Ube Industrial Complex

As Filipino American History Month draws to a close, we usher in Dia de los Muertos on November 1. Sadly, Adrian's mom, Joan De Leon, passed away from a long illness just a few days before this episode was recorded. With Adrian's blessing and participation, we decided our last bonus episode would explore how food is linked to grief as well as joy. We acknowledge how food both anchors our sense of being "home," while serving as our conduit to other planes and the spirits and dear ones who have moved on. 

We are joined by Chef Rhoda Magbitang, the winner of Top Chef 23, who wowed the judges with her soulful, refined renditions of lugaw, tortang talong and kaldereta in the competition's finale. Together we explore everything from the special vicissitudes of merienda, to why "dessert" as a concept "hits different" in Filipino eating. We also collaborate on a thesis that Filipino food is actually about restraint, not maximalism. Plus, we get some insight into what it takes to tap into one's food memories as a contestant on Top Chef, while going one more round on how ube cannot be a stand-in for all "Filipino flavors."

In episode 3, we welcome special guest Bettina Makalintal from Eater to talk about why food culture is so important to Filipinos in the diaspora. Moving beyond typical takes that focus on the "food, family, fun" trifecta that frames us as enthusiastic eaters, we are interested in how Filipinos in N. America and around the world have honed a critical sensibility, our own set of pronounced tastes, and a penchant for giving candid feedback.     About our guest: Bettina Makalintal is a senior reporter at Eater, covering national trends in dining and food culture. She was born in the Philippines, raised outside Philadelphia, and currently lives in Brooklyn. Previously, she was an associate print editor at Bon Appétit and a staff writer at Vice's Munchies.  

In this episode, we each talk about our "Proustian madeleine" or the taste sensation that sends our memories flooding back, and sets us off "in search of things past." We think critically about the role nostalgia plays in our food worlds, while exploring how place, fantasy and the formation of taste is related to certain Filipino foods. We get into our attraction, repulsion and "lunch box politics" with various family dishes that were meant to be meaningful to us. Plus, our scene report dives into noodles (cold and hot), California-style bodega sandwiches, and a lively, large-format iteration of okoy. 

Welcome to Ube Industrial Complex, a food-motivated limited podcast series that explores culinary scenes and broader pop cultural appetites from a Filipino American and Canadian POV. Co-hosted across three cities by Karen Tongson (L.A.), Adrian De Leon (NY), and James Zarsadiaz (SF), the show boasts both local perspectives, and a worldly sensibility across generations, migration routes, foodways, trends and tastes. In episode 1, we talk about ube, its origins, its role in food trends and why we think it has evolved into an "industrial complex" in Filipino food cultures. Plus, we offer scene reports about the places that have our attention in L.A., N.Y. and S.F., while bringing in some observations from our recent travels beyond our home cities.