Chef Alexa Pastrana on taking Filipinos on a first-class, culinary voyage starting with her PINA and Goodhaus brands.
Alexa Pastrana is someone who knows that the sky was her limit. And so while her culinary journey may have started in the Philippines, her quest for gastronomic excellence lead her to study abroad – and reach for a star.
“I wasn’t going to settle for any restaurant,” says Pastrana, frankly, “I made sure I worked at a Michelin-star restaurant.” And after finishing her grueling yet comprehensive internship at the Ritz Carlton in Barcelona, she then flew to New York, promptly settling at yet another Michelin-lauded restaurant – The Mark by Chef Jean Georges.
“It was by then that I truly fell in love with cooking,” gushes Alexa, “the heat, stress, sweat and burns included.” And indeed, by all indications her romance with cuisine would have led to a successful career abroad – but as luck would have it, home had suddenly called.
“If you want to gratify yourself and make it work for yourself, stay in America,” declared her father, “‘But if you want to help the Filipino…then move back home.” Faced with this choice of professional success and what greater purpose she wanted to serve in life – Alexa choose to come home.
Hungry for Success
Upon arriving, Pastrana immediately gravitated towards her forte.
“(As a chef) I like sourcing (ingredients) for myself, finding a good supplier, knowing where my food comes from, and being able to help the local farmers,” says Pastrana. And from this sentiment she conceptualized one of her first food brands – PINA – a social enterprise that supports farmers and home-grown brands.
In this, Alexa applies the stringent quality she demands from herself, to her suppliers. “We find mom & pop stores with incredible tasting products, take it on our brand and highlight where it comes from” she says. “We want to bring local products to greater heights”. Rooted in this initiative, PINA also encourages customers to take pride in their locally-made food products – going as far as collaborating with FastCat – a leading local inter-island ferry company – to promote its brands.
“We inspire passengers and those who buy PINA that locally made doesn’t have to be generic…we take pride in our beautiful Filipino-made brands,” explains Pastrana.
Another one of her brands is Goodhaus. Co-founded with three other friends, Pastrana positions the company as a healthy, grab-and-go food company up to par with the best international chains. The group has found homes in popular Manila gyms such as Ride Revolution and Focus Athletics Makati. Like PINA, Goodhaus aims to sell locally-sourced food to Fillipino consumers – simultaneously keep Filipinos fit and local businesses, healthy.
It was prescient, given the effect that Covid-19 would have on the economy.
A Full-feeling Future
“What I learned was to be present, know what is essential and know that we can indeed weather the storm” says Pastrana, proudly.
Both her brands remain resilient in the face of the pandemic, with PINA’s FastCat customers swelling due to people returning to the provinces, and Goodhaus shifting to an online, delivery-based model on a skeletal workforce. Pastrana considers the current downturn a crucial learning experience for her and her employees. And she remains bullish on the future. If anything, the pandemic has failed to dim her ambitions on acquiring the country’s very own Michelin Star.
“I want to achieve that without putting the spotlight on just me. I want to do it so everyone in The Philippines can come along with me,” she confesses.
As the country meets unforeseen and unsettling challenges, Alexa’s ventures lead many to hope. She is an example of youth making an effective difference. Her socially-focused entrepreneurship, beauty, ambition, hard work and love for country – being the perfect ingredients to a successful, promising nation.
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