“Chef Natalia Moran is the epitome of Filipina ingenuity, creativity, industry, and commitment to excellence. Chef Natalia has been a consultant to many reputable restaurants in the Philippines for decades: to help them refresh their menu, enhance their efficiency and productivity, achieve consistency in food and service, manage their costs, and update the look and feel of their brick-and-mortar restaurants. Chef Natalia is approachable, yet firm in her resolve when the situation demands it. She has a kind and gentle character emanating from her deep and strong faith. She is sharp and engaged, clearly, on top of her game. And she has a good sense of humor. Chef Natalia is a gem and a prime mover in the Philippine food industry. We are truly delighted to work with her and her siblings to bring Filipino cuisine to the global stage.”-Elzar Simon, Co-Owner of Manila Inasal LA, 2024
“We see a world where ‘Filipino’ is part of the mainstream consciousness of the global community associated with ingenuity and creativity. I want to grow Manila Inasal LA. I am a Filipina and I show my passion for my country, my love for my culture through cooking while staying true to the Filipino Flavors.” -Chef Natalia Moran, Co-Owner of Manila Inasal PH and Manila Inasal LA, 2024
Quite apropos that I am writing an article about Chef Natalia Moran during the Olympics 2024 when folks are enthusiastic about supporting athletes who are at the top of their game. A-list stars came to watch Simon Biles attain a record qualifying score of 15.8, a historic Yurchenko double pike, renamed Biles II, due to its difficulty and being the first woman to do so in gymnastics. She tackles the vault as if flying, defying gravity with grit.
Grit in a caring ecosystem
What’s the connection to Chef Natalia Moran, some may ask? Would you believe that Chef Moran in Grades 1 to 4 was also a gymnast who competed locally and regionally in Singapore? She too was excited to watch gymnasts, especially Simone Biles and Suni Lee, compete in the 2024 Olympics.
More than that, they all display grit in pursuit of their passions in their respective life journeys.
Every human talent is influenced by both genes and experiences, writes Angela Duckworth, Ph.D., in her book “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” which studied the traits of geniuses — 67 traits common to them, foremost of which is grit.
Duckworth described grit as the combination of persistence in motive: working actively towards a definite goal, without seeking change, or the tendency to abandon tasks from changeability. It is a degree of will and perseverance to stay the course and the passion to not abandon the task, in the face of obstacles. It is the power of experiences, where grit is acquired from overcoming struggles of climbing to the summit; confidence is gained to try something harder, and something new.
Beyond ancestral genes from Peter, Moran’s father, who was a weightlifter and Fe, her mother, who was a volleyball player, personify grit in Moran’s life who both competed in games locally and regionally. As such, Moran was influenced and encouraged to pursue sports, as well as her cooking passions, methodically, academically and practically.
She went to Poveda Learning Center where much of her foundational training for four years came from RISE (Remote, Independent, Self-Paced Education) program. The school’s mascot, a rising phoenix, mirrors her ascending journey, a rise to actualize her dreams, her passions in cooking and to acquire proficiencies in different languages, as well as sports.
Photos courtesy of Natalia Moran
Comprehensive education with purpose by saying ‘yes’ to opportunities
Chef Moran was a varsity volleyball player at a premier high-ranking public university, the University of the Philippines in Diliman. She competed in national/regional competitions and sustained a high grade point average to merit her varsity scholar standing for three years. She completed a bachelor of science in hotel, restaurant and institution management, from 2003 to 2008.
Interestingly enough, Dr. Miflora Gatchalian, her professor in management, was my professor in thesis development and quality systems.
As if college was not rigorous enough, she learned the fundamentals of culinary arts at the International School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management (ISCAHM) from October to December 2005, further expanding on what she knew in college.
Determined to broaden her knowledge, she became a trainee at Ice Vodka Bar, gaining exposure to mixing drinks and how to use various bartending tools from August to October 2006, in preparation for Chef’s on Parade Bartending Competition and placed third.
Never saying no to learning opportunities, she was an intern at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, a five-star hotel, in their Red Outlet Kitchen and Main Kitchen and their commissary kitchen, assisting in catering events in 2007. This is also where she was introduced to FIDELIO, a records systems tracking processes, while also dealing with hotel guests in the front office.
