BUDGIE MONTOYA’S FILIPINO PORK

“The chef side of me is missing the buzz of service and that sense of purpose”

Ferdinand ‘Budgie’ Montoya worked in IT prior to 2012 when, new in London, he decided to throw himself into his love of cooking. ‘I’m Filipino but I grew up in Sydney. I live in London. I’m a citizen of the world.’ In January, as a veteran of professional kitchens including). These days, when not filming cooking videos for his Insta followers, he is thinking about how that ‘tiny, 22-seat’ space in Brixton Village will need reorganising to comply with social-distancing rules. His passion, however, is cooking interpretations of Filipino classics, such as barbecued pork skewers, cassava tart and stuffed pork belly, influenced by his exposure to different cultures over the years as well as nostalgia for his early upbringing. ‘The chef side of me is missing the buzz of service and that sense of purpose.