Nicole Ponseca
Described by the New York Times as an “empire in the making”, Nicole Ponseca is an accomplished Filipina, woman and entrepreneur. She is widely regarded as the vanguard of Filipino cuisine, having launched her successful restaurants, Maharlika and Jeepney, in New York City – thereby ushering the dawn of modern Filipino Food in America.
With her James Beard-nominated cookbook, Nicole is also a well-respected author with her book well into its third printing and identified as a Cookbook of the Year by the New Yorker, Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times topping the long list of publications that regarded her book as a triumph in culinary education and cultural history. She has dedicated close to 20 years exploring the 7,100+ Philippine islands looking for ancestral recipes, tools and clues to a culture that had little documentation. The result is a seminal work in Filipino history and the culinary world.
As an inaugural speaker for the New York Times’ first Food Festival, she was described as one of the highly respected hospitality professionals in New York City. Her interests extend beyond food and intersect the arts from music, film and socio-political including her allyship with Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ and her advocacy of diversity and equality. Currently, she splits her time between Manhattan and Miami, as she pivots her business and personal life post-COVID. Her journey has opened her up as a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) speaker, food journalist, and experienced restaurateur.