As an evolving professional, she says yes to many opportunities coming her way, discarding self-doubt. She became the line cook at Greenbelt’s Madison Restaurant, working the opening and closing shifts from 2008 to 2009. She was in charge of preparing the ingredients and made soups, sauces, starches and side dishes, including the responsibility of opening and closing the restaurant and became part of the restaurant’s catering team.
She contributed to many issues of Appetite Magazine by preparing the cooked entrees for their magazine cover as well as helping the food production stylist in setting up the entrees for photographs in 2006. She ventured abroad to pick upmore skills and experiences, while still pursuing her college degree.
Apicius International School for Hospitality in Florence: Her passion kindled more
“Florence is an open-air museum. While learning hospitality, students also absorb the local culture while being immersed in diverse areas such as art, fashion, wellness, and gastronomy. I believe it is impossible to understand a discipline without experiencing the culture and context surrounding it,” said Andrea Trapani, executive chef and manager of Apicius in Florence, Italy.
Apicius International School for Hospitality in Florence, Italy is one of the top three culinary institutes worldwide. It ranks on par with the Culinary Institute of America and Le Cordon Bleu in France. It is where Moran obtained a certificate in culinary arts.
She went to classes 18 hours a week, and then, cooked brunch on Saturdays, and assisted during functions and events. She became an internship trainee at Ganzo Restaurant in Florence (the school’s restaurant), applying what she has learned in the classroom.
Chef Pierluigi Campi of Pierluigi Group emailed me recently on how Moran was chosen to work with him. He wrote, “I appreciated her strength. I felt sorry because once she cut her finger, she needed some stitches. You know women sometimes are hard to manage in a busy kitchen. But, I saw that she was very good in my kitchen [Ganzo Restaurant]. Much better than some Americans [encountered in school]. I would hire Natalia tomorrow because she’s very passionate in the kitchen. I hope this will help you to write only good things about Natalia.”
She went beyond cooking into the world of arts, wellness, and travel hospitality. Imagine having to get along with students from different parts of the world?
Some years later, she became the Apicius Culinary Arts and Hotel Management chef instructor, handling both theory and hands-on kitchen classes from June 2013 to March 2014. In that role, she prepared lesson plans, market lists, and student activities to develop them to be the best that her students can be, as she was mentored to be her best by prior mentors.
She also acquired basic proficiencies in the Italian language including it to the other languages she knew: Tagalog, English, and Spanish.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, from 2020 to 2022, she found herself cooking hundreds of meals and serving the Frontline, and her “packing teammates” were her parents, her sister, her brother, her son, her aunt, and helper, while their conscientious driver delivered the meals. Most restaurants in the Philippines had stopped their operations. But the Moran family chose to serve others.
Growing income streams for owners/founders in the Philippines and now, LA
Formation of one’s skills, talents and abilities is an art. Beyond one’s natural genes, it is also a personal ability to stay confident and fearless in meeting the challenge of new opportunities. The ascent of Moran appears to come from sustaining her self-confidence to do a myriad of what is required at any given moment.
Moran has started 18 restaurants from the ground up, which include construction, kitchen design, curating the opening menu as well as hiring cook staff. She is a consummate talent who opens up income streams to founders and owners of restaurants in Makati, San Juan, Pasig, and Boracay.
Sunny Side group owners Nowie and Odette Potenciano who own several restaurants, including Sunny Side Café, Spice Bird and Coco Mama, spoke of Moran’s involvement to Rappler, an online news outlet. To Tatler, they described their current restaurants that include Mochiko, Please, Senpai and Tabi-Tabi. Nowie Potenciano described, “We built and ownall of these ourselves. We don’t have any partners. But we do have a great executive chef, Natalia Moran, who developed almost all the dishes in The Sunny Side Group.”
Sunny Side Cafe is now almost 12 years old and it was born, inspired by what the owners experienced in Laos: all-day breakfast, bakery and specialty coffee. Another to add to their string of successful places is Percy Seafood, featured in Tatler, a lifestyle, fashion and features magazine as one of the places to go to in Boracay.
“Through her creativity and palate, [Chef Moran] is able to translate ideas into something suited to what we need for our restaurants and in Boracay,” Nowie Potenciano shared with Rappler.
