MARGARITA “GAITA” ARANETA FORÉS, hailed as Asia’s Best Female Chef in 2016, has died. According to reports, Ms. Forés was found unresponsive on Feb. 11 in a hotel room in Hong Kong — a city she loved.
“I went to Hong Kong for the first time when I was eight,” said Ms. Forés in a previous story in BusinessWorld. “When I lived there and worked there in 1982, that was the first time, actually, that I started to cook in a kitchen, a few years before going to Italy. That’s because Hong Kong is so inspiring.”
The news of her passing was confirmed by her son, Amado Forés, in an Instagram post. He said, “Dear Friends and Family, It is with a heavy heart that I share the sudden passing of my Mom, Margarita A. Forés. Our family is mourning this unexpected loss, and we kindly ask for your prayers during this time, We will be able to share more in due time. With gratitude, Amado.”
Ms. Forés, daughter of socialite Maria Lourdes “Baby” Araneta Forés (died 2023) and surgeon and Makati Medical Center co-founder Raul Forés (died 2019), had several doors open for her. She could have had the high-profile life of her mother, whose parents built the Araneta Center (now “City”) in Cubao, Quezon City, or even politics, as her maternal cousins Gerardo “Dinggoy” Roxas and Manuel “Mar” Araneta Roxas II chose. Instead, Ms. Forés combined both high living and hard work into a veritable restaurant empire, starting with 1997’s Cibo. From there, Ms. Forés opened Grace Park, Lusso, and The Loggia; as well as well-loved and missed ventures like Café Bola and Pepato. She had been slated to open Margarita at Ayala Triangle Gardens this year.
Ms. Forés led a charmed life as the granddaughter of J. Amado Araneta, builder of the Araneta Coliseum, what was once one of Asia’s largest buildings in the 1960s. There is a photograph of her, sister Veana, and cousin Ria Roxas-Ojeda with singer Pat Boone (who performed in the family’s coliseum), who signed it with their names, and “the 3 princesses — With love, Pat.”
Her aunt, Judith Araneta Roxas, and her uncle, an opposition senator, Gerardo Roxas (son of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas), were some of the casualties of the Plaza Miranda bombing, an act of terrorism that served as one of the catalysts to the declaration of Martial Law. When Martial Law was declared in 1972 by dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the Araneta family fled en masse to the United States. To be fair, they settled quite comfortably, with residences in New York’s Park Avenue and in Westchester County.
There, Ms. Forés accompanied her formidable mother to parties in the legendary Studio 54 nightclub, and lived as well as they could while in exile. She even tried her hand at fashion, through her mother’s contacts at Valentino, and in the 1980s, worked in finance in Hong Kong.
Her cooking journey began in 1986, learning how to cook Italian food in Italy, through the guidance of three women: Jo Bettoja in Rome, Masha Innocenti in Florence, and Ada Parasiliti in Milan, according to a story from BusinessWorld. Returning to the Philippines, Ms. Forés was invited by the Hyatt Regency hotel to hold a food festival. Her cooking skills became apparent, and another invitation followed later that year. In a piece that she herself wrote in The Philippine Star, she said, “That was my first experience in a hotel kitchen and, adding that to having gotten my hands dirty at my uncle Jorge Araneta’s Trattoria Uno in Ali Mall some months before, I was blessed with the opportunity to learn more in a professional setting.”
She later opened a catering business. “I was in my mid-20s, and those were still party days for me. It took a while — nearly three years — to wake up to the fact that if I really wanted to be in the food business and build a profession out of it, I needed to really get my act together,” she said in a BusinessWorld story.
She opened her first restaurant, Cibo, in 1997 in Glorietta. “The only space available at Glorietta 3 was the open space fronting the closed entranceway to the Landmark department store. In hindsight, that open space concept with a tiny kitchen that the forward-thinking Ayala Malls leasing team took a great risk on, was the best place for Cibo to start! Although they warned me that I may have had to move to a different space in a year, with the forthcoming bridgeway opening, I am glad I did it!,” she said in The Philippine Star story. In doing so, she opened the Filipino palate to Italian cuisine, standing her ground to serve Italian food as they do in Italy.
Ms. Forés, skilled as she was in Italian cuisine, really spread her wings and gained international fame with her own exploration of her roots. Grace Park, for example, had comfort food based on the culinary memories of the family’s former ancestral home in Caloocan. She served her elevated vision of Filipino food in Malacañang, and, in 2015, along with fellow chef Myrna Segismundo, she spoke at the prestigious culinary conference Madrid Fusion in Spain. Their presence that year marked the first time Filipinos had participated in the event. The following year, the two women worked together with the organizers of Madrid Fusion to bring it here, resulting in Madrid Fusion Manila 2016 and 2017.
In 2016, she was hailed as Asia’s Best Female Chef by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. In a video, she said when she found out about the news, she said with some well-deserved glee, “I feel like Miss Universe!”
Since the news of her death broke, various culinarians and fans have released messages of condolence, grief, and loss.
Myke “Tatung” Sarthou, winner of several Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, said in a post, “The culinary world is mourning the loss of a true icon, Gaita Forés. The passionate advocate of Filipino cuisine and an inspiration to so many leaves behind a legacy that will continue to shape the industry for generations. Gaita’s artistry, dedication, and love for food were unparalleled. Rest in peace, Gaita. You are loved and will always be remembered.” In a message to BusinessWorld, he said she was “such a kind and vibrant soul. Tumatawa lang kami [we would just laugh] every time we see each other… hindi lang siya icon [she was not just an icon]; she’s a pillar. Philippine gastronomy won’t be the same.”
Ms. Forés’ cultural dominance in a field often led by men also inspired other women: Waya Araos-Wijangco, chef and restaurateur behind Gourmet Gypsy by Chef Waya, wrote a Facebook post about her own memories of dining at Cibo, and then said, “What a thrill it was for me when Gaita Fores ate at my Baguio restaurant in our first year. And reading through the menu she said that she liked that it was simple ingredients, presented well. Thank you Gaita, for inspiring women chefs in the Philippines to do better, for paving the way to a global stage, and for exposing me to the world of cooking and allowing me to dream bigger than I could ever imagine. Rest in peace.” In the same vein, content creator Pola del Monte (@misschiefeditor) said in a post, “We just lost a strong female Filipina leader who used her privilege to do good… what a loss this is, because there are only a few female chefs, and a few female leaders, that our girls can look up to.”
Her own restaurant group, Cibo, also penned a tribute. In a Facebook post, it said, “We honor the life and legacy of our founder and guiding light, Chef Margarita Forés. Her warmth, creativity, and unwavering spirit will continue to inspire us all. Thank you for sharing your heart with us, Chef Margarita. You will always be CIBO.”
Ms. Forés, despite a life lived to the fullest, leaves a void for all the work that is yet to be done, and all that she could yet have done.
She is survived by her son Amado, himself in the restaurant business his mother dominated; and her siblings Veana (Victoria), Bledes (Mercedes), Joe (Jose), and Jorge (Oye). — Joseph L. Garcia
