Growing up, Martinez acquired his love of cooking from his father, who was head chef at his family owned restaurant in the Philippines. Certain dishes in the Philippines, like spaghetti, Martinez said, have different preparation methods depending on how people would like it made.
”Cooking is one of my passions. I know, growing up, because I tried to learn my dad’s…I never [could] copy his spaghetti. He used sardines. We call it stupid fish, because it’s crap in a can, right,” Martinez said. “And I don’t know how he did that. Then I tried to copy it, and it tastes like sardines. But when he cooked it… it’s different. I cook different, too. In the Philippines, our spaghetti is kind of sweet. It depends [on] who cooks it. Me, I put milk [in it].”
One of the items that Martinez said he makes is lumpia, a type of fried egg roll. Cooking for a large number of people, making about 200 to 500 pieces for everyone can take a lot of time, so Martinez will recruit family and friends to help roll and fill lumpia wrappers to get ready to fry them.
”I have a friend or my niece or my nephew, whatever, I’m going to [have them help] cook [with] me, and then I’m going to start wrapping,” Martinez said. “I can do that easily if somebody is going to help me. Of course, it takes a lot of time doing it myself, because I’m going to cook it, prepare it, everything, and … Well, it’s fun, because I like it.”
For Martinez, he said sharing food is like sharing happiness. Introducing people to Filipino cooking is something he and his family encourage everyone to do when they visit his home.
“As long as you enter the house, we offer you our food,” Martinez said. “Of course, we ask you first, ‘Have you tried this one? You want to try this one?’”
A public servant and councilman back in the Philippines, Martinez said his time spent working for the public had helped to inform his cooking and his aptitude for human connection. Learning about different cultures and sharing different dishes, Martinez said, helps to build connections with people and is a way to communicate through food.
“When you see people eating your food, and they’re happy, the feeling is… like, overjoyed … you know?” Martinez said. “That’s so awesome. When you feel happy inside, when you see them eating your food.”
