Apart from being set to direct Daniel Padilla’s upcoming comeback film Nang Mapagod si Kamatayan, director Dan Villegas was also at the helm of the new series Replacing Chef Chico which is Netflix’s first Filipino produced series. The talented director said that the show not only has a standout storyline created by his partner and fellow director Antoinette Jadaone, it also puts a spotlight on our local cuisine.

“Super proud and super happy ako to work with very talented actors and yung staff and crew. Yung Filipino food kasi world class talaga. Puwede natin ipagmayabang at ipagmalaki ang Filipino cuisine and it’s high time na ma-recognize siya, hindi lang dito sa ating bansa pero pati sa labas,” he shared during the Replacing Chef Chico presscon held in Makati city. 

READ: Netflix releases trailer for first Filipino-produced series ‘Replacing Chef Chico’

Prior to shooting the eight episode series, direk Dan shared how he mentally prepared for the show which was mostly shot inside the kitchen of fictional Filipino restaurant Hain which is owned by the moody Chef Chico (played by Sam Milby). 

“Tambay din ako ng YouTube eh. Parang nanuod lang ako ng countless hours of videos on cooking from Binging with Babish to Jamie Oliver. Tambay lang talaga ako ng YouTube before kami mag-start mag-shoot, researching on kitchens and how they function, yung relationship ng chef to the sous chef and other staff. So medyo tedious pero masaya,” he recalled. 

READ: Daniel Padilla, Zanjoe Marudo prepare for upcoming film

To make the series look more authentic, the Replacing Chef Chico director shared that they had four chefs present on the set, with two of them acting as line cooks as part of the cast. Direk Dan also revealed which Pinoy food they featured was his favorite out of all the episodes.

“Ako siguro yung arroz caldo. Kasi parang it reminds me of yung mga rainy days nung bata ako tapos gagawa yung mom ko ng arroz caldo, yung warmth and love of your family. It feels like home. May challenging scene kami dun na magagalit si chef Chico tapos supposedly isang plate lang yung babasagin niya. Na yun talaga yung for basag na. Eh nadala si Sam ng emotion niya. Pati yung isang plate (laughs),” he shared. 

With an impressive body of work that includes TV and movie projects like Cattleya Killer, Almost Paradise, Exes Baggage, and On the Wings of Love, to name a few, direk Dan said that he has always been open to criticism and feedback.

“Gagamitin ko yung term na learning opportunity. Kasi you have to be open. Never stop learning. Parang the moment you stop learning is the moment you don’t improve in your craft. So continuous na basahin mo lang and filter out kung ano ba yung honest. Kailangan kasi self aware ka rin sa ginagawa mo, alam mo yung flaws ng project mo, alam mo yung strengths and weaknesses niya, and then after that mag self-evaluate ka. Kaya nga parang isa din sa ginagawa namin ni Tonette pag halimbawa may pelikula kami, pinapanuod namin sa sine with a real audience. Para malaman namin if tumatawa sila at the right time or umiiyak sila at the right time di ba? So ganun,” he explained.

Replacing Chef Chico stars Piolo Pascual, Alessandra de Rossi, and Sam Milby. The series is directed by Dan Villegas and created by Antoinette Jadaone and produced for Netflix in association with CS Studios and Project 8 Projects. It is now available for streaming only on Netflix.