Filipino food is more than sustenance. It carries memory, identity, and resilience in every simmer. For Chef Tatung Sarthou, this truth comes alive in his most ambitious work yet: PINAS SIMPOL: The Love and Lore of Filipino Cooking, out this November 2025.
The earlier Simpol series won acclaim for its detailed storytelling and trusted recipes. Yet this new Chef Tatung Simpol book is of a different caliber. It blends accessible guidance for home cooks with a deeper, philosophical reflection on Filipino food culture.
At more than 200 full-color pages, the book is part manifesto, part cultural reflection, and part love letter to the Filipino table. Through essays, memories, and recipes, Tatung captures the wisdom of everyday kitchens and the dignity of practices that may seem ordinary but carry profound meaning.
Here, adobo, sinigang, and ginataan are not just meals. They are actions—verbs that teach the philosophy behind cooking. Using his Simpol ABC Method: Assemble, Build, Complete, readers move beyond following instructions. They learn to balance flavors with mindfulness, practice patience and thrift, and honor the ancestral knowledge embedded in every dish.
“Filipino food is not a noun—it is a verb. It is what we do, and who we are,” Chef Tatung writes.
The Philosophy of the Table
At the core of PINAS SIMPOL are The Four Legs of the Table—Rooted, Resilient, Respectful, Responsive. These principles show Filipino food as a coherent system of intelligence and grace, not mere improvisation.
Rooted recalls the memory of coconut milk simmering in clay pots. Resilient celebrates thrift, stretching little to feed many. Respectful honors ingredients and the labor that brings them to the table. Responsive embodies creativity and adaptation without losing essence. From smoky kitchens to the democratic bowl of sawsawan, Tatung shows how everyday cooking carries extraordinary meaning.
A Decade in the Making
This book also marks the tenth anniversary of Chef Tatung’s authorship. Over the last decade, he has written six bestselling titles, spoken on global stages like Madrid Fusión, and helped shape the way Filipinos see and practice their cuisine. PINAS SIMPOL distills that journey into one volume—a celebration of ten years and a promise of what lies ahead.
A Foreword that Bridges Worlds
The book opens with a foreword by New York–based restaurateur and cultural advocate Nicole Ponseca, who calls it “a bridge for those abroad and a mirror for those at home.”
For Filipinos living overseas, this work becomes a tool for passing heritage to new generations. It teaches the history of the dirty kitchen, the elegance of timpla, and the practices that make Filipino food uniquely ours.
By sharing these truths, Chef Tatung affirms his belief that when Filipinos cook with confidence, they assert a deeper cultural sovereignty. This literary project is his commitment to securing the dignity and future of the Filipino plate.
Availability & How to Join
PINAS SIMPOL: The Love and Lore of Filipino Cooking will be released in November 2025. It will be available in major bookstores nationwide and online through www.simpol.ph.
Details for signed copies, bulk orders, and a series of book talks and signings in the Philippines and select international cities will be announced soon.
About Chef Tatung Sarthou
Chef Tatung Sarthou is an internationally awarded Filipino chef, bestselling author, and cultural advocate. A multiple World Gourmand Award winner and the Philippines’ representative at Madrid Fusión 2017, he is recognized for making Filipino cooking accessible without losing authenticity. Through his books, television, and digital media, he continues to champion Filipino food as both heritage and future.
