As part of our Women’s Month series highlighting impactful women in sustainability, Chit Juan sits down with Pastry Chef Gel Salonga-Datu of Ted’s Hospitality Group and the Slow Food Community Laguna. Chef Gel shares how reviving heirloom recipes, supporting local farmers and artisans, and organizing the Sa Pantalan Food and Heritage Festival helped build a thriving community around Laguna’s food culture. Her journey from finance professional to pastry chef and community organizer shows how collaboration, patience, and trust can strengthen local food systems and create new opportunities for producers while preserving culinary heritage.

GUEST BIO:

Chef Gel Salonga-Datu is a pastry chef and restaurateur from Santa Cruz, Laguna, and the founder of Ted’s Hospitality Group, which includes Ted’s Kitchen, Aurora Filipino Cuisine, Ted’s Bed and Breakfast, and Ted’s Warehouse Events Space. A former financial trader turned baker, she has earned recognition for desserts that celebrate local ingredients, including her Santa Cruz Bibingka Cheesecake, which won the People’s Choice Award at the Ultimate Taste Test Pro Edition. Several of her creations have also been named among the country’s best desserts by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Through her work and advocacy, Chef Gel promotes Laguna’s seasonal produce and culinary heritage, including through the food and heritage festival Sa Pantalan Biyaheng Pangkatagalugan and her involvement in Slow Food Community Laguna.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

• From finance to pastry and returning home to Laguna
• Reviving heirloom dishes through Aurora Filipino Cuisine
• How the Sa Pantalan Food and Heritage Festival began
• Discovering and supporting Laguna’s artisans, farmers, and home cooks
• Using local and seasonal ingredients such as lipote and sampinit
• Building Slow Food Community Laguna through relationships and trust

QUOTES:

• I like being unique. —Gel Salonga-Datu
• They [the artisans] saw an opportunity for their products, that they can sell it at a higher value because of the festival. —Gel Salonga-Datu
• We are promoting our town as a food and gastronomy destination. —Gel Salonga-Datu
• We are like brothers and sisters. We treat each other as family. —Gel Salonga-Datu
• We try to know each other's products. We don't compete with each other. We promote each other's products. —Gel Salonga-Datu

LINKS or RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Connect with Gel Salonga-Datu

• Ted's Laguna on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tedslaguna/
• Gel Salonga-Datu on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/baker_gel_salonga/
• Slow Food Community Laguna - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573981354398
• Sa Pantalan Laguna Food and Heritage Festival - https://www.facebook.com/p/Sa-Pantalan-Laguna-Food-and-Heritage-Festival-61565711154294/

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