Today we’d like to introduce you to John Richard and Marie Manansala.
John and Marie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
John Richard: I was born and raised in the culinary capital of the Philippines, Pampanga. With a sense of adventure to see the world, I moved to Los Angeles in 2005 after graduating from college. It is also in the City of Angels where I met my best friend and my wife, Marie. I worked as a caregiver/ home health aide for my first job. My patient, who was a former Hollywood executive, constantly advised me on how to be successful and achieve my goals. After he passed, I applied to Cedars Sinai Medical Center and worked in the Clinical Laboratory setting for eight years, where my career in the healthcare field flourished. I was given the opportunity to take leadership classes and spearhead lab projects to improve on patient satisfaction, workflow management, lab tests turnaround times, and employee retention. After 13 years of living in California, Marie and I finally decided it was time to move to Dallas to be closer to her family. Marie and I are passionate about trying new food and learning about other cultures from our travels, we realized that the Filipino food scene in Dallas was not as dynamic as it was when we lived in Los Angeles. In November of 2018, we held our first pop up event for Mekeni Filipino Kitchen at the Dallas Farmers Market with the Foodies at Nite team. The event was a success and we received excellent feedback from the public. Riding from the success of our event, we started offering catering services/party trays to anyone who wanted Filipino food classics such as “Sisig”, “Pancit Palabok”( rice noodles), “Filipino style BBQ on a stick” and “Lumpia” (egg rolls). We also continue to do pop-ups throughout the DFW area with the mission of making Filipino food mainstream for everyone.
Marie: I am a 1st generation Filipino-American, born and raised in Dallas. Not only was I a military brat, I was raised in a strict Filipino/Catholic household. I grew up in a fairly large, typical Filipino community: Post Office dads, Nurse moms, Catholic school. I found my calling in beauty, moved to Los Angeles and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising with a degree in Merchandising, Marketing & Beauty Product Development. I met John through school friends, whom were all International students from the Philippines. I found myself more and more intrigued by their upbringing, fun stories about being raised in the Philippines, especially the cuisine. Luckily, living in LA was easy for a Filipino as there is a massive community there with hundreds of Filipino restaurant options. I became fluent in Tagalog (official language of the Philippines) and became obsessed with learning about all things Filipino. In 2018, I accepted a job in Dallas and we made the move back. John saw a need for Filipino food and here we are. We love traveling (especially to the Philippines) and we are inspired by every trip back to the Philippines because they are a constantly growing, changing country.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We appreciate that this hasn’t been a smooth road. One of the struggles we encounter is the financial aspect of funding our business, dividing our time between our full-time jobs and finding people you trust to work with. Fortunately, we trust our staff because it’s our family. Marie’s brother Lawrence has helped us from Day 1. Marie’s cousin Tina and her husband Kristian come ready to work and help our events run smoothly. We wouldn’t be where we are without them. We have supportive friends that come to all of our events, order catering and give us constant feedback.
In terms of finding our place in the Dallas food scene, our food concept is different from what people are used to when they think of, for example, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Southern, or Tex-Mex. We want Filipino food to be known for more than adobo, pancit, or for the adventurous, the “balut” while preserving the core classic dishes with a modern approach.
Please tell us about Mekeni Filipino Kitchen.
We are a pop-up food vendor/ caterer specializing in classic Filipino food with a modern twist. We are known for our Sisig, a Filipino favorite and a favorite of the late Anthony Bourdain, as it had been featured numerous times on his tv series.
We also offer our delicious Filipino style BBQ on a stick, featuring our original family recipe marinade. Our Braised Adobo Pork Ribs are a must try as well. The meat literally falls off the bone. Our scrumptious Lumpiang Shanghai (eggroll) is fried to a golden crisp and is a catering favorite. Our Pancit (stir-fried noodles) are also a favorite, as we customize this in multiple ways from the noodle type to other protein add-ons.
What sets us apart from other Filipino restaurants is that we bring the authenticity of classic flavors mixed with a modern twist. We hope by doing this, we appeal to a larger demographic. We believe it is an exciting time in the DFW area for the Filipino food movement.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
John Richard: As a child, seeing my aunts work together and cook in the kitchen. It was fun watching their ‘assembly line’ come to life through cooking. My grandmother would always be looking over their shoulders to make sure they were doing everything correctly. My cousins and I were the errand runners and would be called to buy last-minute ingredients. Sharing that meal with my family was the best feeling.
Marie: Holiday parties were the best. Our parents and their friends would throw these massive house parties at Christmas and New Year’s and we knew two things: you would eat GOOD and our one ‘drunk’ Uncle would pass out all the money he had in his wallet so you needed to be first in line!
Contact Info:
- Phone: 818-915-8794 or 818-667-5491
- Email: mekenicateringDFW@gmail.com
- Instagram: @mekenifilipinokitchen
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mekenifilipinokitchen/
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