Filipino Cooking Class in a Heritage Manila Home with Dominic

What your day looks like

Dominic is a Manila-based chef who studied at the Institute for Hotel and Restaurant Studies (IHRS) and trained as a student chef. After completing culinary school, he inherited and carefully translated his family’s heirloom recipes from Spanish to English, later compiling them and planning to publish a book. It includes Spanish-Filipino specialties from the Nakpil family of Quiapo and heirloom recipes from the Santos-Viola family of San Miguel. Dominic now works as a Spanish-English bilingual Quality Analyst Lead at a Global Financial Institution, but his passion for cooking has remained constant. On weekends, he dedicates his time to private catering for intimate gatherings, where he brings his family’s traditional recipes to life alongside new creations developed with his partner Alejandro. He has been featured on both local and international television, showcasing his family’s renowned heirloom dish, Cabeza de Jabalí (wild boar’s head). Whether hosting guests or painting on canvas during quiet moments at home, Dominic blends heritage, creativity, and heartfelt hospitality in every experience he offers.