Filipino Johanne Siy named Asia’s best female chef for 2023

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 8) — Singapore-based Filipino chef Johanne Siy was named as Asia’s best female chef for 2023 by a regional restaurant group.

Born in Dagupan City, Pangasinan, Siy relocated to Singapore for a corporate job, according to her profile. She later on found her passion for food and studied at Culinary Institute of America in New York City.

After graduation, Siy worked at Le Bernardin and then Café Boulud, “taking inspiration from Eric Ripert’s perfected seafood simplicity and Daniel Boulud’s old-school French excellence.”

From the Big Apple, she also worked at Fäviken and Noma in Scandinavia and Restaurant André in Singapore.

Siy became head chef of Singapore’s Lolla restaurant at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic “as a temporary measure to help restore the restaurant to its former glory.”

“She evolved its Spanish-focused menu into a produce-driven haven for meticulously crafted dishes, inspired by her experiences across Europe and North America as well as her Filipino upbringing,” the Asia’s 50 Best said.

“Two years later, she’s still behind the pass and continuing to fine-tune the restaurant daily,” it added.

Lolla was named as one of the best restaurants in Asia in 2022.

The Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy is “an influential group of over 300 leaders in the restaurant industry across the continent, each selected for their expert opinion of Asia’s restaurant scene.”