The Atayan mushroom is an earthball mushroom that has a symbiotic relationship with the pine trees of Sagada. I try to give them respect by staying true to their taste, while transforming them into something new. Slowly steeping the mushrooms for hours to blend the flavor deeply with our coconut-cashew base. Then blended to maximize the flavor. We shape it back to stone to resemble its natural form. To give a similar experience we did when foraging these wild mushrooms, we set it on the "forest floor" with pandan cake moss, cacao nibs, and mushroom dust (made from toasted coconut& mushroom powder). My hope is it translates into something that gives joy. And maybe spark something more. 💕
We're grateful and proud to be part of the team that organized and put together The Forest Table of Sagada yesterday. Even more grateful to the local community in Sagada who has generously shared these and welcomed us as a part of their community. To more collaborative work in the future 🥰🫶
📸 from kitchen teamates Neil, Mia, Mark, Yrai & John 🤗
