How do you introduce yourself?
That's the hard part.
I don't even introduce
myself as a chef
but people call me a chef.
I shy away from that
because I never believe in titles
so I just classify myself as a cook
or someone who just loves to cook.
I'm Wesley. They’re like
‘Can we get you to
say Chef Wesley?’
I'm like, ‘Alright.
I'm Chef Wesley from Bawang.‘
And I’m like... that’s not...
Sure.
Even when they ask me
like, ‘Tell me about
Bawang, I'm like, ‘Oh, it's a food
delivery service.
Or is it a catering business?
Or is it a restaurant?’
Like it's just, it's
so hard to describe it.
The pandemic hit.
I got laid off. Like I'm
naturally always cooking
but I started cooking things
that I grew up eating
and things that I was just like
‘Oh I'm craving this today.
I'm going to make this today.’
'Cause it's just
my way of just, like, filling time
and just making
you know, just kind
of making myself feel better
and comforted, right.
It's real Filipino food.
So the dish that I decided to make
is based on
the mood, based on how I feel
based on the craving. Bicol Express
for instance
we haven't had that
on the menu ever
but now that I'm making it
this might end up on the menu
in the next week or so
you know.
So Bicol is an actual city
so this is like their dish.
This one here just got that
like savory sweetness to it.
A sweet finish at the end. Pork belly
is like the main meat for it, right.
We're going to sweat it.
Get the oils out of the pork, right
and get it to like
a nice brown color.
Then we set that aside
and then we use that same
pork fat to cook
like the tomato, onions, garlic.
If you can learn how to cook
with tomato, onions and garlic
which is the base for
a lot of Filipino dishes
that will translate
to so many different
types of dishes.
I'm going to add
some liquid to this
and then we finish it off
with some green, more
mild, milder chilis.
I migrated to Canada
at a really young age.
I was, I think, eight
or nine years old at
the time. Came in ‘89.
So my grandparents
actually adopted us.
So on paper they are our parents.
And, you know, I'll often refer to
them as mom and dad, but
sometimes, you know, on occasion
we refer to them as our grandparents.
It was really through them that I
you know, I was exposed
to a lot of cooking.
Part of that experience
sort of, you know
rubbed off on me and translated
into what I'm doing now.
A torta is like
so it’s like a pancake meatloaf
type of thing.
If I had a barbecue
I would just toss it in there
with all the charcoal
but because we don't
we just sort of do it
the way my folks taught me.
The good way to add color
and to create that char
burnt taste on your veg.
You then start with
sweating the mince pork, right.
Once all the oils
and everything comes out, it's
almost like half cooked.
Then you just throw
everything in there
and then you add some salt,
pepper, some soy.
Just let that cook
for a little while.
So just getting rid of the skin.
You want to be left
with the meat of it.
Take it out from the crown there.
Once we add the eggplant in there
you want it so that it's still
there’s still a little bit of liquid
and what it does, it actually
thickens the mixture
and allows all the
flavours to sort of
get mixed in the meat.
And then once everything
is all nice and flavoured
and cooked, you set it aside, let it cool
and then once it's cool
then you add eggs to it
and then you start
making it into like a
like a pancake consistency
and then you fry it.
That's how it goes.
This knife is like
my grandpa's knife.
So he brought this
when he first migrated to Canada.
Fast forward to now,
that's about 50 years old
this knife, but he was proud of it
and he gave it to me.
Not like as
‘Oh my God, here's your
you know, this knife.
Please take care of it.’
He was just like, ‘Do you need a knife?
Take it.’
Yeah, so I've had it
I've had it now for over 20 years
and been cooking with it.
And I only realized last year
that this was something
more than just a knife.
It's actually
it was this knife passed on to me.
Like it's so, so good.
So our lechon is like a
two-day process.
We start off with boiling them
and then we brine it.
We then let it sit
in the fridge overnight
and then we have it
prepped for the next day to
to fry.
There's multiple ways to make it.
You know, I was taught one way
and that's the way
I've been doing it
and that's the way
my grandparents have been doing it.
And it's pork belly, man.
Like you have the combination
of the tenderness of the meat
and then finish off
with the crunch in
every bite. That's
what you want.
I'm about to deliver
a meal to someone that's
looking forward to it
and just as excited.
I feel like a drug dealer, man.
Everybody wants their lechon fix
and here I am dropping it off.
My parents would cook
like very specific dishes
throughout the week.
Like he knew how to eat.
He just knew how to do it.
So it's actually
coming up this month.
February 29th is
when he actually passed.
You know, oftentimes,
like when I'm
prepping in the kitchen
like I'm always using this knife
and sometimes it pulls me back
to, like, the connection between
the knife, myself and him.
And, you know, it gets...
it’s special, you know.
But he used it for everything.
It was his everyday knife, from chopping
veg to cutting meat.
And
and here I am, using it
for the exact same purpose.
You know, when someone comes back
with such positive feedback
not just by saying it's delicious
but the fact that it
hits home for them
and it brings them back to
to when their grandma
or their parents
or whoever it is
that they relate that
feeling to, or place
you know, I would, like, just
cry.
You know, it's a wonderful feeling
to know that you're
sharing a part of you
and putting yourself out there
and being vulnerable.
And someone’s receiving
it really well and positive
so it's amazing.
It's an amazing feeling.