BEFORE THE MICHELIN STARS ALIGNED

Chefs Chele Gonzalez and Darren Teoh share a cross-border table that proves Southeast Asia's brightest lights shine for purpose, not just prizes

- CHECHE V. MORAL

Etem/Pula Arroz Caldo (lobster, abalone, octopus)

Just three days before the Philippines' first Michelin Guide ceremony, the dining room of Gallery by Chele hummed with a kind of quiet electricity. It wasn't nerves, exactly — more like the calm before a seismic shift. At the intimate dining room adjacent to the open kitchen, some of the country's finest chefs gathered, soon to be recognized with their own Michelin stars. At the center of it all stood Chele Gonzalez, who, by week's end, would be awarded his first stars for Gallery and Asador Alfonso, along with a Green Star for sustainability for Gallery.

But on this day, the spotlight was shared. Joining Gonzalez was Darren Teoh of Dewakan in Kuala Lumpur, whose restaurant holds two Michelin stars and a Green Star. Together, they staged a lunch that went beyond collaboration—it was a conversation between two nations, two culinary languages, and two philosophies rooted in purpose and place.

The event, Dewakan x Gallery by Chele, formed part of The Edible Thesis Series, Vol. 2: Explorers - a continuing project that pairs chefs known for taking unconventional routes to understand and expand their cuisines. For this installment, the theme was clear: to celebrate shared ingredients and regional kinship between Malaysia and the Philippines.