Welcome to #PUNTOTalks, our monthly podcast/chikahan series featuring the voices of Filipinos from the diaspora. This series will focus on global Pinoys who embody fascinating intersections in their own identities and experiences.
Meet MJ Hernandez!
MJ is the badass chef behind beloved Pinoy restaurants Bonifacio and Gabriela in Ohio!
Bonifacio and Gabriela serve up some of the heartiest and most soulful Pinoy food in the Midwest – playing with new flavors and looks while retaining the essence of what makes our food so damn good.
In this new #PUNTOTalks episode, we delve into the question of authenticity in Filipino food, the limits of decolonization, and whether it’s possible to heal that gnawing sense of homesickness that always seems to stick around when you’ve been away from the Philippines for too long.
We also entertain the idea of opening up our own farm-to-table restaurant in the Philippines!
A quick note on the audio: We literally recorded this episode in the middle of a city park earlier this year. 🤪 So feel free to enjoy the ambient sounds of a freight train rumbling by, kids playing and screaming at each other, cars vrooming through the block… it all adds to the realass, DIY vibes of this episode.
Listen up! You can also read a transcript of our convo below.
Maki:
Welcome to Punto!
Tell me your immigration story. How did you come to the U.S.? Where are you from in the Philippines, and why are you here in Ohio?
MJ:
So I came from Manila, but there is not really a lot more for me.
Maki:
Which province are you from?
MJ:
I claim that I am from Santa Rita, Samar, in the Visayas. But basically, I am from Parañaque City. I am a basic Manila Boy.
Maki:
You are from the South. <laughs>
MJ:
The south. South side of Manila.
Maki:
South side of Manila. My uncle lives there. <laughs>
MJ:
I moved here in 2008 with my parents and my little brother, and then we left our two older brothers back home because they were too old to make the cut.
I don’t know why we ended up in Ohio. I mean, I do know when everyone asks me: “Why Ohio?”
Maki:
Yeah. Why Ohio?
The next question. <laughs>
MJ:
You know how the immigration story goes for most Filipinos: “Did you marry a white dude?’” But my uncle Jim actually was in Ohio at that time.
They were in Jackson, so the whole petition flow started with my aunt, and she petitioned my grandma and grandma petitioned her children, including my mom and I. I was part of that petition because I was young enough. And yeah I am here, stayed in the States, and spent about a month or two in Jackson and I had this idea—
Maki:
Jackson, Mississippi, or Jackson, Florida?
MJ:
Jackson, Ohio.
Maki:
Jackson, Ohio?
MJ:
Yeah, it’s two hours southeast of Columbus.
Maki:
Okay. Appalachia.
MJ:
So, it’s somewhere out there. <laughs>
Yeah, you know growing up in the Philippines, you always watch American television, you have this idea of what America is like. All of its skyscrapers and all of the buildings.
Maki:
Like New York. <laughs>
MJ:
I really thought most of them were this – I really don’t know what it was. Yeah, it was like: “What the hell? What are all these trees?” I really was not looking for signs of life, and then my aunt took me on a tour.
I saw Columbus, I saw buildings, and not even a skyscraper close to New York or Manila. I was just like: “Then?” Well you know: “I am moving there, bye!”
And here I am in Columbus, and I’ve stayed here for a bit.
Maki:
How long have you been in Columbus?
MJ:
Fifteen years.
Maki:
Fifteen years?
MJ:
Fourteen and a half.
Maki:
Oh wow.
MJ:
Round it up to about fifteen years.
Maki:
Okay, gosh.
MJ:
Now it’s kind of my city. It’s weird to say that, you know.
Maki:
Yeah, no, that’s legit. That is real.
MJ:
It’s almost going to reach a point where it’s going to equalize with the amount of time I spent in Manila, so that is going to be a weird time for me.
Maki:
How does that make you feel?
MJ:
I mean, oof. Really strange.
I don’t think I really know still what it’s like to be an American. I think there are two things to that.
One: I think I just refuse to be one. There’s really a part of me that really resists assimilating. I think it has always been like that since day one.
Second: I think you just can’t replace home. No matter what, especially now with social media, you see a lot of things that are happening in the Philippines to see all these and say: “Okay, I miss home.” You just see the street vendor or a jeepney and all of a sudden, I would like to go home.
Maki:
You are transported.
MJ:
Actually, I just want to go home with all of these reminders now in my face.
Especially now with the wave of Filipinos really being proud and with all of this information on the Internet about Filipinos. It just makes me keep thinking about the Philippines and how great it is to come home.
There’s a part of me that is like, “Maybe I am just romanticizing this?” Maybe I left for a reason, so I don’t know. I haven’t been home for a while.
Maki:
When was the last time you went home?
MJ:
Um, 2014.
Maki:
It’s been almost ten years.
Gosh, I feel old.
MJ:
It is actually 2014. That was the last time.
Maki:
I think the Philippines has changed a lot for sure. I remember I left when it was 2008, and then went to school in Pennsylvania and I would go home pretty much every year.
2011-2012 wasn’t a “cool” time [to be Filipino]. It wasn’t a Filipino cultural renaissance. It was like people were still trying to figure it out.
I don’t know when exactly the time shifted, but I think it must have been 2018-2019 when you started seeing places like Toyo opening up. It was really grassroots, actually, even before Toyo. When I first started dating my husband in 2012, I took him to this literal house in U.P. Village, which is where I grew up in Quezon City.
It was a house where the chef had a restaurant called Van Gogh is Bipolar. Did you hear about this?
MJ:
No.
Maki:
I don’t know what happened to it now, but basically, he had this restaurant in his house where he would create these dishes that were supposed to be calming for the mood, good for you if you have a bipolar condition.
So that was like: “Okay, wow!” It was the first sort of grassroots indication of something happening, and a few years later, Toyo opened up in Manila.
Toyo was the first restaurant where people were like: “Wow, Filipino food can be trendy!” At least in Manila, it was like coming up with these different textures or these different ways to present and the branding was on-point and it’s like this artsy thing. And I think from there, it just grew.
And I feel like you are in a similar spot with Bonifacio, right? When did you start with Bonifacio?
MJ:
I entered the company about a month later when it opened. It was in 2016 and I joined in October. It was a funny story.
At that time I was really unaware of any kind of Filipino renaissance. I was very out of touch with any news. I was really living the almost OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) life, where I was just grinding and I knew nothing but to work. I spent all my time working and then coming home directly to have dinner with my family. I was on Skype a lot with Messenger and Facebook and I was messaging friends.
You know, for a few years, I actually never made friends here. I did not think I needed to. I really thought that OFWs here only think about money for their family and that was really what I was.
