ROUSES_JulyAug2019_Magazine

The Traveling Chef by David W. Brown photo by Romney Caruso

His first three days in Manila were eye-opening. “Brother,” he says, “in 24 square miles of Manila there are 1,600,000 residents — it’s the highest population density in the world. For every square mile, there were 55,000 people! There’s traffic, congestion, confusion — and I loved it ! Brother, there were open markets with fruits and vegetables I had never seen in my life. Fish I had never seen that looked prehistoric, with big ol’ teeth and shiny like mirrors!” From a culinary point of view, he says, “it was like being in Willy Wonka’s world. It was amazing.” For travelers who want to see the world and understand its cuisine, Chef Nino says you must never eat at tourist restau- rants and always try the local street food. The Philippines was

Brother, I went to six countries last year,” says Chef Nino Thibodaux, a chef for Rouses Markets, known for his week- ly cooking classes held at stores across the Gulf Coast. “I travel the world to see what they’re doing, what they’re cooking, why they’re healthy, and why we are not.” He spent 10 days over Christmas in the Philippines, and used that time to learn everything he could about what makes their cooking great.

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JULY•AUGUST 2019