Pioneer Filipina chef Johanne Siy of Lolla restaurant in Singapore’s Ann Siang Road has been named Asia’s Best Female Chef 2023.
The announcement was made on Tuesday (Feb 7), ahead of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants big reveal on Mar 28, which will be held in Singapore.
Voted for by the 300-plus members of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, Siy is the first Singapore-based chef to win the award, which recognises women in gastronomy who continue to push the boundaries of excellence with their skills, techniques and craft.
The 41-year-old Singapore permanent resident was born in Dagupan in the Philippines and joined the culinary world later than most. After eight years in the corporate world, the former Procter & Gamble regional brand manager uprooted her life to enrol at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York.
She went on to hone her skill under chefs Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin and Daniel Boulud’s Cafe Boulud and enjoyed stints at Faviken and Noma in Scandinavia, as well as Andre Chiang’s now-shuttered Restaurant Andre in Singapore.
Siy took the helm at Lolla as head chef in 2020 and evolved its Spanish-focused menu into meticulously crafted dishes inspired by her upbringing in the Philippines and culinary journey across Europe and the United States. Under her leadership, Lolla climbed to 75th place on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2022.