Slowly but surely, I keep finding myself even on Day One when I arrived here and on my first job – I always find myself talking about the Philippines.
I was like: “Hey you know in the Philippines, it is like this, or you know we have this, but better in the Philippines.” We have massages in the Philippines for seven dollars an hour and it is sixty dollars here!
Maki:
So true! <laughs>
MJ:
I just kept being proud. It wasn’t until I really sat down and realized: “I think I am such a patriot, and I think I always have been, even when I was in the Philippines.”
I had big roots [that] started in a history class when they were talking about colonization. Somewhat, somehow, what really activated me was that I was in this “foreigners” class in CSA (Colegio San Agustin school in Makati, Philippines).
I was fortunate enough to be there, I was too poor to be there [but] that’s another story to tell. My parents made it happen.
So I’m there but I was in the international class, with different folks from different places in the world. There was this subject about—there was something about this one kid who was yelling: “Filipinos are selfish!”
I don’t know, I just felt—
Maki:
Wait, at CSA?
MJ:
Yeah.
Maki:
Oh, okay.
MJ:
So we were talking about that and this kid was just like: “Filipinos are selfish!”
And then my teacher stood up and really—this teacher was really berating the kid. <laughs> Like: “You know what? Americans are selfish!”
Maki:
Oh and this was an American kid. <laughs>
Yeah, of course!
MJ:
The teacher was like: “You know what Americans did? You left all your chemical barrels after the war in our seas and you let it poison our waters.” And I did not know any of these things.
Maki:
So it was like, mind-blowing!
MJ:
And that was where I started really questioning: “Why were the Americans here?”
Maki:
And this was even back when you were in the Philippines.
MJ:
Yeah, I was in second grade.
Maki:
Wow.
MJ:
My view of the government changed in that, and this is why I’ve always asked the question: “Why are we so Americanized?”
That's where it all started, and then I came here and I still question American stuff that I find myself in the heart of. <laughs>
Maki:
Yeah, literally in the heart of it all! <laughs>
MJ:
I had no choice-
Maki:
In Ohio! <laughs> Literally!
MJ:
My papers arrived and I was super broke at that time, so I was like: “You know what? This is a good out, let me check it out.” So finally, I am here and that thing continued, and I still think about the cool stuff at home, and for some reason, I can never find things here [in America] cool enough.
It was just really weird, I remember the very first time I turned 21, people were asking me: “So, what are you gonna do on your 21st birthday? Are you going to get hammered?”
I’m like: “What are you talking about?” I was so confused because in my mind I was like: “I have been purchasing alcohol since I was 13 years old!”
Maki:
I know, because maybe you could drink it. It’s just like, there! <laughs>
MJ:
As a seven-year-old, my dad would just send me to the corner store.
Maki:
A sari-sari store.
MJ:
Our corner store was legit. Like, it’s literally on every corner, every street has one.
Maki:
Yo, it’s a community institution.
MJ:
Yeah, they have all the local stuff.
Maki:
I remember there’s a sari-sari store where it’s a tambay or a hang-out spot where you play music or where you get your Coke (Coca-Cola) in a little plastic bag. <laughs>
MJ:
Yeah! And you meet your friends there!
Maki:
When you were little, there was also this little packet of chips of shrimp crackers? <laughs>
MJ:
You venture out, and you start going out further to the bigger ones, but you always stick with the sari sari store closest to you.
Maki:
Oh yeah. I so remember the one closest to me and it has so many memories for me, seriously. <laughs>
MJ:
I can just imagine how cool it would be, with just one house here down the street by the window and they have all these goodies.
Maki:
<laughs> Like a sari-sari store.
MJ:
See in America, you are missing out. <laughs>
Maki:
I mean, 7/11 is not the same thing. Or Walgreens. It’s just…no.
It has got to be someone’s literal house, and there’s a window and there are some bars there, and there is like a little hole where you order and you crouch down. <laughs>
So, going back. When you joined Bonifacio, you weren’t aware that there was this sort of cultural renaissance in Filipino food and Filipino culture. But then, you were always really proud to be Filipino and you were always plugging Filipino culture.
MJ:
I think the catalyst of that was really being away from the Philippines and now being here in the U.S. Now, I get to see it differently versus living in the Philippines.
It also changes a whole lot of things when you are not too worried about poverty. I think it’s really hard, and being very proud and embracing your heritage is a privilege.
To be honest, the majority of our folks didn’t have – you know, I came here with a little bit of resources and training – and I actually joined Starbucks because it was so natural for me because it was a big deal in Manila. There was something about Starbucks, right?
Maki:
Yeah, that’s so true.
It was like a class indicator, like a status mark.
MJ:
That is the thing about the Philippines. It’s all about class, and being poor changes how you make decisions. I was attracted to the idea that maybe it might be cool to tell my friends that I am in Starbucks.
Maki:
That you’re a Starbucks barista. Yeah.
MJ:
Because I didn’t hear about it from anyone else here, but I was thinking about the friends I left behind. Once a year when I would come home, there was a part of me realizing that when I looked everywhere, every corner there was a Starbucks, and every Filipino is just consumed by Starbucks.
I started realizing that for Americans that I served here in the States, their relation to Starbucks is just this “pick-me-up.” It is not this thing where you save up two months of their money to just dangle around or to show that I got a drink.
Maki:
They don’t have a cool calendar that you can put stickers in just so you can get a new one, because that is something you can get in the Philippines. <laughs>
For me it is like a privilege, so you can show how many times you can get Starbucks, which is expensive back home. <laughs>
MJ:
That is so expensive, we aren’t even tipping in the Philippines. Imagine that.
I started looking and then I saw it differently. There was this—I just saw drones, with that green straw in that cup with that logo, and it is like we are controlled by this product.
And then I started digging deeper and deeper and it was like: “No.” I realize that our money is going back here to the U.S., and I can’t help but imagine that my family back home is still poor, we’re poor, and we are just throwing our money out and giving it to the U.S., and there is no money going back in or it’s very little.
The money I brought home for my vacation—I was proud of that! Like: “Oh, I’m going to bring some money back home!”
But here we are, spending our money on Starbucks, and I’m like: “I’m going to start a coffee shop that is hopefully Filipino-centered.”
Maki:
And this is back in Manila, or this was here?
MJ:
Yeah, so I came up with this here after a few visits there. I got to do something with my knowledge here where I gained a few tricks here from just working behind the bar for Starbucks.
Maki:
You wanted to bring your talent home.
MJ:
Yeah. Maybe to do some Robin Hood shit, like steal what I know from Starbucks, steal their processing, steal their style and bring it back home.
