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Actress and musician Van Tiel cannot speak highly enough of Kapampangan cuisine from the Philippines' Pampanga province where her family is from.
"Kapampangan food has indulgent, rich flavours. Cooks will pack all of that into their dishes," Van Tiel says. "That's what we're known for – having the best food, the best cooks and the prettiest girls, apparently. Like, that’s on Google," musician and actress Bernie Van Tiel laughs.
The best food, the best cooks and the prettiest girls.
Although Van Tiel spent most of her formative years in Murwillumbah, NSW, she spent some of her childhood in her mother’s hometown of San Fernando, Pampanga.
"I lived in a multi-generational household, which is pretty common in the Philippines; so, there was a time that I was living in one house with my mum, my auntie and my ápu [grandmother]. That was when I really got to know about my Filipino heritage, especially when it came to food."
She grew up with a lot of Filipino food, like adobo (typically meat in soy sauce and vinegar), sinigang (sour soup) and lelut, which is a version of lugaw (rice porridge).
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Chicken adobo
"What I noticed was that the Kapampangan version of popular Filipino dishes taste different. Our sinigang is tangier, with a more tamarind-ginger red base. Our adobo is a bit different too – the sauce is a lot thicker."
'The best cooks'
Van Tiel tends to lean towards the Kapampangan versions of Filipino dishes, specifically, those made by her mum and aunty.
"With my mum, she likes to gatekeep her recipes. I'd be like, 'So how do you make adobo?' And she'll say, ‘Oh it’s easy. You just put the sauce'. And I'll ask, 'What's in the sauce?' And she'll say, 'Vinegar'. I'm like, 'That's not the colour of vinegar,' she laughs.
Van Tiel says recipe gatekeeping isn't all that unusual. A lot of Filipinos are protective and competitive about food.
"Filipinos are a deeply passionate people and that that leads into everything they do, whether it is cooking or the way they love or create. With my aunty as well, she'll spend a long time creating and perfecting a recipe. If you just blurt that out to anyone, she'll get so upset because that's her baby, you know."
Bernie Van Tiel as a child.
"Even with Western food, they're the best! My mum's carbonara and my aunty's Caesar salad are just the best.
I don’t know if that's also because of the Kapampangan influence that whatever they cook is bursting with flavour."
Appreciating Filipino culture
Rediscovering Filipino cuisine helped Van Tiel gain a better understanding and appreciation of the country's food and culture.
"For a period in my life, I went vegetarian, which broke my mother's heart. But then I started missing Filipino food and I went back to eating meat. It changed my entire palate again.
"I want my friends to learn about Filipino food too, so I've done vegetarian versions of our dishes for my friends who don't eat meat. I've also done salmon sinigang for my partner because she only eats seafood."
Van Tiel takes pride in the adaptability and resilience of Filipino cuisine.
"Our food is a deep representation of our people. The Philippines has been one of the most colonised places on earth and, what I find is that our food is a symbol of our resilience. For us, food reflects who we are and where we came from.
Food reflects who we are and where we came from.
"No matter what is in my cupboard and fridge…even if it's the most minimal, questionable items left, I'll always be able to make something.
"That's Filipino down – that is my aunty [and] my mum speaking through me. Not so much my ápu [grandmother] because her version of cooking is burning."
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Filipino barbeque skewers
