Abi Marquez talks about cooking, fame, Edward Cullen
Abi Marquez, the self-proclaimed “Lumpia Queen” and one of the most beloved food creators today, sat down for a rapid-fire Q&A session, exclusively answering the 50 Simpol Questions by Simpol.ph about her life, career, and the quirks that make her an internet favorite.
Mornings for Marquez are anything but traditional. “A usual morning is a morning asleep,” she said. “I wake up in the afternoon if it were up to me.” When asked where she was taking the interviewer that day, she joked, “Cebu! Charing! Sa studio ko lang. Tara!”
One of the biggest highlights of her career was meeting Ramsay, an experience she says she still “nurtures every day.” When she presented him with her Beef Wellington lumpia, the pressure was intense. “Mostly pressure, but also excitement. But mostly pressure,” she said. “Pero nung tinikman niya na tapos masarap daw, it was a celebration.”
Marquez has fully embraced her title as the Lumpia Queen and would keep it in another life. “I love being the Lumpia Queen,” she said. Her studio, which doubles as her home, reflects that identity. “I started making content in my house, and I want to keep that forever. So, this is actually a house — I just chose a nice kitchen.” Setting up the studio took some time. “The kitchen was already functional when I moved in, but I had to revise it a bit. It took around one to two months to get it to this setup.”
Her awards are displayed prominently, each one a milestone in her journey. Among them are a TikTok Awards Philippines trophy, a Webby Award, and a W3 Award. “The Webbys are called the Oscars of the Internet,” she explained. She also proudly holds a James Beard Award nomination, though she admits she still hasn’t figured out how to claim her YouTube Gold Play Button for surpassing two million subscribers.
Inside her fridge, she keeps a mix of everyday essentials and culinary experiments. “It would be a mystery for both of us!” she joked. “But inside, you’d find recycled recipes and ingredients, like leftover chicken skin turned into chicken oil. I label everything for future use. I also have desserts from different events, tons of Melona, hotdogs, bread, and — of course — lumpia wrappers.”
When asked what she would cook on the spot, she quipped, “Hotdog! Charing!” before revealing that she recently made tuna pasta for one with tuna kilawin for one. Her most used prop in the studio is her apron, which she wears so often.
Among her kitchen must-haves, knives top the list. She also admitted that she unintentionally developed catchphrases. “‘Chef’s kiss.’ Or just saying, ‘Beautiful. Gorgeous.’” Despite being meticulous in the kitchen, she rarely needs retakes for food spills. “For cooking? Almost none. But for speaking? Too many.”
A surprising detail in her kitchen is her collection of apples, which serve both practical and decorative purposes. “Some are for recipes, but others are just props. Spoiler alert — I’m channeling my Evil Queen era.” When it comes to making amends through food, she swears by hot chocolate as her go-to apology dish.
Marquez is particular about plating. “I try to be as neat as possible,” she said. One of her most intriguing lumpia ideas is still in development. “My latest unsolved mystery — magic water lumpia.” However, there is one dish she refuses to transform into lumpia. “My signature classic lasagna.”
If given the choice, she would make icy cold drinks at the moment. She also shared a little-known food fact: “Kare-kare actually originates from India.” As for her personal habits, she proudly embraces her “tita” side. “I believe in ‘buy nice or buy twice.’” While she hasn’t attempted cooking with her eyes closed, she has tried chopping blindfolded.
One of the strangest compliments she has received online was a request. “Someone said, ‘Abi, can you do a 73 Questions interview with us?’” When asked which fictional character she would cook for, she had an immediate answer: Edward Cullen. “I’d make him dinuguan,” she said, before pausing. “Wait — do you think he’d actually eat it?”
Her kitchen, if it had a personality, would be a blend of tradition and fun. “A mix of a strict lola and a kalog tita,” she said. She does believe in love at first bite, especially when it comes to desserts. If her life were a drama series, she already has a title in mind: “Bakit Ako?”
Marquez isn’t afraid to call out overhyped food trends. “Butter boards,” she answered when asked about the most overrated dish. She is also fiercely competitive in cooking challenges. “I want to be a nice person, but cooking competitions bring out my competitive side.” If she had to choose an emoji to represent her taste buds, she picked the Philippine flag.
Describing her laugh in food terms, she likened it to chicharon — “Maingay, malakas, crispy, crackling.” Her biggest “main character” kitchen moment involved an unfortunate accident. “I opened a jar of kimchi, and it exploded everywhere — in the kitchen, on my hair and my clothes.”
Her most recent “chef’s kiss” moment was tasting miso cappuccino from a world-renowned restaurant. She prefers cooking with music rather than silence and, to this day, has never dreamed of becoming a lumpia.
If her fans had a fandom name, she suggested “Lumpia Wrappers.”
If Marquez were a recipe, her secret ingredient would be sugar. On the topic of stress, she admitted, “I am always stressed. Not proud of it.” If she had to describe herself as a lumpia, she would be crunchy. She also realized she doesn’t have a name for her rolling technique yet.
Her personality, if put into a theme song, would fit the “big band comedy bloopers” genre. If given a magic pan that made everything taste perfect, she would make patatim. She has never named a lumpia, though she was amused at the thought.
If she had to sum up her energy in three food items, she chose sisig, ube, and lumpia. And if she had an unlimited supply of one ingredient for life, she had a definitive answer: mantika (cooking oil).
“It’s the right answer,” she said. “Actually, it’s the only answer.”