But, with one key thing: if we are trading all the coffee beans and stuff, I just know the Philippines is a coffee-growing region, and how come we are not importing or at least why are we not on the primary trade markets for coffee beans?
Indonesia is just right there with us! Indonesia is one of the biggest exporters, and then there’s everyone else, right? We are in that climate; we are in that region. I also know from my own personal experience that there is Benguet coffee that exists. We have all these great coffees.
This is just a wild imagination. There is a way I can put the Philippines on the map. Here, I’m thinking like I’m connected to Starbucks, and maybe be some kind of liaison to make Benguet coffee a thing for Starbucks.
So I started out with starting a coffee shop [in Manila] which ultimately failed, because I got scammed by a fake landlord. He was basically a head of security for the ailing, actual landlord who was just days from passing away, and when he passed away, the daughter of the actual landlord took over and started asking: “Who are all these tenants here?” We got kicked out, so I really never had the chance to fully see it.
Maki:
Oh, and where was this again?
MJ:
We started this next to De La Salle University in the Taft Area. So, it was cool and fun; I barely knew business at that time, and I knew very little. Pretty sure it wasn’t profitable anyway; it was bound to fail but it gained me a lot of experience.
Also, it really reinforced and validated some of my observations. One thing I learned was when I pushed this—I made frappuccinos but they were like Filipino flavors. Leche Flan frappuccino-ish. It wasn’t called a frappuccino; it was called something else. We had an ube Flavor and all these Filipino desserts.
One thing was the students loved it. So we’ve just got to do it. Try and invest in our own products [because no one else is]. People would rather franchise because these people with money don’t really care about being Filipino.
Maki:
They want to do a Western brand, right? They want to open a Starbucks, open a… I don’t really know why they just really want Starbucks right now. <laughs>
MJ:
Also, in that time period: “Oh look at that! Popeyes Chicken is opening in Megamall!” or something like that. Jericho Rosales was their brand ambassador.
Maki:
That is so weird. Like what?
MJ:
Everyone is going crazy about it like: “Ooh, look at this thing from the U.S.!”
For all the viewers and listeners, if you are from the Philippines, Popeyes is—
Maki:
Popeyes is like this golden chicken brand, and here in the U.S., Popeyes Chicken is amazing, but it is also not a luxury brand.
In fact, none of the brands that we are so enamored by back home, it is just all commodified here. Unless you are talking about Chanel, LV or whatever, that stuff is luxury brands.
MJ:
When I found myself – okay, there is one common denominator here – we are really caged in this Western business world, and here I was on the mission, and I failed.
I recuperated and came back here [to the U.S.]. I took a year off from Starbucks and my boss allowed me to because I am a hard-working Filipino.
Maki:
Model minority.
MJ:
Yup, she loved me. Because I did not complain at all, I should have complained more, now that I think about it.
Maki:
Lean into your American side. <laughs>
MJ:
Yeah! I could have been paid more. I really did not have to put up with what I put up with. That’s a good lesson learned.
So yeah, I came back and recuperated and then this other opportunity came up. I heard about Red Velvet Café in downtown Columbus and it was Filipinos talking about it.
I heard it from my mom and she was like: “Oh, there’s this new Filipino spot downtown!” And I was like: “Okay, cool. They were doing this brunch, let’s go check them out.”
We brought the entire family. Like every Filipino, we roll deep and we have the grandma, the two titas....
Maki:
Every time there’s a spot that caters to us, it’s like okay, we’re bringing everyone. <laughs>
MJ:
For our reservations, we are twelve deep. It was this very tiny café, like three tables or something, and we were packing it in like: “Do you have a table for twelve?” And they were like: “No.” But I saw a little—like it is a pop-up, right?
It’s actually a Filipino-style cafe that has sandwiches and rice bowls, but during the weekend, they do the actual full-on breakfast, like the silog with the garlic rice and egg and everything. They had the bangus (milkfish) – like the head and everything, the salted eggs and tomatoes – that didn’t even look like it was cut the way you cut it nowadays. I was like: “Whoa! Okay cool!”
A lot of them were crossed out, they were selling out. We never really got a chance to try it.
Maki:
This was 2014, you said? Or was it 2015?
MJ:
So, this was around…I think 2016? Maybe 2015, actually, when I first started.
So I came back again this time around. I just did not tell anyone in my family [that] “I’m going by myself.” It’s more manageable this way. I came back, and I was greeted by this guy who is now my best friend, and he was like: “Hey what’s up?”
I ordered what they called a Pacquiao at that time. It featured a longaniza and some tocino. I forgot the other one but it was with three types of meat with the egg and rice.
I saw it in front of me and I was like, “Oh my God!” This is like, no holds barred. Like this is just how it is and literally how it was. I was just going through with Starbucks and just not—
Maki:
This was after you had also come back from the Philippines, right? After your business closed down?
MJ:
Yeah, this is a couple of years later.
I saw Red Velvet in Columbus and it immediately just spoke to me. Like, I want to be a part of this. And also, at a time when I was doing two jobs working as a part-time cook at Chipotle and a part-time cook at Whole Foods, I wanted to jump-start my career as a chef that time so I was like: “This is the time. I can do this!”
Because I have a lot of insecurities where I don’t think I will be a chef. I would have to go to school for that, but [Filipino food] I can cook. I can do this. I can learn this. Easy. I have been doing this at home.
Maki:
This is in my blood. <laughs>
MJ:
It is so exciting but also reminded me of the time when I wanted to do something about putting Filipinos forward, but I failed, and maybe I have a chance here again.
So, I spoke to him and I was like: “Hey, I want to join your team. You are running the café, right? I’m a store manager at Starbucks. Maybe you want to hire me as your manager here? I would love to play in your sandbox. I would even drop my career, work for free, pay me less, I don’t care. I really want to be a part of this team.” I just pitched really hard.
And he was just looking at me and said: “Give me one second.” He goes back to the kitchen and his Filipino owner comes out who’s very warm and friendly like: “Oh hi!” Then we talked, and she told me that they are opening a restaurant.
Maki:
This is Krizzia, right?
MJ:
No. It’s Lida, Krizzia’s mom.
Then Lida came out and told me: “Oh, yeah we’re planning to open a restaurant somewhere in the summer.” And I was like I want to be a part of that, this is it.
I really forced her like: “You really have to hire me. I’m your guy.” I really said that and I am going to work hard, and you are not going to regret this, I am your guy. And she is like: “Okay we’ll stay in touch. I’m trying to get your contact info here and speak to my daughter. Look for Krizzia.”
