On March 25, 2025, as the culinary world gathered in Seoul for the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awarding ceremony, a bittersweet hush fell over the room. The Woodford Reserve Icon Award, a prestigious nod to those who’ve indelibly shaped Asia’s gastronomic landscape, was bestowed posthumously upon Margarita “Gaita” Forés, the Filipino chef whose vivacious spirit and unrelenting passion for food left an imprint as deep as the flavors she championed. 

Margarita Forés is officially an icon | Photo: World's 50 Best Restaurants on Instagram

Forés, who passed away unexpectedly on February 11, 2025, at the age of 65, joins a rarified pantheon of culinary titans—previous Icon Award recipients like Thailand’s “Bo” Songvisava and Dylan Jones (2022), Japan’s Shinobu Namae (2023), and Hong Kong’s Richard Ekkebus (2024).

Forés’s story is one of reinvention. Born into Manila’s elite Araneta family, she could have coasted along, living a life of privilege. Instead, she chose the challenge of devoting her life to gastronomy. 

Forés as a young culinary student in Italy | Photo: EAT Public Relations 

No formal culinary school diploma hangs on her wall, yet she built an empire: Cibo, a chain of modern Italian eateries that turned pasta into a Filipino love language; Lusso, a champagne-kissed gastrobar; and Grace Park, her farm-to-table ode to sustainability. She didn’t just cook—she advocated, tirelessly for local farmers and fishermen, elevating Filipino ingredients like adlai and calamansi to global acclaim. In 2016, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants crowned her Best Female Chef, the first Filipina to claim that title. It is a moment she has likened to winning Miss Universe.

Forés was a tireless advocate for Filipino farmers and fishermen | Photo: EAT Public Relations

There are similarities with other Icon Award luminaries. Bo Songvisava and Dylan Jones, the dynamic duo behind Bangkok’s Bo.lan, earned their 2022 Icon status by fusing Thai tradition with sustainability, serving dishes so rooted in heritage you could taste the soil. Shinobu Namae, Tokyo’s philosopher-chef at L’Effervescence, took the 2023 honor with his cerebral, eco-conscious cuisine. Then there’s Richard Ekkebus, the Dutch maestro of Hong Kong’s Amber, whose 2024 award celebrated a career of precision and reinvention, ditching dairy and rethinking fine dining with a lighter, greener touch. These are chefs who’ve not just cooked but crusaded, each leaving a legacy as distinct as their signature dishes.

Forés fits this mold, yet she dances to her own rhythm. Where Songvisava and Jones dug deep into Thai terroir, Forés bridged worlds—Italy and the Philippines—marrying ravioli with crab fat and water spinach in a way that felt both exotic and homey. Namae’s introspective plates contrast with Forés’s exuberance; she was less about quiet reflection and more about a boisterous “Kumain ka na ba?”—a question that doubled as her life’s mission. Ekkebus’s meticulous evolution at Amber mirrors Forés’s own pivot to organic and local at Grace Park, but while he refined luxury, she democratized it, making Cibo a household name across Manila’s malls. Her approach was less about avant-garde experimentation and more about soul—food that felt like a hug.

Forés was known for making each guest feel welcomed and cared for | Photo: EAT Public Relations

Was she an innovator on par with these giants? Some might argue her Italian leanings leaned too heavily on another culture’s playbook, lacking the radical originality of, say, Namae’s sustainability manifestos. But that misses the point. Forés didn’t invent a cuisine—she amplified one, giving Filipino flavors a megaphone through an Italian lens. Her Grace Park, ranked 12th on Opinionated About Dining’s 2024 Top Casual Restaurants in Asia, wasn’t just a restaurant; it was a movement, a love letter to the farmers she tirelessly supported. And her Casa Artusi Philippines, the only Asian outpost of the famed Italian culinary institute, trained a new generation to respect ingredients—a quiet revolution in a country where fast food once reigned supreme.

Forés cooking at Casa Artusi | Photo: EAT Public Relations

There’s a gentle irony here: Forés, who once confessed to CNN she was “still a little bit in shock” about her 2016 award, now receives this ultimate accolade when she can’t blush or quip about it. Her son Amado, accepting on her behalf, surely felt the weight of her absence. Yet her legacy burns bright. Toyo Eatery’s Jordy Navarra, who snagged the 2025 Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award, dedicated it to her, calling her “the embodiment of Filipino hospitality.” That’s the thing about Gaita—she didn’t just cook for you; she welcomed you, fed you, made you family.

Forés with son Amado | Photo: EAT Public Relations

So in assessing Margarita Forés’s new Icon status, we can say that beside Songvisava’s roots, Namae’s reverie, and Ekkebus’s refinement, she stands as the heart of the party—the chef who turned meals into memories, who proved you don’t need a diploma to change a nation’s palate. Her posthumous crowning isn’t just deserved; it’s a reminder that icons aren’t always the loudest or the flashiest. Sometimes, they’re the ones who leave the table fuller, warmer, and a little more loved than when you sat down. In that sense, Gaita Forés isn’t just among icons—she’s the one they’d all want to share a meal with.