Sargent Dining Commons filled with the aroma of pork belly adobo during Chef Lawrence Letrero’s visit to Northwestern Tuesday as a part of NU Dining’s “Celebrity Chef Series.”
Letrero prepared a dish from his restaurant, Bayan Ko, consisting of pork belly adobo along with garlic rice and atchara, a green papaya salad.
Letrero co-owns the Filipino-Cuban Michelin-recognized restaurant with his wife, which offers a six-course menu and is located in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. Bayan Ko only takes reservations, but its sister restaurant, Bayan Ko Diner, offers more casual brunch, dinner, catering and private event options.
The Daily spoke with Letrero about his restaurant and cooking background.
This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
The Daily: Why did you choose to open a restaurant in Chicago? Was it something you always wanted to do?
Letrero: I decided to open a restaurant in Chicago because this is where I got all of my formal training. I’m originally from Windsor, Ontario, Canada. I came to Chicago to go to culinary school. I worked at all these great restaurants in Chicago, and when I settled down, this was home. So this is where I definitely wanted to open my first restaurant.
The Daily: Your restaurant is inspired by Filipino and Cuban cuisines. Why did you choose to highlight those cuisines?
Letrero: Because I’m Filipino and my partner, Raquel, is Cuban. When you open a restaurant, you truly want to love the food that you do, and you want it to truly be yourself on a plate. Culturally, when you walk in, we really want you to feel like you’re eating at our home. That’s what hospitality is to us. It’s really just doing the food that we love. So it was a natural thing for us to do Filipino and Cuban.
The Daily: What is your background with cooking? What first got you interested in cooking?
Letrero: I always loved food. I cooked a lot with my family, specifically Filipino food. At first, I didn’t know I wanted to do it as a career. I’m a career changer, so I was first doing sales, and then when I was 26 or 27, I decided that my real passion was food. But I never ever worked at a restaurant.
My first time I ever really started cooking was when I went to culinary school. I went to Kendall College, and after I graduated, I just worked at all these restaurants in Chicago. I was just getting myself acclimated to being a chef. Then, when I felt ready, eight or nine years ago, I felt like I was ready to open a restaurant. So that’s what I did.
The Daily: Why did you want to come to NU today?
Letrero: Schools are great to me. I have two degrees myself, and so if I can talk to students and give feedback and be a part of something scholastically, I think it’s very cool.
The Daily: What did you serve today?
Letrero: We did our adobo pork belly, which is actually on our menu at Bayan Ko. It comes with some garlic rice, which is very traditional. We love rice. Filipinos love rice. And then it comes with atchara, which is like a green papaya salad, to cut through all the beautiful porkiness.
The Daily: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Letrero: It’s just a pleasure to be here, and I wish all the students here the best of luck in the future. I was there not too long ago. Work hard, and listen to your parents.
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— New Hillel Chef brings kosher food and cooking classes to NU
— Students learn healthy eating habits through cooking demonstration