And I looked behind the woman at the counter and she was not smiling at me at all. <laughs> It’s Krizzia being Krizzia, and I am like: “I don’t think that I am hired.” I keep clowning her to this day like: “Do you remember that day? Like you never smiled at me and here we are, seven years and still standing strong?” <laughs>
And then summer happened, and I heard about a new restaurant opening in Grandview and everyone is talking about it. I guess they moved on without me, I guess they found other people. And they hired another chef who started the whole program for them. I was like: “Okay, that’s it. I’ve got to find my own voice. Maybe I’m destined to redo the coffee shop that I started. Maybe I will find another way.”
A month after their opening, I got a distress call from Lida, and she was like: “MJ, we need your help. We are desperate, Krizzia is getting sick, and we haven’t had a day off for like months. We just need more bodies.” And I just said: “You know what, I got it.”
The awkward thing was that the same day, I was just in a meeting with my boss, the district manager, who just gave me a ten grand raise.
Maki:
Wow. What is this crossroads? Where am I going here?
MJ:
Yeah, I was on the verge.
I had a very good year. That was the year I hit number one in something like all of Northeast America’s 500 stores. And my boss is like: “We are going to develop you, and you will be next in line.” Offering me the biggest raise you could give me, and I accepted it anyway. A week later I told them I am putting in my two weeks, like I really have to.
Maki:
You felt the call.
MJ:
This was it. I took a massive pay cut at that time.
I can’t turn this down. I don’t care what it takes and I kind of made a promise like there’s no way in hell that I am going to watch a Filipino restaurant just close. I really have to be a part of this, and do something and help this team out. From there, it was years and years of just hell, it was hard.
From all the criticisms of our own folks, Filipinos not fully loving us.
Maki:
Talk more about that. What happened? I know what you talked about when you guys did the Kamayan (traditional family-style meal and using our hands for eating) concept for the first time, right? There was a criticism that you guys were in over your head or something. I guess that was one instance, right?
What are some of the themes that you heard from—you know, usually when a Filipino place opens people are eager to support it and they see it themselves that they are represented and we make sure that the business thrives, but then there is also the other stuff that gets in the way like the crab mentality, the colonial stuff, the infighting, and all that stuff. I am curious to know.
MJ:
The crazy thing was that we are talking about several millions of perspectives here, right? The Philippines alone is a very tribal nation, historically even before the Spaniards came, we were already divided. We never really embraced the one nation, one bayan (people or city) concept. That was never us; we’re always like our family comes first and it is the most important thing and we will never embrace—that’s why we kept losing against our colonizers, let’s be honest here. It’s all about the interest of our own family and loved ones.
Maki:
Coming from someone with a very clannish mentality.
MJ:
Imagine a perspective from someone way down south comes in, a perspective from the North comes into the restaurant, they all have different opinions about us. Some of them were poor, some of them were rich, there were some with different opinions but the most common one we heard was that we are overpriced. This is common not just for Filipinos, but other ethnic cuisines out there even with Italians like: “My mom’s cooking is better.”
Even Italians go through that. Like whose meatball recipe is the best, and it’s always their grandma’s. So, we went through that. I think to me it took me a while but I realized that I should not form a restaurant based on an idea that they would form because I don’t think I can ever really meet that.
When anyone hears “Filipino restaurant,” they already are going to have an idea of what they want. Someone who has a good experience in Gerry’s Grill back home, and they wanted it to look like that. Someone had a good experience with some turo-turo back home and they want it to look like that. It’s their version of the Filipino restaurant, and then they maybe see a couple of pictures and say, “Oh, that’s interesting!” and then they come in and the prices are different. It’s not seven pesos. <laughs>
Maki:
Yeah, it’s not.
MJ:
Maybe there’s a white server and maybe there’s a white line cook in there, and they are like: “Oh, no what is this? It’s fake!”
Maki:
I think you are hitting on something that a lot of Filipinos are unaware about. Because it’s seeing yourself through the eyes of people who are not like you, right? Like talking about having a white server, a Black server, or whatever. It hits upon this idea that: “Oh, this isn’t for me. Why are you serving me my food?” Right? I can just go to turo turo and get this myself.
But I do think that lies in insecurity, right?
It’s like: “I only ever go to my little joint or a hole in the wall, right? What is happening here?” It’s a cognitive dissonance that happens in which instead of being proud of it, you almost feel alienated, because you feel like “Oh wow, people might actually enjoy this.”
That’s what I love about Bonifacio though, because the food is so “authentic,” right? We can talk about different meanings of authenticity, but it feels like it is truly very inclusive. <laughs> It’s about the food. You know it’s not about the branding, it’s not about the – whether you are Black, white, or brown – you just freaking enjoy the food and it’s Filipino food that tastes just like how you would have it in the Philippines.
It's not a fancy thing, I am open to different versions of Filipino food but I have a special spot in my heart for food that tastes like how I experienced it, but also packaged differently. I don’t know, I’m not making sense. Sorry.
MJ:
No, it does. There’s actually a secret behind that we’re talking about authenticity. That’s the craziest thing that even today we are still struggling with, this thing called “authenticity.” There was one review that basically just kept saying: “They are not authentic.”
There was one guy who said: “I had a sisig there.” Guess I can’t name-drop him. <laughs> But he said something about [how] “sisig is supposed to make you feel your childhood and all that stuff.” In my mind, I wanted to type in because I was feeling some [kind of way], and I wanted to type www.betterhelp.com and say: “We are not your therapist; we are not here to fix your childhood.” <laughs>.
But anyways, what are these rules? The thing is like: show me this rule book of authenticity that doesn’t exist. It’s a social construct. The thing is to me, I learned to let that go a very long time ago. In our year one, I basically said: “I’m going to focus on business. Screw this whole trying to please everyone.”
Maki:
Yeah, you won’t be able to please anyone, you just have to know what works for you.
MJ:
I usually know right away that there has to be some kind of reciprocation. Here we brought something here that is supposed to serve our community. Either you love us back or you don’t, but you have to reciprocate. I’m not going to keep bending my back just to please you.
I think what you are experiencing in our restaurant – I have always preached this to our own staff and everyone that I mentor – is that authenticity really is not the food but it’s always your actual self, you have to be authentic and it’s you’re feeling towards like when you are serving your food to someone. Were you authentic? Did you really feel like you wanted this person to have a good time?
Authentic to me is a value more than a definition. Is the table set up; does it feel like we’re creating enough good music so that I can enjoy it with my peers?
Maki:
It’s a whole vibe, yeah.
