Fores is one of the country’s most famous chefs and her mother was also widely respected – Araneta was considered a style icon in the Philippines and influenced Fores deeply in fashion as well as food.

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“She was into fashion and I saw how she dressed, wore proper shoes, and she loved the colour white. What I wear today is very much influenced by her. Even in my work, my restaurant design and how I dress, I learned from her,” she says, wearing a crisp white blouse.

Fores didn’t know it at the time, but her mother’s introduction to gastronomy drew her towards the culinary arts.

“My first trip to Europe was when I was 11 years old and we went to Rome and threw coins in the Trevi Fountain, making wishes that we would come back, and they came true,” Fores says.

“Mum loved the best things in life and she learned it from my grandfather [sugar tycoon Amando Araneta], who took her to New York and Italy at the age of 14,” she says.

The trip made a very strong impression on Fores’ mother, who tried caviar from a 1kg (2.2lb) can and bought French lace and perfumes. Decades later, Araneta did the same with her children.

“She shared her taste in beautiful things with us. She took us to Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, London and Geneva,” Fores says. “It was life-changing for my brother, sister and I.”

Fores remembers wandering the street markets in Paris and having her first taste of caviar at the famed Cafe de Flore. She sipped her first glass of champagne on Via Condotti in Rome.

After Fores graduated from high school in 1976, her mother again took her on a memorable trip back to Europe and New York; it was in the latter that she started to develop an interest in cooking for people, she says.

Araneta didn’t cook, but fostered Fores’ appreciation of luxurious ingredients. “In Italy it’s more about home cooking and the best produce. It helped me understand the purity of things,” she says.

“It stuck with me when I came back to the Philippines and discovered the best ingredients here. It’s not foie gras and caviar, but salted pork, coconuts, mangoes, vinegars.”

2. Thitid Tassanakajohn (Bangkok)

“That’s why we started the restaurant during Covid, because we wanted to keep her in our memories, in our minds and hearts, my brothers and me,” Thitid says.

Unlike Le Du, which serves modern Thai cuisine, Thitid says Nusara serves traditional-style fine-dining featuring recipes inspired by his grandmother.

That’s because she played an integral role in his and his siblings’ upbringing. When he was five years old, his father died in a car accident, leaving his mother to raise three boys on her own. Their grandmother stepped in to look after the children, cooking breakfast for them before they went to school, and dinner.

“My grandmother was a tailor who made clothes, and she herself had seven children to look after. When my father died, my brothers and I became very close with her,” Thitid says.

“When she cooked in the kitchen, I saw her create something and in the end I found this was what I wanted to do.”

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His grandmother’s food gave him the feeling of comfort, simplicity and soul, fulfilling the stomach and heart.

“I still miss her food. I have her recipes, like five-spice egg and pork belly, and I try to cook them, but it’s not the same taste.”

Thitid even has an area in Nusara dedicated to his grandmother, where he has placed her sewing machine. He remembers her being strict in making sure he and his siblings did their homework, but she was also kind and reasonable.

“She always told us to love our family and brothers because family is most important, whatever the future brings,” he says.

3. ArChan Chan (Hong Kong)

Shin used to live in Sham Shui Po, where Chan’s family worked in the textile industry, and it was she who single-handedly prepared lunches and dinners for everyone.

Dishes included lo sui chicken wings, steamed pork patties, stir-fried vegetables, steamed chicken with mushrooms and dried lily flowers, and simmering soups that changed according to the season to nourish the body.

“I was away from home for 14 years and so I seldom made soup for myself because you need to buy all the ingredients that make soup for 10 people. So when I came back home, my grandma would always make soup for me and we’d have a bowl before and after dinner,” Chan says.

Just like in her home, customers at Ho Lee Fook can have the daily welcome soup that has been simmering for hours.

When she grew up, Chan barely set foot in her grandmother’s kitchen, as she would shoo the children out; only her mother and auntie would help prepare ingredients and wash dishes after.

“My dad didn’t even know how to crack an egg when he was 60 years old,” Chan says of how her grandma spoiled her children. “That’s how much she provided for her kids.”

Chan describes her grandmother as very short, and her kitchen was adjusted to her diminutive height. When Chan became a professional chef and came back to cook in her grandmother’s kitchen, she had to stand with her legs far apart to avoid bending over too much.

She also has fond memories of the family taking a trip in 2018 to Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania and New Zealand. Her extended family joined the trip, as did her grandma – who used a wheelchair. At one point, Chan had fun switching roles – sitting in the wheelchair while her grandma pushed her.

It’s these fond memories together with good food that Chan, the eldest grandchild, is keen to replicate in her own home.

“When I moved back to Hong Kong I wanted to find a flat that was big enough to hold 15 people,” she says, as she wanted to provide food for everyone like her grandmother did.

She aims to achieve the same familial feeling at Ho Lee Fook, cooking updated homestyle dishes for local diners.

“I have heard guests say they want to bring their parents next time and some people have even brought grandmas,” Chan says. “To me, that’s so rewarding.”