Chef Works ~Chef of the Month Chef Phillip Esteban

San Diego, CA

Name: Phillip Esteban
Age: 34
Nationality: Filipino
Country of Residence: United States

1. Your Restaurant/Business: 
Consortium Holdings – Chef  |  Culinary Research & Development.

2. About Your Kitchen: 
One of the many great things about my position is that I work with amazing chefs within our company and their kitchens. Consortium Holdings has allowed me to share my vision of not only a creative space, but also a nurturing and educational environment for our staff.

3. Your Favorite Chef Works Item:
The Springfield Chef Coat. The features are aimed for the modern day chef. Slim fitted, short sleeve, single breast easy zipper, collar apron tab and the cool vent fabric.

4. First Job: 
My first job was a prep cook at the Firefly Restaurant in The Dana Hotel, Mission Bay.

5. Your Favorite Cookbook: 
Gjelina Cookbook. It is from one of my all time favorite restaurants when I lived in Culver City. I would visit at least twice a week. I love the simplicity of techniques and the rustic style of their cuisine. It is how I would cook for myself.

6. Your Cooking Inspiration: 
My grandmother was my cooking inspiration. Some of my earliest memories are baking chocolate and carrot cakes from scratch with her.

7. Favorite Dish To Eat: 
Kare-Kare. A tradition Filipino dish, which is a braised oxtail stew with peanut butter sauce.

8. Weirdest Thing You Ever Ate: 
I’ve had this 29 day fermented duck egg called Balut. The bird fetus (feathers, beak and all) are boiled and eaten whole. Let’s just say, I’m not a fan.

9. Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: 
Golden Pistachio from Niederfrank’s in National City, CA.

10. Favorite Drink: 
Yamazaki 18 years, neat. Suntory is my favorite whiskey distillery.

11. Favorite Wine: 
I tend to lean towards more full-bodied red wines. More in particular to Malbec.

12. Who Would You Most Like To Cook For: 
I wish I could cook for or with my grandmother. She passed away before I started cooking as a career.

13. Who Would You Least Like To Cook For: 
The act of cooking brings people together in all walks of life. Food is a universal language. So I wouldn’t say there is someone I wouldn’t cook for.

14. Favorite Things To Do When Not Cooking: 
I like to spend my off days outdoors. I love to hike, climb, snowboard, mountain bike and ride motorcycles.

15. Your latest project: 
Growing into my position as the R&D chef for Consortium Holdings.

16. Favorite City and Why:
New York City. I feel like my time there was short lived but I found so much history and inspiration living there. It really challenged me and made me the chef I am today.

17. Your All Time Best Culinary Tip:
“Live to cook, not cook to live”.

*You can catch Chef Phillip Esteban as one of the featured chefs at this month’s San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival.

Want to be featured as our Chef of the Month?
Email [email protected] to apply.