MJ:
Authenticity to me, really, is our staff itself trying to be as hospitable as possible. Authenticity is us as leaders too. Are we taking care of our staff? Are we giving them the best benefits that they could get and taking care of them to the best of our abilities? How do we take care of our customers?. It’s an act of care, like someone is being authentic to you—
Maki:
You can feel it.
MJ:
But food will not do that for you.
It’s crazy how we attach these things, and then… First of all, I’m going to claim this, we never claimed we are authentic by the way. It’s never in our branding.
We never say: “Bonifacio authentic food.” It says: “Bonifacio, modern Filipino food.” People are calling us [authentic] because again, [that’s a] social construct. Some people call us authentic, some people won’t, and that’s a wild debate that I will not answer for. I can’t win that debate and I don’t think I have an answer.
It’s a fool’s game we try to play.
Maki:
I’m not going to ask you to play the game, but I have been to a lot of these different Filipino restaurants on the East Coast, on the West Coast, and Bonifacio has… <laughs> I don’t like this word '“authentic” but the food tastes like how I would have it back home in the Philippines. But it’s in Ohio.
This is so interesting to me, because all these different places—unless you go to Woodside in Queens – like all the Filipino enclaves on the East and the West Coasts the interpretations of Filipino food are going to be different.
I love the authenticity and familiarity of Filipino food at Bonifacio in Ohio, because it’s so disruptive in a way.
MJ:
Yeah, I think so.
Maki:
I even went to Kasama in Chicago, which is great what they’re doing but you know… <laughs>.
I think that’s what I appreciate about Bonifacio. It feels like every time I walk into Bonifacio, I feel like I’m entering my tambay spot but with hella good food, hella good drinks, bopping music and it transports you, and it’s like an experience.
MJ:
Yeah, I think that’s how you are able to feel the authenticity. Your relationship with the restaurant really is a genuine connection, it’s an authentic connection.
But I can’t also argue because we tried to stay disciplined with some of the techniques, but we really cooked it the way anyone has cooked it, and that’s the one thing, I think. We eradicated this whole French styling of anything, French terms.
I still use it by accident just because it’s in my face and it’s more commonly known as this French term, that whole toxic system of having some authority figure that anyone just has to bow down to, like Darth Vader chef and just say: “This is your in-charge”.
That's the one thing I had to change first, in my opinion, and that’s why I ended up having to turn around the entire kitchen staff when I first arrived in Bonifacio.
This is not the kitchen I grew up in. I may not know any kitchens; I really do not, but I got a lot of questions that these industry people will [ask] you: “Where did you graduate? Did you go to these culinary schools?”
Maki:
I went to the school of… you know, my home. <laughs>
MJ:
I have been trained by the best chefs. It’s my mother and Lida Yanga (the mom of Bonifacio’s owner Krizzia Yanga).
They mentored me well, but come on man, there is one thing I can do better than you! I can make a good damn adobo. Let’s not play this game; the system wasn’t right. So it all started there, and now we play the system of more like, a social cooking. Like we’re all—
Maki:
Yes! I can really feel that!
MJ:
You know? Like we’re gathering at home and every—
Maki:
That’s what makes the act of dining fun.
MJ:
Everyone feels welcome.
Like you don’t even know how to cook, but everyone walks into the kitchen and asks: “Can I help?” And here you are grabbing rice for somebody, or you are scooping the rice, washing or doing dishes, and there is always everyone in the kitchen.
There’s only a few uncles having their drinks and gossiping about how bad the government is in the living room. Everyone is trying to be in the kitchen.
I genuinely meet everyone, I welcome everyone. I do not look at any resume. [I tell them]: “I can train you. I will train you on this food.” It’s sort of there.
I think maybe, it’s roughly in our food. We just do not do too much. Like changes, so far as how Filipinos approach their food.
Hopefully and maybe, that is also translating all the way into the dinner table when they are served, but our vibe there at Bonifacio. We have this thing called the “culture of sharing.” It was rooted from the concept of kamayan.
I was just sitting one day and experienced the kamayan by myself in our own restaurant. There’s this something about sharing the food, and everyone is just eating. Because we are eating using our hands, we are not on our cellphones.
Maki:
It’s visceral, actually engaging with your senses and also engaging with each other.
MJ:
Yeah, and no social media!
Maki:
Yeah! Because your hands are all… you know!
MJ:
And you are forced to talk with each other, right?
What I realized, though, is there is something about our format of food like that. Versus the Western format of food where you have your own entrée.
Maki:
There’s not really sharing. It’s like: “Can I have a little bit?” And then it’s just a tiny bit.
MJ:
It’s like “Oh yeah, that’s mine. Who got the chicken dish?” When the servers ask and [people say]: “That’s me!”, “Who got the steak?” “That’s me!” They are all separate.
There’s something about that to me, as far as psychologically, [with] the kamayan when you have the entire spread, you can have just rice and maybe one piece of chicken with eight people sharing it. Every single person in that table is looking at it: “This is our food.” It feels like there’s more. Imagine if that one chicken is just allocated to one person, and then all of a sudden you look at it: “Okay, this is my food but I don’t get the rice.”
The thing with that kamayan format, it doesn’t matter how much is on that table. Because it’s our food, it feels like it’s more.
And then I realized the value of sharing and how it applies to business, and that’s why we started really embracing it as a business tactic, as a central focal point of our business. We started doing this “culture of sharing,” where we are going to eliminate the level of hierarchy as much as we can. Everything is shared, and your growth. It’s like: “We don’t make bread until you get bread.’” The culture –
Maki:
It’s more of a collectivist, a mutual aid type of—yeah.
MJ:
It survives the capitalist model.
Of course, we have to practice some capitalist stuff, but we are different. I can definitely truly say that we built a very special company that is very rooted in our values, which I think ultimately declares what makes this authentic.
It’s like our approach to it, it’s not really—
Maki:
It’s not how the food is cooked; it’s the sense of community that you feel when you walk into Bonifacio. The whole place is steeped in it.
I have been to places where I could say that the style of cooking or the taste of the food is similar to what you guys do, but it feels that there’s always a little bit off-putting about it. It feels like a means to an end kind of thing, right?
As opposed to you going to Bonifacio, and it’s a special place. It’s really—it’s special. I think people can feel that when they walk in. I even see a lot of Filipinos who might have called it “inauthentic” or whatever, but they are here, at that restaurant.
So there is something at Bonifacio that they can get that they don’t get at any other place. Like a turo turo or whatever, it’s a sense of community.
In a place like Ohio, especially, that’s really important, right?
MJ:
I’m happy to say that somewhat, somehow, we have this one focal point for any new Filipinos. Hopefully, it helps the migration here in Columbus, where as far as growing the population here, it’s good for the economy when the city is growing. Hopefully, it becomes a reason to choose Columbus, because there’s a Filipino spot. Whether you are Filipino or not, it’s just cool.
