MANILA, Philippines - Hidden along the narrow streets of Burgos, seven of the biggest names in the food industry came together to cook their hearts out for charity. The chefs slaved away in a small kitchen sending delicious smells wafting into the air, riling up the excitement of all those who came by.
The Meat Heads pop-up was a huge success, but how did it all come together?
It all started with a couple of people who finished work at the same time. After some drinks, industry dinners and meals at each other’s restaurants, they became a gaggle of young chefs hanging out together almost every week. Among them are Mecha Uma’s Bruce Ricketts, Kafé Batwan’s JP Anglo, The Hungry Hound’s Mikko Reyes, Wildflour’s Allen Buhay and BJ Mantuano, EDSA Beverage Design’s David Ong, and the Fat Kid Inside’s Erwan Heussaff.
Of course, with so many brilliant minds hanging around each other so often, an amazing idea was inevitable — anything could’ve sparked it, even just casual conversation.
“We’ve been talking about this forever. We all said we wanted to do something for charity and get people together around food,” explained Heussaff. “We just wanted to cook because we’re friends and because we love food.”
The Meat Heads pop-up was a pretty spontaneous idea. The group was together last Thursday when it hit them: “You know what, we’re all free on Tuesday, let’s just do it!” With less than a week of planning, they combined all their ideas and came up a concept that was easy to work with and, of course, a menu of delicious food with cocktails to match.
“We needed to make sure that the food was fast and easy to make, so we started the idea with sandwiches. But then, you know, what’s exciting about sandwiches? So we thought, braised meats and sweet breads,” expounded Heussaff. “That’s how Meat Heads came together. Everyone literally had a hand in every dish.”
It was held at the Red Light last Tuesday, July 22. They chose the Red Light because it didn’t represent any particular brand, and it was a place where people could just have fun — which was perfect for them, because it gave them the freedom to serve whatever they wanted and have a good time doing what they love. All the proceeds from the event are going to the Mother of Divine Providence Parish feeding program in Payatas, which dedicates all its efforts toward the underprivileged youth.
They had three different kinds of sandwiches: “El Torro,” a surprisingly refreshing sandwich with carnitas, wakamole and salsa verde served between ciabatta bread; the Vietnamese-esque “Phuc Nyu,” composed of chicken thighs, bagoong, pig skin pickles and potato bread; my personal favorite, the “Grilled Face,” an open-faced sandwich with bee cheek pares, spicy pickles, #meathead cheese whiz, mustasa pesto, and sourdough.
They served Brew Kettle beer and three kinds of cocktails to match the food: “Dirty Piña,” made up of rum, pineapple, lemon, simple syrup and coconut; “Downright Sour” with Bulleit bourbon, sour mix, tamarind syrup and bitters; “Moley Mule,” a combination of vodka, ginger shrub, soda water, bitters, lime, and simple syrup. All the cocktails had some sort of citrus element, which paired well with meat.
By 9 p.m. the place was packed and orders were rolling in one after the other. People were getting hungrier by the second. In the kitchen, believe it or not, basking in that rather undesirable combination of intense heat and sweat, the Meat Heads were actually smiling and having fun. “It’s the first time we’re cooking together, so it’s amazing,” said Anglo, sounding both contented and excited.
“You realize there’s a form of mutual respect amongst each other, because no one ever said that what anyone had created sucked. They just say, ‘Hey, let’s add this and let’s add that,’” described Bruce, glancing at his fellow chefs. “It was like everyone built a restaurant together,” he said with a chuckle.
With the Meat Heads pop-up a success, what’s next for this group of young chefs?
Amazingly enough, they all want to do it again.
“We were joking that we should do one for seafood that’s called Fish Head, another one for brunch that’s called Egg Head,” said David Ong, laughing.
Well, whatever these guys are planning next, we’re sure it’s going to be great. And delicious.