Once again, Johanne Siy won a culinary award! The 50 Best just named her Asia’s Best Female Chef 2023 and described her as a “pioneer Filipina chef taking Singapore’s dining scene by storm.” Siy was also named MKN Female Chef of the Year by Singapore’s World Gourmet Awards in 2021.
From her hometown Dagupan, the Filipino talent made her way to become the head chef of Singapore’s premier dining destination, Lolla (located in Ann Siang Hill). Her cuisine is Asian-inspired modern European, and according to the awarding body, “each plate on Lolla’s menu is highly inventive and a reflection of Siy’s journey through gastronomy.”
One of her masterpieces is Crab Relleno in Aligue Sauce with Kaffir Lime, which she called “an ode to home” as it is inspired by the local dishes she grew up eating. This dish was served at the recently concluded FILIPINAS event in Manila, where she collaborated with culinary icon chef Margarita Forés and Tatler Dining’s Chef of The Year 2022, Miko Calo.
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Now, she has marked history by also becoming the first-ever Singapore-based chef and the second Filipino (preceded only by Forés in 2016) to win the award. In line with this achievement, the Dagupeña hopes that she can be a role model for women–that they can thrive and not only survive in the culinary sector.
Although humbled by the award, she aims to make it obsolete. “I am dreaming of a future where there is equality and equal representation in kitchens and dining rooms in this industry across the world,” she told Asia’s Best 50.
Before her current post, Siy worked at Restaurant André (also in Singapore) during which they claimed the no. 2 spot in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2017 and earned two Michelin stars in the same year.
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