Maki:
People travel to Columbus to get good food and also specifically Bonifacio though. <laughs> They will be, like, traveling from Pittsburgh or I don’t know, Buffalo—
MJ:
Atlanta.I had one from the Bay Area and they said: “Oh yeah, we have nothing like this there!” and I was so shocked. Like: “Are you serious? You have a lot of great stuff!”
Maki:
That’s the thing when you have these spots like Bonifacio, they are more in the enclaves, right?
I think what you guys do is really special, because it’s a fusion of down-home, amazing cooking that is also very true to the Filipino styles of cooking. With an R&B and hip-hop vibe to it. <laughs>
It’s the whole package though!
MJ:
Let’s all crush this idea. <laughs>
Maki:
It’s so good! I mean, I could go to a turo-turo in the Bay Area, and I’m like, “But there are only titas here.” You don’t see different types of people of different ages who are having a good-ass time.
MJ:
Back to the Filipino cultural wave, it wasn’t until I was in it, [until] I realized because I was looking for inspiration and ideas and I saw that there is this thing called The Filipino Food Movement that started with Nicole Ponseca (of Jeepney and Maharlika fame in NYC). I was like: “Oh shit, there’s a lot of us! This is cool!” and then it just started going like wildfire, and it went in different stages.
There was a surge of Manny Pacquiao. I think a lot of the pride really started growing [not just]for Americans but actually for Filipinos across the world.
It's something that people are really proud of, but more importantly for Filipinos here in America, because it’s hard to really evoke that you’re Filipino. It’s hard to be seen, because there’s not a lot of things relevant about you, right?
So when Manny Pacquiao came out, and everyone was like: “You know what? He’s Filipino, I’m Filipino”.
Maki:
He elevated our profile. Like he was a boxer, and he had the whole quintessential rags-to-riches story, right? Where everyone could relate to him, but he’s also Filipino. He’s so special.
MJ:
From my observation, a lot of it really started there, and then there were a few Filipinos doing their thing.
Now here comes Jo Koy, and around 2018-2019, when [Filipino culture] just blew up. Especially in 2020, but obviously, the lockdown did a whole number of changes in the world.
Maki:
Yeah, but people were still going through the pandemic, you know?
I definitely follow all the Filipino food influencers, and business owners on Instagram, and there are a lot of people being creative. Like there’s this Bay Area baker who creates these Filipino-inspired desserts that she started during the pandemic, Rezel Kealoha.
MJ:
I feel like I heard about this.
Maki:
I’m totally messing up her name. She would have these cookie boxes that were more Western in terms of how she presented them, but the actual flavors are Filipino.
It was really great; it all helped with a good cause. People were getting really entrepreneurial during the pandemic.
MJ:
Back to the definition of authentic. That whole experience for that specific person could be authentic.
Maki:
Yeah, everyone loved her, and she would sell out.
MJ:
What people don’t really understand is that there are so many different Filipinos who come from different circumstances. There’s the Filipino-Americans who grow up with other stuff with croissants and breads, and there’s the Filipinos from the Philippines who grew up in something completely different.
I think it’s okay to have some kind of Filipino “sandwich” because you form your relationship with your food based on what’s all around you and served to you. We have our mixed Filipinos too, who fuse two or three different things at their table. It’s like: “Who am I to really say that’s inauthentic?”
Maki:
Yeah, and I also think what’s fascinating and ironic about this conversation is that when you think about what a Filipino is or what we are actually made up of culturally, we are not homogenous, right?
We were talking about this earlier and we have a lot of these celebrities and influencers who are moving to Baguio – which by the way, listeners, is a sort of heralded region up in the mountains which is where the culture of pre-colonial Filipinos still dominates.
There is this growing movement of decolonizing and stripping ourselves away from all of the influences we grew up with. I’m not even saying that we need to—I think there’s a value in that – but also there is the reality of the mixture of cultures that we are, right?
When you think about being authentic, it’s like what’s authentic to me as a Filipino is how mixed we are. I’m not eliding the realities of colonialism and shitty Spanish and Americans screwing us over, but that is also indelibly part of us.
Yeah, when you talk about authenticity, it’s not precolonial to me necessarily. Maybe that’s a controversial statement.
MJ:
To me, it’s just going back to the best decolonizing that you can really do is to own your values and yourself.
We can go back to loving each other again and taking care of nature a little bit more and stuff like that, but still, what we have formed already exists. Decolonizing to me is—you will run into a paradox at some point where you want to decolonize as best as you can, but you’re going to end up using your gasoline-powered car, you know what I mean?
Maki:
We don’t live in a horse-and-buggy world anymore. We live in a highly globalized world where yes, you will be using products that have been tainted in some way, and I think at least for me, the best way to negotiate with that is to minimize [its impact] and be aware of it, but also it doesn’t mean completely getting rid of it, it’s not realistic.
MJ:
Actually, I have to make amends with this whole thing, because for the longest time, I was one of those people riding the trend of decolonization and it was a cool subject, but it is always something inherently with me even when I was a kid. But then I eventually came to terms with: “This is just us though, there is really not much I can change.”
Maki:
You’re talking about being Filipino. This is just us in general.
MJ:
Just in general, every colonial influence we currently have, it’s ingrained. I’m already 36 years old, I have a Spanish last name, it’s just who I am.
The alternative is: I just change my name to Makisig or a US name or something.
Maki:
Or Maharlika.
MJ:
Okay, but you know that’s too much work.
Our new restaurant concept Gabriela that we are opening in Cincinnati – south of Columbus – that’s just me doing something really different and controversial to my brand of character who likes to speak about decolonized subjects. Cause you know, I’m patriotic. And all of a sudden, here I am, actually putting forward a very, very Spanish-forward concept.
I realize there is this one fundamental thing that is like it’s still going to be a part of our history.
Maki:
Yeah, a huge part of our history.
Without making amends for how horrible it was, because it was legitimately so.
MJ:
I think to me, there’s nothing that I can change, damage has been done.
But there is a way around it – and I think we can be smarter about this – because at the end of the day to me, decolonization is equity and if we are equalizing our economic powers. Money is somewhat involved in this for me. This is how I see it. Economic power is a loud voice.
So, I don’t even really think truly of an influence to me is maybe having just a larger platform to go by, but anyway, I was fascinated by that idea like: “You know what, let me tell an actual story through our food.”