Other restaurants and food stalls she opened were: Ube Mama and Mango Mama (specialty dessert places), Winner Winner Fried Chicken, Popo Chinese roasts and dumplings, El Jardin in Makati, Granivore in Makati, Bookoh in BGC and Robinsons Mall, Tomato and Basil in Puerto Princesa, Marikudo in Roxas City, Snooze Café in San Juan City, Monza Barcade in Pasig, Gaea Café in San Juan City, Supermagic Burgers and Nomu Beverage Station.
She also revitalized the menus of: Your Local Asian Restaurant in Makati, PizzaExpress a UK-based Italian franchise in BGC and Mega Mall, Santa Peligrosa in Boracay, Fat Rice in Boracay, Sands Hotel in Boracay, Chateau Hestia in Tagaytay, Villa Maria Resort in Surigao, and Passion Cook catering in Parañaque.
Bold and fearless catering of LA’s cultural events
Manila Inasal‘s name conjures up memories of grilled flavorful food in Manila while inasal is a flavor profile from Bacolod that has gotten a loyal following amongst folks.
Inasal is rooted in “ina” meaning mother and “asal” is to roast, while in Arabic, it means honey. Just the name alone is enough to make customers curious if it lives up to its name. Does it?
Bold and fearless, Manila Inasal in the Philippines was founded in 2020 by Chef Natalia Moran with her siblings at the height of the pandemic, and another in Los Angeles with the Simon Family in 2023.
At a dinner event in 2024, the Simon family was described as unified once they decided upon a goal. They mobilize and are fully supportive of one another, each with their own roles: Eli Simon masterfully leads operations, Joshua Simon and Ysabel Simon strategize sales and marketing. They have now outgrown their LA’s cloud kitchen and are in search of a site for a full sit-down restaurant.
In barely six months, it has boldly taken on catering significant cultural events in Los Angeles.
A birthday event at LA Rose Café attracted a hundred folks to partake in an extensive buffet of entrees. What caught my palate’s memory was the kare-kare made with macadamia nut sauce, normally done using peanut sauce. Another was the roasted pork belly on soft steamed bao buns, tagged Manila Inasal on the bun’s skin. We have not encountered roasted pork belly with crispy skin, served with cilantro, pickled turnips and carrots, on steamed bao buns.
At another dinner music event, featuring Nonoy Zuñiga with Dodjie Simon on the piano, I had a dessert creation of pairing tsokolate gelato with palitaw (sticky rice with coconut sauce, pinipig and coconut flakes) which my 9-year-old granddaughter, Ever Iyla, had seconds of. “Yummy!” she said. The attendance nearly doubled from the first event of 100 to 180 attendees.
Catering was done in May 2024 for nearly 300 folks who attended the Manila International Film Festival Gala at the Directors’ Guild of America.
This summer, Manila Inasal LA catered to the Recording Industry of America’s event and Eraserheads that performed in Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Even the headliner celebrity, Gary Valenciano, who headlined Independence Day in Carson, had a sumptuous dinner catered by Manila Inasal LA.
Perhaps Lewis Hamilton (Formula One driver with 100 wins) articulated what Moran has eloquently done with her life. Hamilton said in Jay Shetty’s 2024 podcast: “It is to continue to have belief in myself – to keep my head up and march towards my dream. To give up is easy to do, and the hardest/most difficult is to hang on.”
I asked Moran, “Is there anything you are afraid of?” She simply smiled. It is remarkable how she takes on one difficult task after another in such a crunched period of time.
“Chef Natalia’s genius in the kitchen lies in her ability to create dishes that are like a hug to the diner. Her food has flavors that are familiar yet presented in surprising new ways.
She’s a natural at coaxing this element of comfort out of every bite and it shows in how people respond to dining at our restaurants,” Nowie Potenciano shared in a recent email.
Grit is an innate quality amongst athletes, a multi-awarded Formula One driver like Lewis Hamilton, an Olympic gymnast like Simon Biles, attaining the highest score and a historic double pike named after her, Suni Lee for not giving up, and excels, but also a Filipina Chef Natalia Moran who keeps moving forward saying yes to opportunities. Moran can be described as a G.O.A.T. – the greatest of all time! In all different functions!
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 12 years. She also contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico and over 22 national parks in the U.S., in her pursuit of love for nature and the arts.
