Culture crosses paths with culinary career Filipino Canadian chef opens space at The Forks Tasting Notes
By: Eva Wasney Posted: 6:10 PM CST Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024

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This article was published 23/01/2024 (645 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Filipino food is a new frontier for Norm Pastorin.

It’s not that the local chef is unfamiliar with the cuisine — he grew up eating chicken adobo and lumpia and pancit. Until recently, however, his culture had never crossed paths with his career.

“Why didn’t I do this sooner?” he says of opening Basta! Filipino Kitchen, the newest food stall at The Forks Market and the first to focus on Filipino fare.

The counter-service restaurant is located on the southern perimeter of the food hall with a bright menu board done up in red, yellow and blue, the primary colours of the flag of the Philippines. Basta is a Tagalog term that loosely translates to the phrase “It just is” in English.

Despite growing up in a Filipino household, Pastorin wasn’t immersed in his heritage.

“My parents met and married here. At the time, assimilation was very important, so we spoke English at our house and I didn’t grow up learning my language or my culture — my culture was basically family gatherings every Sunday, that was it. Now, I’m wanting to learn more through food. It’s really motivating and inspiring,” he says.

Pastorin, 49, has spent his career running kitchens at well-known local restaurants, including the Grove, Black Bird Brasserie and Cornerstone. When he was approached by The Forks with the idea of launching a Filipino food kiosk in the busy marketplace it was at a serendipitous moment.

He was teaching in the culinary program at Red River College Polytechnic — his alma mater — and had recently started experimenting with Filipino flavours. Blending those familiar notes with French cooking techniques felt like a natural fit for a cuisine Pastorin describes as “the original fusion food,” due to the culinary impact of colonization on the Philippines.

While teaching was deeply satisfying work, the opportunity to share his take on Filipino food with Winnipeg was too good to pass up.

“I felt like I still had something to contribute to the industry. I have such core memories of Filipino food and I could do something very unique,” he says.

Doing so in one of Winnipeg’s main gathering spaces filled Pastorin with equal parts excitement and anxiety.

“Filipino food has always been segregated to a certain area (in the city). It’s a huge honour, I’m front and centre here,” he says.

In preparing to open Basta, Pastorin consulted Filipino cookbooks and relied on his childhood memories of backyard barbecues and family-style potlucks to guide the way. Throughout the process, he grappled with the idea of authenticity and how his dishes would be received by the wider community.

“It’s authentic to my experience as a Canadian-born Filipino trained as a chef in classical French technique,” he says.

Getting back into the kitchen has allowed Pastorin to continue learning and teaching. Many of his staff members are recent Red River grads getting their first taste of the restaurant industry.

“What I love most about being a chef is mentoring people. Everything that I’ve learned, I just want to pass it on to the youth,” he says.

For Pastorin, Basta is an important part of his legacy as a chef and as a Filipino Canadian.

“Whatever you’re cooking, you want there to be a story behind it,” he says. “Now, my cooking has a complete story — professionally and personally.”

Tasting Notes is an ongoing series about Winnipeg restaurants, new and old, meant to offer diners a taste of what’s on the menu.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @evawasney