Because now, people always ask me: “What is Filipino food?” I can’t tell a story just every time people ask me, so now I’m going to do a cluster of different restaurants that are more just focused on—
Maki:
Specific aspects of—
MJ:
The cuisine, yes!
There are so many influences in our food. We’re Indianized; we have kare-kare which is basically curry-curry, and we have a lot of Chinese and American influences.
I think we can’t really compartmentalize it, so here we are now with Gabriela. Ironically, Gabriela was slain by the Spaniards, but that’s the whole irony of it, that’s the exact story.
She’s very indigenous, but her name is Gabriela, and people still know her as Gabriela.
Maki:
And she is the symbol of the resistance too, of the movement, especially for the feminist movement in the Philippines and also globally.
MJ:
Yeah, and she died in battle like a true external <laughs>. As she was slaying. she was like: “You know what, I got this! Let’s keep going guys!”
Maki:
She was such a badass.
MJ:
She just kept going and did not hold back.
There’s a bigger story to tell because people need to know that we have been colonized by the Spaniards. I think I can start there. You just need to know that we have been colonized, and that’s for you to really understand, because now you truly understand the economic impact of that and how it shaped us as Filipinos, how it shaped our names, our ways, just everything.
It really shaped us. I wish Gabriela will be that platform to at least make that story more vivid to a lot of people who don’t know, because another thing I witnessed or experienced here in the U.S. was: here we are, we got colonized, we got exploited to hell for 300 years, but we never got the true benefits of being a Spanish colony. We don’t have the language, we never used cool—
Maki:
No, we actually were a (Spanish) colony. We were an American territory.
MJ:
But when we talk about rum for example. Rum was also a big trade in the Philippines. In fact, we are still one of the biggest exporters of rum in the world, but when it comes to rum, it’s always the Caribbean. When it comes to all these island vibes, the tropical Havana vibes, it’s always going to be that area. We will never get credit; they will never tie us into that cool, overly romanticized Spanish vibe, Spanish guitar, island vibes, piña coladas, and stuff like that.
It’s about time that we get a little benefit and use that at least to our advantage, sell what they left us, sell the damage that they left us and make money out of it. Because you know why? That is what authenticity is, that is who we are. We are survivors, and we always make something out of scraps left for us.
Maki:
Thank you for saying that. I was just going to say that.
Let’s talk about the jeepney, right? That is the classic example, obviously. That is an American example, but we basically created jeepneys out of these rusty ass destroyed jeeps that the Americans had in World War II, and we turned it into a fucking public transport vehicle. <laughs>
That is the most fun thing you will ever be on. There is nothing compared to the experience of being in the back of the jeepney and there’s budots music playing or Michael Learns to Rock or something, and you’re sitting there squeezed between these two people and fishing into your pocket for ten pesos for pamasahe. <laughs>
MJ:
And one dude is still squeezing in, it’s five o’clock, and you can’t miss one jeep man or you are never going to get home! So you are just going to squeeze in. That was a grind.
Maki:
But it’s fun! That’s the thing too. It’s fun, right?
That whole experience of being in the jeepney, the symbol of it is that is Filipino resilience, ingenuity, creativity, but it’s also a big fuck you to the Americans, because it was like: “Well, you gave us your fucking scraps, so we’re going to create something cool as hell that we can actually use ourselves.”
MJ:
That’s interesting too, and I think the question that we can ask is: are we putting way too much effort into decolonization, or are we thinking too much? Because maybe we’re not seeing some stuff that we are strong at.
It’s crazy to romanticize resiliency. It is like approving the abuse but at the same time—
Maki:
We are resilient, though. There is that part of us. It’s when you start glorifying it at the expense of other things where it’s like: “Oh, maybe you should actually pay me fairly.” <laughs> “Don’t exploit me.”
MJ:
Maybe that is something. Maybe we just need to embrace more of our ability to… you know, because we’ve always been resourceful, because we’re a cluster of islands.
We’ve just known that we never traded well. We traded maybe a good amount, but basically, we’ve stuck with what’s in front of us. Our ancestors did. That’s the reason why we know how to use the coconut tree from top to bottom, the banana trees, everything. That is just who we are.
I think a proper decolonization is being in the mindset of my ancestors. Dealing with what is in front of me and what can I do about it. Just living with what’s in front of you, living in the present.
I think if I’m wrong or if I end up like my ancestor decides to abandon me, then I’m wrong. I feel like they would approve of some of my practices, you know?
Maki:
Living in the present… what I miss a lot about being back home is there is a sense of that. It actually angers me every time I come back home because people don’t think about time in a linear way! <laughs>
MJ:
Yeah, that is so true!
Maki:
It’s like “Oh, is it time to go to the mall?” and you are like thirty or forty minutes late. It’s fine, it’s literally fine, and you are just like “Are you freaking kidding me?”
I think it might be because people are legitimately stuck in traffic or just can’t estimate time well because it doesn’t matter to them just as much. It’s sort of living in the rhythms of life, and maybe you got caught up talking to your coworker for thirty minutes about something, but things like that deepen relational bonds, right?
It's less about being scheduled and more about just seeing what’s in front of you and prioritizing what’s in front of you right at that very moment if you’re interacting with someone, right?
I think there’s just something about being back home in the Philippines that forces you to stay in the present, because maybe the bureaucracy is so bad or traffic is so bad. Also honestly, it’s just because people value being with each other more, you know? Maybe it’s real.
MJ:
I think it’s true.
I was just watching one of Erwan Heussaff’s episodes on FEATR, and I just saw one episode where they were gathering and they were talking about an inherent Filipino thing, but there was just something when they were talking about cooking together again in the kitchen, so I’m going back home with this one.
I watched it again and I was just sobbing. I have been homesick for a while.
Maki:
Yeah, you haven’t been home for a while.
MJ:
I just had this epiphany, and this was just in the middle of my mental health break too. Because I started to really lose grip of my Filipino values and my Filipinoness, and I just ended up in this grind-chasing American self.
When I finally saw that, I just had this epiphany. You said something about [how] we value people more, and that is very true. I was talking to my partner like: “You know, in the Philippines, we surround ourselves with people, always.” The time we spend is always with people
Here in America, we surround ourselves with things, with careers, with money—
Maki:
With status, with power, with all these things.
MJ:
Yeah, we have friends sure, but—
Maki:
How often do you see them?
MJ:
You do, but it’s like, do you meet with your friends because you have time?
Because your priority will always be like this career, this life, you can’t lose your mortgage and everything. And then – did you make plans?
Maki:
It’s like: “Oh, where do you fit into my calendar?” Or whatever.
MJ:
Because in the Philippines, there’s not a whole lot of planning!
