Jordy Navarra’s festive Filipino feast, served family-style

One of the Philippines’ most acclaimed chefs shares his delicious take on Christmas dining – which is centred around sharing food and smoky flavours.

Softly spoken, gentle in nature and almost always smiling, Jordy Navarra is as far removed from the notion of a shouty, egotistical chef as you could imagine. 

Having trained in famed restaurants including Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck near London, as well as Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, both of which attained the culinary holy grail of three Michelin stars, Navarra would be forgiven for having developed an oversized culinary ego.

Instead, he remains a modest but highly respected chef and restaurateur in his home country of the Philippines, someone who proudly flies the flag on the global stage for his nation’s food and culture. Since opening in 2016, his Manila-based restaurant Toyo Eatery has won consistent critical and public acclaim, including being named the Best Restaurant in the Philippines by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. 

Just as significantly, the 39-year-old from Parañaque in Metro Manila has also ensured that Toyo (as it’s commonly known) is one of Southeast Asia’s most sustainable places to eat, working with a network of small farmers and producers to champion biodiversity and ingredients from across the Philippines’ more than 7,000 islands.

The world’s longest festive season? 

Christmas is a big deal for Navarra, as it is for almost every Filipino. Shopping malls around the country famously have Christmas decorations up more than six weeks before Halloween, thanks to a 100-day Christmas countdown that starts on 16 September.