About Me
Yana Gilbuena, a Philippine-born, critically acclaimed ancestrally-taught chef, started SALO Series as a way to educate folks about the history, culture and rich heritage embedded in Filipino cuisine. Her work centers on the decolonization/redigenization through food. Her pop-up, the Salo Series, seeks to celebrate the beautiful pre-colonial tradition of eating with one's hands, called Kamayan, and disrupt the western constructs of dining.
Her pioneering odyssey of bringing Filipino cuisine and Kamayan to all 50 states in 50 weeks back in 2014, influenced the trajectory of the popularity and awareness of the Filipino Food Movement and inspired her to take this concept globally by extending her tour to Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and her home country, the Philippines.
She is a 2017 Stone Barns Exchange Fellow, a 2021 Real Food Real Stories Facilitator Fellow, a 2021 Mae Writing Fellow and has also been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, SF Chronicle, National Geographic and more. She's been published in The Cherry Bombe Cookbook, Feed the Resistance and has self-published her own: No Forks Given in March 2019. This global Filipinx food evangelist aims to further her mission and host a Salo on every continent (and resume this quest once we've all been vaccinated for COVID 19). You can follow her adventures @saloseries.