Hello and Welcome!
I’m Mae, I’m the author, cook and photographer behind Food with Mae and the chef behind Baon London.
Welcome to my blog, I hope you will find my blog useful and interesting.
When it all started
What started as a coping mechanism turned into an obsession!
Before Food with Mae, I started Pepe’s Kitchen in 2011. PK was created after my father ‘Pepe’ passed away. He was the one who taught me how to cook Filipino Food and I named my business after him. ‘Pepe’ was his nickname.
It was a small catering business; a monthly Supperclub and I was posting Recipes on my blog too. Serving Filipino Food to both private and corporate clients including the Philippine Embassy, Don Papa Rum events in London and Popup Residencies at ‘Sun and 13 Cantons’ in Soho and ‘Trailer Happiness’ in Portobello Rd.
What really ignite my passion in cooking was my appearance at UKTV food, my husband Adrian went to a meeting with the network’s representative and he came home telling me that I will be filmed cooking Filipino food! And that UKTV food will donate £200 to Philippine Generations, a non-for-profit organisation that Adrian and myself with 3 other friends founded.
Pepe’s Kitchen evolved from a coping mechanish and to remember my papa to a job that I love doing! Food with Mae and Baon London is the next chapter of my Food Journey and sharing Filipino food to everyone.
I also appeared on TV with Mary Berry on BBC2 for ‘Mary Berry’s Easter Feast’. I was cooking Filipino Lechon (Fragrant Slow Roasted Pork Belly) alongside Mary Berry (amazing experience btw!).
Getting to know me
I was born in Manila, lived in the province of the Visayas region in Makinhas, Baybay, Leyte, Philippines, where my mother is from and where I grew up. I left the Philippines in my teens, I spent the my first 2 years in the UK living in Sevenoaks, Kent with my mum and my little sister Lali. It’s where I went to Secondary school and learnt how to live like a British person haha! I moved to London to continue my studies and never left London since!
I live with my husband, 2 beautiful daughters and our fur baby in a humble flat with a mini urban balcony garden overlooking the City. We have great views of London and so close to everything.
I appreciate you visitng my blog and if you have read this far, it means I have peaked your interest. HAHA!
In my tiny corner of the internet, I’m going to share my recipes of comforting, easy and vibrant Filipino dishes. These collections of recipes were handed down to me from my late father who was from the Batangas province 2 hours south of Manila, a few I learnt during our travels on holiday across the Philippines, some from my mother in law who is from Pangasinan province 4 hrs North of Manila and occasionally some bakes from my mother, Mila, who loves encouraging me to bake more! Baking is whole ball game for me that I’m not very good at.
Comforting Filipino dishes that hugs you from inside out.
Easy to follow recipes that do not sacrifice on taste just because you are on a budget or have little time to cook.
Vibrant culture & heritage of the Philippines, showing the different influences that shaped the country’s food.
Generally Filipino food is versatile, the ingredients are easy to find or can be substituted and it doesn’t cost as much as other cuisines to make.
I absolutely would love to see what Filipino food you are cooking. Please tag @foodwithmae on your Instagram stories and photos for my #kainnatayo (it means “let’s eat”) series.
I’ll occasionally post about these topics too:
- Restaurant Reviews and Branch Launches that I’m invited to.
- Scholesy – our toy poodle dog who is the most adorable dog, my co-worker and our family Mascot. He loves plenty of kisses and cuddles. You can waste your time looking at his Instagram here.
- Sometimes I rant about things lol!
Thank you for visiting me! Please contact me either on my email or social media and I will definitely get back to you as long as your are not spam! Don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list and you’ll get a FREE eCookbook of our favourites too.