When Philippine-born chefs Francis Dela Cruz and Aileen Aguirre were confined to their Pyrmont home during COVID lockdown, they felt a deep longing for childhood comfort foods such as sweet, buttery ensaymada pastries topped with sharp cheddar cheese; tender, smoky chicken inasal roasted over hot coals; and flaky hand-rolled empanadas filled with hearty beef or chicken.

At the time, Filipino food was hard to come by in Sydney. Despite more than 150,000 NSW residents reporting Filipino ancestry in the 2021 census, there were few restaurants to choose from, and certainly none within their five-kilometre radius.

“We just wanted to eat something nice, something that reminded us of home, and there was nothing,” Aguirre says. “Filipino cuisine was very much underrepresented.”

The pair realised it was time to apply their 15 years of hospitality experience to the cuisine they’d grown up with. Together with friend Lesley Roque, they launched Filipino food delivery business Takam, operating over Instagram.

Their modern take on Filipino food, using Australian ingredients such as finger lime and king prawns to elevate traditional recipes like noodle-based pancit palabok, proved popular. In February, they opened their first permanent location in Darlinghurst.

On Saturday, they’ll share Takam’s take on Filipino cuisine with an expected 6000 visitors at FiloFomoFest, a Filipino food festival being held at Paddy’s Markets in Homebush.

The food festival, which coincides with the 125th anniversary of Philippine independence from Spanish colonial rule, will feature about 40 stalls curated by the Filipino Food Movement, an organisation dedicated to shining a spotlight on the country’s cuisine.

Many stallholders’ businesses were born out of necessity during prolonged periods of lockdown.

One of those taking part in the festival is former software engineer Fides Tangarorang, who turned the popular pandemic pastime of breadmaking into Ensaymadas etc. It’s become a full-time Instagram-based business and market stall selling traditional Filipino pastries filled with ube (purple yam), jackfruit jam and dulce de leche.

The team behind Smoky Cravings, a popular Filipino barbecue street stall in Lakemba, invested in food trucks as a COVID survival plan.

“The crowds were overwhelming,” says Smoky Cravings co-founder Charisma Benson. “Every day, every week, more and more people showed up with their families and friends.

“For many people, it was their first time trying something like pork or chicken intestine, and they really liked it.”

Today, Filipino food is becoming part of Sydney’s culinary landscape. Smoky Cravings recently opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Parramatta, joining other venues such as Fauna, an Italian restaurant with Filipino influences, in Surry Hills and Mrs Ube, the unabashedly purple bakehouse in Marayong.

“We’ve seen a surge of what used to be online businesses becoming brick and mortar,” says Filipino Food Movement director Anna Manlulo.

“It’s a real achievement for the community and a good indication the cuisine is finally gaining traction. We want to bring it into the mainstream.”

Aguirre says Sydneysiders’ growing interest in Filipino cuisine is part of a global trend. Last year, Chicago restaurant Kasama became the first Filipino restaurant to receive a Michelin star. And in The Age Good Food Guide 2023, Melbourne restaurant Serai was recognised as Victoria’s best new restaurant, receiving one hat.

“More and more Filipino people are starting to become proud of their food and their heritage,” says Aguirre.

“It’s had a massive impact on the wider Australian community. Finally, they want to try Filipino food.”

FiloFomoFest, 6-10pm, Saturday, June 3, Paddy’s Night Food Markets,
250-318 Parramatta Road, Homebush West. Free entry