MANILA, Philippines —Renowned international and Filipino chefs will headline as speakers for the World Street Food Congress (WSFC) 2017 by the end of May.

The WSFC 2017 will be held in the country for the second time. This time, it will be staged at the Mall of Asia Arena.

At least 10 international and Filipino chefs were named as speakers for the Dialogue Programme of WSFC as of posting.

The organizers have yet to announce the specific topics in the said program, but the speakers are expected to tackle potentials of street and heritage culinary tourism, culinary schools, and the possibility that these schools will offer syllabus on heritage and street food, hawkers, winning international or Michelin Award, and One-Dish-Entrepreneur operations, among others.

Get to know the WSFC 2017 Dialogue speakers below.

Anthony Bourdain

International food and travel celebrity, Anthony Bourdain known for his Emmy award-winning cultural and culinary shows, “Parts Unknown” and “No Reservations,” is set to visit Manila to give an update on his upcoming market. He is set to launch “Bourdain Market” in New York, where WSFC founder KF Seetoh of Makansutra has been tapped as his consultant to the market. Anthony is also keen on looking for potential partners, vendors or hawkers for the project.

Sau Del Rosario

One of the Filipino speakers in the WSFC’s dialogue is chef Sau del Rosario. He has made a name as a restaurateur. Sau holds a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from the University of the Philippines, where he started his culinary journey after realizing his calling was to be in the kitchen.

He also honed his culinary expertise from working in various international hotels.

The celebrity chef flew to Nice and Paris, France and completed his stages with several restaurants. He then went on to open Best Asian Restaurant, M Café, at the Ayala Museum in Makati and Chelsea in Serendra. One of his recent restaurants is the popular modern-Kapampangan Café Fleur and his farm-to-table restaurant, 25 Seeds.

Greg Drescher

An authority in The Culinary Institute of America since 1995, Greg Drescher is also one of the speakers of WSFC 2017 Dialogue. He is the vice president of strategic initiatives and industry leadership at the CIA. Prior to that, Greg lead a multi-year collaboration of some of the world’s leading health experts and organizations like the Harvard School of Public Health and the World Health Organization.

As a vice president, Greg reviews CIA’s leadership programs for the foodservice industry, including conferences, invitational leadership retreats, digital media, and strategic partnerships.

Greg is also the creator of the college’s influential World of Flavour International Conference & Festival as well as the annual Worlds of Healthy Flavours and Menus of Change leadership conference. In 2006, he received a Silver Spoon award by Food Arts magazine.

Malcolm Lee

Malcom Lee is one of the young chefs to speak at the WSFC 2017 dialogue. He owns a Michelin-starred, Peranakan restaurant, Candlenut. He was also the first Singaporean to receive Miele Guide Scholarship.

Malcom is known for his Buah Keluak Ice Cream – buah keluak nut ice cream made with 80 percent Valrhona chocolate, served on a bed of salted caramel, chocolate crumble and topped with milk chocolate espuma.

Peter Lloyd

Another Michelin-approved celebrity chef, Peter Lloyd, is among the speakers of WSFC 2017 Dialogue. He is a former executive chef of Michelin-starred Spice Market at the W Hotel. He began his career at as a culinary trainee at at the House of Commons and Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane

At 23, Peter became the head chef at RSJ Restaurant Waterloo. He also became a head chef of Bank restaurant in City Hotels.

Peter, who now has his first restaurant which is a modern take on South East Asia street food, Sticky Mango, also appeared on several shows such as "Celebrity Masterchef" and "Saturday Kitchen."

Mai Pham

One of the three females to speak at the WSFC 2017 Dialogue is celebrity chef-owner Mai Pham. She owns the internationally-acclaimed Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento, California as well as Star Ginger Asian Grill and Noodle Bar. Lemon Grass was her flagship restaurant established years ago. It was also rated by Zagat as one of the top 10 dining establishments in Sacramento.

Mai is not just a chef but also the author of several award-winning cookbooks, "Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table," "The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking" as well as "Flavors of Asia," in collaboration with the CIA.

Mai is also a food columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle and contributed to the Los Angeles Times. She earned Berte Greene Award for excellence in Food Journalism because of her write ups.

Richard Tan





Among the street food expert speakers is Richard Tan. He is the former Director of the Hawker Center’s Division of the National Environment Agency (NEA, which oversees operation and development of the hawker centers) in Singapore. Richard formulated and implemented the Hawkers’ Policies and the planning and development of 10 new hawker centers.

Currently, Richard is engaged as Business Development Director of one of the largest food and beverage operators in Singapore Food Court, as well as cafes, hawker centers’ space, and the social enterprise NTUC Foodfare.

He was able to manage 107 hawker centers and markets with 15,000 stall holders as Director of the Hawkers Center’s Division of NEA before he retired from public service in 2015.

Shen Tan

Shen Tan, an expert in modern Singaporean cuisine, is one of the speakers at the WSFC 2017. She is known as the spunk nasi lemak chef who calls herself a “Beer Monster” and a “cook.” She is famous for her unique innovations such as Nasi Lemak Sushi and Bak Chor Mee Pasta.

Shen previously served as Forbes’ events director. She continued her craft at creating dishes The Work and Barrel, defunct Ujong at Raffles Hotel, and now at Revolution Coffee, serving mouth-watering creations such as Buah Keluak Pasta and Shendol Delights – creamy smooth panna cotta, drizzled with gula melaka syrup and served with red bean ice cream.

She recently won top honors at the Street Food Festival in Palermo, Italy, dazzling them with her rendition of Nyonya Laksa. She is currently affiliated with Modern Singaporean and Café Cuisine.

Claude Tayag

Another Filipino speaker is Claude Tayag, regarded as a maven of Philippines’ culinary scene. He is popular for promoting Pampanga cuisine through his private dining restaurant, Bale Dutung.

Tayag is the first Filipino to cook for Prince Albert Rotisserie at the Intercontinental Manila. He is not just a chef but is also an author of the "Best Philippine Culinary Travel Guide" (by Gourmand World Cookbook 2007 awards), and "Food Tour: A Culinary Journey," where he shares his expertise. Last year, he was given the People’s Choice Award at the Embassy Chef Challenge 2016.

Odilia Wineke

Food editor Odilia Wineke is also one of the speakers at WSFC 2017 Dialogue. She has been in the food industry for more than 20 years.

Odilia is a food editor at DetikFood.com since 2002 but she also became the food editor of Femina Magazine. She also wrote 12 cook books and became executive producer of several Indonesian cooking programs. She also served as food stylist of various restaurants and even designed advertisements and food specialist at PT Nestle Indonesia.

The WSFC will happen on May 31 until June 4.

Photos from World Streeet Food Congres and The Philippine Star