From cured jamón and slow-cooked trotters to roast suckling pig, Spanish cuisine has long embraced the practice of making the most of every cut. At Cantabria by Chele Gonzalez, these traditions take center stage in a special November menu that connects the kitchens of northern and southern Spain.
To bring this story to the table, Creative Culinary Director Chef Chele Gonzalez and Chef de Cuisine Álvaro Romero-Abreu developed a menu that explores European pork through regional recipes, traditional techniques, and contemporary interpretations.
Available from November 5 to 30, 2026, the offering features four à la carte dishes and a new edition of Los Chicucos, the restaurant’s five-course set menu. Moreover, the collaboration forms part of EU Pork Extraordinary, a campaign co-funded by the European Union and organized by the Spanish Inter-professional Agri-Food Organisation for White Pork (INTERPORC).
A culinary connection between north and south
To understand Los Chicucos, it helps to look back at the 19th and 20th centuries, when young men from Cantabria, known as chicucos, traveled to Cádiz to work as apprentices. Over time, many settled there, creating lasting ties between the two regions.
For Gonzalez and Romero-Abreu, whose hometowns lie in Cantabria and Cádiz, respectively, this shared history provides a personal starting point for the menu. In turn, their cooking reflects a longstanding Spanish tradition of respecting ingredients and transforming different cuts through curing, slow cooking, frying, and roasting.
Spanish traditions on the plate
The experience begins with three tapas: crisp Serrano ham with compressed melon, mint, and salmon roe; house-made cured pork loin with Idiazábal cheese, quince, and pistachio; and a Cádiz-style shrimp crisp topped with salchichón tartare.
Following these opening bites, the first plated course pairs tuna crudo with Cádiz-style chicharrones, lemon, oregano, cheese, and Cantabrian anchovy.
Next comes Manitas de cerdo a la vizcaína. For this dish, the kitchen shapes pork trotters into a crisp cylinder and serves them with celeriac cream, artichoke, seared scallop, and Vizcaína sauce.
Meanwhile, one of the menu’s more personal creations draws on Romero-Abreu’s memories of his grandmother’s kitchen. There, fish and meat often shared the table, while leftovers frequently became the starting point for another meal.
Inspired by this resourcefulness, the kitchen confits cod in paprika-infused pork fat reserved from the chicharrones. The dish comes with potatoes, green beans, and pilpil made from cod trimmings. Alongside it, rice with pork ribs in adobillo further reflects the ingenuity of traditional home cooking.
For the main course, Cochinillo asado brings roast suckling pig to the table. The kitchen complements it with carrot, pumpkin, and orange purée, as well as roasted cabbage.
Finally, dessert takes guests back to Cantabria with Sobao pasiego, a traditional butter-rich cake accompanied by strawberries, sherry, white chocolate, and cheese.
Beyond the five-course experience, the à la carte selection offers Cádiz-style chicharrones, Serrano ham and pork loin croquettes, pork trotter stew, and a quarter portion of roast suckling pig with potatoes and fresh greens.
Beyond the plate: why sourcing matters
At the November 4 launch, speakers also highlighted traceability and responsible sourcing alongside the menu. These considerations, after all, play an important role in how restaurants select and handle their ingredients.
Under European Union regulations, food producers must meet requirements for food safety, animal health, and traceability throughout the supply chain. As a result, these systems promote accountability and give consumers greater transparency about ingredient origins and handling.
For chefs and restaurateurs, reliable sourcing is equally important. After all, a recipe can only be as dependable as the ingredients behind it. While traceability helps establish provenance, quality controls and dependable suppliers ensure that professional kitchens can maintain consistent standards.
Furthermore, sustainability encourages responsible resource use and efforts to reduce environmental impacts. In this way, responsible sourcing connects an ingredient’s origins with its performance in the kitchen and the long-term reliability of the food supply.
The collaboration also forms part of EU Pork Extraordinary, a three-year campaign running from 2026 to 2028 in the Philippines, Vietnam, and South Korea. Organized by INTERPORC and co-funded by the European Union, the initiative aims to increase awareness of European pork’s quality, safety standards, production practices, and culinary versatility. To achieve this, the campaign brings its message to consumers through restaurant collaborations and educational activities.
Menu details and reservations
The five-course Los Chicucos menu costs ₱2,900++ per person. Guests may also add an optional wine pairing for ₱1,900++.
Meanwhile, the featured à la carte dishes and set menu will run from November 5 to 30, 2026, at Cantabria by Chele Gonzalez, The Westin Manila, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City. However, guests must make advance reservations for the five-course menu.
Reservations:
- Los Chicucos set menu: https://qrco.de/EuropeanPorkSetMenu
- À la carte dining: https://qrco.de/BookCantabriaMNL
For additional inquiries, visit www.cantabriamanila.com, call +63 2 8256 2020, or email cantabria.manila@westin.com.
Lastly, readers can learn more about EU Pork Extraordinary at https://www.eupork.eu/ or follow @euporkph on Facebook and Instagram.
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