The Filipino food movement Andrew Zimmern predicted back in 2012 has officially arrived in Napa and it’s not your TikTok-fueled, here-today-gone-tomorrow trend. This moment is bigger than food. It’s about honoring heritage and redefining it in the same breath.
Image: EC2 Studios
Chef Jade Mauricio Cunningham, the Michelin-trained talent behind Carabao, isn’t just serving her lola’s recipes exactly as she made them. She’s remixing them, preserving tradition while layering in her own perspective, technique, and creativity.
Take her Kare Kare. All the traditional elements are there: oxtail, tripe, rich peanut sauce. But she elevates it with a crisp oxtail croquette (don’t ask how she pulled this off), folds coconut into the sauce (the creamiest thing you’ll ever taste), and plates it like a fine dining dream. No surprise from someone who spent three years at The French Laundry.
Image: EC2 Studios
The result? Food that hits emotionally and technically. It’s memory, modernized.
“My wife and I went 12 straight weekends in a row [to Chef Jade’s pop-up], trying all the different things… I got my parents to come try it, and they were like, she's legit.”
Eric Gonzales, Carabao co-founder
That’s what makes this movement matter. It’s about the flavors but it’s also about pride and rewriting the narrative of what Filipino food can be while staying rooted in the soul of where it came from.
James Beard Award-winner Lord Maynard of Kuya Lord says, “The reason I’m doing regional cuisine is because I want to introduce exciting Filipino dishes to non-Filipinos to try.” And there’s a lot to explore. “We’ve been conquered by Spain, Japan went there, Americans, and then we have influence from China, Thailand, and India because of trade. We have specialties in different regions that you can only see in our provinces.”
Bobby Punla, chef behind Bay Area pop-up Likha, adds: “I really love and focus on a southern region called Mindanao. It’s heavily influenced by Muslim culture and they use a lot more Southeast Asian Malaysian ingredients like chilies and coconut milk and coconut flakes.”
Chef Jade herself began cooking at age seven in her aunt’s kitchen in Bulacan — a province 25 miles north of Manila known for its sweets. You’ll taste that lineage in Carabao’s desserts, where treats like yema (a custard-like confection) meet hand-shaved coconut — courtesy of her mom.
Image: EC2 Studios
That’s what makes Carabao so compelling: it’s familiar but reimagined. It’s humble and high-art at the same time. And above all, it’s built on community.
“I went to the French Laundry for the first time, and it's surprisingly a really chill vibe. I mean, yes, the attention to detail is incredible, the food is incredible, but the people, the service, the vibe, the warmth, it just reminded me of what we're building here.”
Eric Gonzales, Carabao co-founder
The Filipino food movement has been simmering for years. Carabao proves it’s happening and it’s evolving. One plate, one story, one joyful, jaw-dropping bite at a time.