The Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post recently talked about Margarita Forés as she has just been awarded Asia's best female chef for 2016 in the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants food awards for "her dedication, culinary skills and pioneering efforts".

Known as the "Philippine champion of Italian cuisine", Mrs Forés is known for her passion for Italian food, which she discovered in 1986 while travelling through Florence, Milan and Rome.

She opened her first Italian restaurant, Cibo, in 1997, which is now a chain of 18 outlets in Manila. She is also the owner of "Lusso, a luxe champagne and gastro bar, Grace Park, an Italian restaurant that specialises in farm-to-table cuisine, and Alta, a modern fusion cuisine restaurant". Finally, as the South China Morning Post reminded, "in 2013, Forés partnered with Casa Artusi, a historic culinary institution in Forlimpopoli, northern Italy, to open Casa Artusi Philippines. The school, the institution's first and only offshore campus, teaches students traditional home-style Italian cooking techniques".

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