It’s like after work: “May inuman sa ano. Gusto mong sumama?” (Let’s drink somewhere! Do you want to join?) I was like, yeah!
Maki:
No, there’s really not!
It’s like do you wanna…tambay tayo sa sari-sari store? (Let’s relax at our corner store?)
MJ:
And you just go, then after that time you come home and just deal with it. You deal with the next day, and no matter what, you’re always with your family, right? You always gather with your family.
Of course, some of us are Americanized in Manila, like the richer people, but for the most part, that’s always who we’ve been. Always surrounding ourselves with people.
I think, after this mental health break and now talking to you, it’s very clear to me now, really, what I’m all about and what I’m going to spend on prior to the remainder of my life. It’s surrounding myself with people.
That is going to be the same thing with how I am going to build the company, and how I am going to grow the company. Surrounding myself with good people.
Is it a career? Maybe. If it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work. But I just truly believe that if I keep surrounding myself with good people, and I keep meeting new people and I make that my tenet, I think I’m going to be okay.
Maki:
It’s about our relationships at the end of the day.
Honestly, it’s not about how much money or how much work you did or how many accomplishments you made.
MJ:
Yeah, because there’s not a lot of work in the Philippines! <laughs>
Maki:
There’s really not! <laughs> And people are wanting to go abroad, and I’m like: “Are you sure?” <laughs>
Honestly, my mom actually has a house in Texas, but she hasn’t been back home in over—well, it’s not really home to her, but she hasn’t been in Texas for a year now, because she wants to be home with family and there’s just an immediate support system when you get there that you don’t have here. And that’s why I am even reluctant to have a kid, right?
It's hard when you don’t have a community around you that can basically drop anything at a moment’s notice and take care of you, and I don’t know if that is possible here. I think we’re trying in some ways, but maybe the U.S. and the West can take a leaf out of collectivism, and how we do it because it’s going to save us. <laughs>
MJ:
If we do, it’s going to be fun. The two fundamental things about the two countries are the Philippines was formed out of resistance – out of grouping together, out of survival – and America was built on a deficit, and that is the reason why it’s all about debt here, and that’s why you always feel like you are behind.
Because it started on a deficit, it borrowed land that wasn’t theirs, and then it basically used labor that wasn’t theirs. It was unpaid, so there was really a lot of debt.
Maki:
A lot of debts that need to be paid.
MJ:
Your existence here is that it feels like you are always behind.
Maki:
You are on borrowed time here.
MJ:
That is their culture here.
In the Philippines, it’s like we have to make it! Because it’s so normalized—the survival has become kind of comedic already. That’s why you find fun in it, because that is just our state of life.
We just brush off our problems, because you know what? It’s just problems.
Maki:
The problem will just work itself out; you might as well take a nap. <laughs>
MJ:
You’re homeless? Hey, you can crash here.
Maki:
We will just give you some food.
MJ:
I remember at my home, we had three aunts or something living with us, and two cousins.
We had two rooms, and all my life, I’ve never slept on a bed and I was on the floor my entire life. I keep telling that story: I will just roll out a banig to sleep. I was even lucky, and my mom bought a comforter. I was like: “Oh, that’s soft! A comforter.”
Maki:
I know, and I was like: “Oh damn, that’s how they get you though, the fucking comforter!” And I was like, how many layers of…<laughs>
MJ:
I remember we had this one tiny fan that swivels – I hate it when it swivels because it’s so hot and it has to face me – and there’s like seven different guys in the room and we have to share that one fan swiveling, and I was like: “Okay!” <laughs>.
Maki:
It’s more fun in the Philippines!
Last question, because I know it’s almost…oh shoot, seven o’clock.
Would you ever want to open something up in the Philippines – like a Bonifacio outpost or something – that brings more of the American vibe to the Philippines and exploring that side of our culture in the food? Have you thought about bridging the gap in some way?
MJ:
The end game, really, is to land back home. The very rough draft of the model that Krizzia and I were thinking about was that we create the demand here, and the products come from the Philippines, and hopefully there’s that good system going on.
What we really want to get into is some kind of agricultural… you know, buy some farms and produce in the healthiest way possible and just create these products… because we have immediate clients which are going to be our companies here.
Maki:
Stay in touch with me here, man. We’ll talk about it after. <laughs>
MJ:
All right, we’re making a business partnership here!
On a personal level, my mom was playing on that idea, because one day, she asked me: “Are you coming home for my birthday?”
Maki:
Is she in the Philippines? Back in the Philippines now, not living in Jackson anymore?
MJ:
No, all of them are in the Philippines now. It’s just me and my little brother here.
So yeah, she just texted me and she was like: “Are you coming back for my birthday?” And I was like “No”.
Maki:
She’s in Manila?
MJ:
She’s like: “You know I’m turning 65.” And it dawned on me, it just crept on me, I spent all this time chasing some kind of status, you know, the American stuff.
Maki:
The American way. <laughs>
MJ:
I was like: “You know we got to make money; we got to grind, hustle, and we got to make it. Otherwise, this is how we make our people proud.” Blah blah blah. We just like to attach so much conditional stuff.
Then I realized that time just flew by. I really did not realize how old my mom was until she told me she was 65, and I freaked out. That was the biggest freakout of my life.
So here I am trying to make amends with that, and she was like: “Hey, would you rather just come home?” and this was me going through a big crisis and wanting to just give it all up. I was really close, and I entertained that idea of like: “Okay, let’s talk about it and start a restaurant together.” I think that’s really hitting me right there, and I said: “Yes! Let’s do it!” She was willing to fund me and stuff like that.
Maki:
It’s TBD, though.
MJ:
Yeah, it’s TBD.
I’m in a much better place to where I think my commitments to Bonifacio still stand, and maybe the restaurant that we are going to bring into the Philippines will probably still be under their umbrella.
I love the folks that I work with. I love Krizzia and Lida and everyone there. We are very strong together. It’s the true bayanihan. We finally set up a company where the executive team are all Filipinos – and it’s unintentional too. It ended up happening that my Director of Operations is Filipino, my Director of People Experiences is Filipino, and I’m Filipino, everyone’s Filipino. This is accidental.
We didn’t build a company for Filipinos, by Filipinos. It’s crazy but it happened this way. I’m pretty proud of where we are, so if we end up back home, that will be so fun. It will be such a pleasure, and I think any reason for me to just stay home—I’m going to be honest with you, America, I’d rather be in the Philippines.
Maki:
I feel that!
I think that’s a great note to end on.
I’d rather be in the Philippines too right now, for real. Homesick as hell, man.
Anyway, maraming salamat, MJ!
#PUNTOTalks with MJ Hernandez