She’s got game. Francés Tariga is a Filipino chef in New York redefining what it means to cook with soul, grit, and ambition. From Sampaloc, Manila to the MICHELIN Guide, her rise tells the story of what happens when you trust your hunger—and never back down.
Her story begins in Sampaloc, Manila. Among sidewalk eateries and the hum of jeepneys, she discovered her love for cooking. Before professional kitchens, she was already learning the rhythm of Filipino food—one simmer, sauté, and prito at a time.
“We didn’t call it culinary arts,” she laughs. “We just called it dinner.”
Her father, a police officer, was her first cooking partner. “I started cooking with my dad,” she recalls. “That bond was everything.”
Her family made the most of what they had. Lugaw on school mornings, sinigang on Sundays, pancit from whatever they had in the kitchen—these flavors stayed with her and later shaped her voice in New York’s competitive kitchens.
Watch now on the Simpol.ph YouTube channel:
Profiled – Chef Frances Tariga
Step inside Incanta, Chef Frances Tariga’s bold new restaurant in Tomas Morato. In this Simpol.ph video feature, see her in action as she brings fearless energy and unapologetic flavor to the Filipino dining scene.
Filipina Chef New York: From Sampaloc to Dubai
After studying at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies, Francés joined the team at Burj Al Arab, the world’s first seven-star hotel. She mastered the rhythm of luxury service, cooked for royalty, and served as private chef to an Emirati princess.
But even in palaces, she felt the pull of something more personal. The kitchens were grand—but they weren’t hers. So she walked away from titles and opulence, chasing a dream that led her to New York, where she would have to fight for every inch of her own space—and earn her place by the fire.
“Dubai taught me how to be sharp, efficient, and consistent—skills I carry to this day.”
Her time abroad refined her technique and broadened her culinary worldview.
Filipina Chef New York: Breaking Through in NYC
Moving to the U.S. with no connections, Francés started from the bottom—peeling vegetables, scrubbing pans, mastering each station with focus.
New York kitchens are famously brutal. But she endured—and rose. Her edge? She brought her culture with her. Calamansi glazes, adobo marinades, bagoong accents—her food made diners pause and rethink Filipino cuisine.
She climbed quickly, taking on leadership roles and developing menus. Her turn on Top Chef Philippines boosted visibility, but her food earned respect.
Cooking Without Compromise
Francés follows one rule in the kitchen: her palate is her compass. She doesn’t judge food by how fancy or modest it is—whether it’s Russian caviar or fishballs from a street cart, if it’s good, it’s good.
“It’s either masarap or hindi masarap. That’s it.”
This principle drives her creativity and keeps her grounded. She doesn’t cook to impress. She cooks to satisfy, to nourish, to stay true.
One ingredient she’ll never abandon? Pork belly.
“It’s fatty, loud, tender—just like Pinoy food should be,” she says.
Francés doesn’t tone down flavors for the Western palate. Instead, she challenges diners to meet Filipino food as it is: bold, layered, deeply satisfying.
“I don’t do fusion,” she says. “I do evolution.”
Her signature dishes—laing with smoked duck, inasal-glazed ribs, sans rival with brown butter—are both refined and rooted.
Filipino Chef in New York: A Voice for All Filipinos in Fine Dining
Francés is funny, provocative, and unapologetic. But beneath the fire is a deeply thoughtful and methodical chef. She thrives on pressure. “I want the best to be asked of me,” she says.
Her first major international TV appearance came on Top Chef: California — Season 13 of the U.S. franchise (2015–2016). Weeks after arriving in the U.S., she won the Quickfire Challenge in Episode 2 before being eliminated in Episode 3. “I was fresh off the boat,” she recalls. “No fear, just game.” That exposure launched her into a string of culinary competitions: Beat Bobby Flay, Cutthroat Kitchen, and Chopped. She shows up to grow—and to win.
Francés wears her battle scars like medals. She’s a Filipina from the streets of Manila—able to talk like a kanto kid one moment and switch to a polished New York twang the next. “Maatuong ang aura,” she jokes.
“’Di ako gaya ng iba—tatlong taon lang sa Amerika, parang ’di na marunong mag-Tagalog,” she says.
Walang pake, as she puts it. She shows up as her full self: queer, Filipina, confident, unfiltered.
While she admits to struggling with impostor syndrome, she’s paid her dues. Her success was earned.
As a woman of color in fine dining, she knows what it means to be underestimated.
“I want little girls from Sampaloc to see me and say, ‘If she did it, so can I.'”
She now mentors young chefs, leads pop-ups, and is developing a flagship Filipino restaurant in New York.
A Homecoming with Incanta
In 2024, Francés co-founded Incanta in Quezon City—a space where traditional Filipino flavors meet modern technique.
Dishes like bulalo risotto, adobong pugita, and ube taho panna cotta tell stories of migration, memory, and reinvention.
“Incanta is about celebrating where we come from, but also where we can go.”
Tadhana: A Plate of Pride
In 2023, she launched Tadhana, a tasting-menu restaurant in New York’s Lower East Side. It was a bold, personal expression of her identity—and it didn’t go unnoticed: Tadhana earned a spot in the MICHELIN Guide’s New York selection as a recommended restaurant.
“Tadhana was me on a plate,” she says. “It was where I could be loud, proud, and Filipino—no edits.”
Her ginisang ampalaya became a signature:
“People judge it because it’s bitter—just like how people judge me for being gay. But if you prep it right, it becomes one of the most healing, nourishing dishes. That’s me.”
Though the original space has closed, Tadhana lives on—as a place where queerness, culture, and cuisine met with no compromise.
Filipina Chef New York: What’s Next for Chef Francés?
There is a fullness in Chef Francés Tariga’s spirit today. She has come into her own—embracing her past, her queerness, her Filipina identity, and the grit it took to carve a path across continents. Recognition has come—but so has self-assurance.
Her strength isn’t performative. It’s intentional. She puts herself out there not to prove her worth, but to recalibrate and align her actions with her ambitions. Her boldness comes from owning her journey—from Sampaloc to New York—and knowing the end goal isn’t applause. It’s purpose.
There’s so much to learn from her: that resilience is a choice. That hard work speaks louder than doubt. And that your starting point rarely defines your destination.
Chef Francés Tariga is just getting started. With new projects and a growing following, she’s showing that where you come from isn’t a setback—it’s a source of strength. From Sampaloc to SoHo, she’s not just putting Filipino food on the map—she’s redrawing it. She isn’t caught between two identities—she moves with power through both. Fluent in kanto grit and fine dining polish, she expands what a Filipina chef in New York can be.
Hungry for more? Follow Chef Francés Tariga’s journey online on Instagram or Facebook, and explore Simpol’s library of recipes inspired by her fearless flavors. Start cooking your own story today.
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