The pressure of the kitchen can already be quite daunting. What more when you are competing and being filmed at the same time?
For the four award-winning chefs representing Team Philippines in Season 2 of Iron Chef Thailand vs Asia, that wasn’t just a hypothetical scenario.
Filmed behind closed doors in Bangkok, the high-stakes, 10-episode culinary battle pits Team Thailand’s resident Iron Chefs against challenger teams from South Korea, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. We’re already half way through the competition and Team Philippines is already proving that Filipino chefs and cuisine as a whole can stand side by side with the best in the world.
How Four Filipino Chefs Came Together to Represent the Philippines
Chefs Mia Carla Yan, Arvi-Cristopher Agra, Sonny Jayson Mariano, and Maverick Javier were all members of the LTB Philippines Chefs Association, hand-picked to compete by its director, Chef James Antolin.
Whether serving as executive chefs, vice presidents, consultants, competitors, coaches, or advisers, every one of these four chefs have their own extensive credentials in the restaurant industry and the cooking competing sphere both locally and internationally. But their true strength lies not just in where they come from individually, but in how they unite as a single unit.
They aren’t strangers to one another. Chefs AC and Mav represented the Philippines at the 2024 Worldchefs Global Chefs Challenge Finals in different categories, while chefs Mia and Sonny were part of the Philippine delegation that competed and won in Singapore back in 2016. But representing the country as a collective rather than an individual was going to take more than just knowing each other. For the four chefs, preparing for the competition meant spending time together inside and outside of the kitchen. It took eating out for meals, working out, studying the first season of the show, and of course, meeting up in between their respective commitments to practice, brainstorm, and strategize.
How Did The Chefs Prepare For The Competition?
Coming into this competition, the Filipino chefs were to rely on their hard-earned grit and tenacity to handle the high-pressure environment of a live kitchen. But despite their veteran status, they remained grounded and refused to take anything for granted.
They already knew the journey ahead of them was going to be a physically and mentally demanding one. Before they even started cooking, one major adjustment was the reduction of the individual battle time from 60 minutes in Season 1 to just 45 minutes. “We had to think quickly, adapt, and make every minute count. Ultimately, our priority was to serve food that tasted good, with well-balanced flavors and properly cooked components.”
Having little to no time to discuss who does what, their group communication and trust became key. “For the individual battles, once the secret ingredient was revealed, we agreed that whoever felt most confident working with it would take on the challenge,” they shared. Even during the team battles, relying on each others’ skills and judgment felt like “a [true] test of both [their] culinary abilities and our ability to work as a team under pressure.”
Team Philippines’ Season 2 Highlights (So Far)
As of writing this article, there have been five episodes out, and I could name at least one highlight per episode.
On the very first episode, Team Philippines secured the top spot right from the get-go thanks to Chef Sonny’s Ube & Mango Passion Fruit Champorado. “[Winning with that dish] was a proud moment to showcase Filipino-inspired flavors. It was the perfect way to start the competition strong while representing Filipino food on this big stage,” he shared.
In the second episode, the Filipino chefs had to make an offal dish meant to sway 50 Westerners and their palates. Their chicken heart and pork liver inasal served with rice, mango, tomato, onion salsa, pickled chili, a classic Filipino barbecue sauce, and a coconut and peanut sauce won over 33 of them.
Another culinary highlight was watching the chefs making classic Filipino dishes using insects, which was a personal favorite moment of Chef AC. The Crispy Crickets in Adobo Sauce, Silkworm Pupae Sisig, and Kare-Kare na Tipaklong were some of the more striking dishes that still felt undoubtedly Filipino in spite of the use of foreign ingredients.
It was only by the third episode that I realized that not only was Chef Mia the only woman on her team, but in the entire season. One of her personal goals coming into the show was “to show that women belong in the kitchen and in culinary competitions… [that cooking] has no gender.” Watching her make Bread Pudding with Five Chilies and winning that One-on-One Battle for her team felt like she was doing just that.
The fifth episode ends on a high note with Team Philippines being in second place, only four points behind Team South Korea.
Cooking In The Cage
There’s a lot to be excited for with the last five episodes of the competition.
Even the chefs are hinting at what viewers can look forward to in future battles. Chef Mav’s favorite dish, in fact, comes from an episode yet to air. It came from a particularly stressful battle, having been given a surprise challenge at the 15-minute mark. He explained, “I grew up eating it, so I drew inspiration from a dish that holds personal significance for me. That challenge was particularly memorable because of how difficult it was. I actually cried afterward!”
They even alluded to what we can expect from the final showdown of which all four chefs will be cooking alongside each other. “Without even discussing it, we naturally shifted to a more collaborative approach. We worked together on every component rather than sticking to individual assignments. Surprisingly, it worked even better than our practice sessions. It showed us just how much we had grown as a team. We were stronger together.”
One does not simply subject themselves to something difficult if they didn’t have a good reason to. A shared goal amongst Team Philippines was to simply win. “We’ve seen so many Filipinos make their mark internationally this year across sports, music, film, and other fields. I wanted to contribute to that momentum.”
But above all, the team’s overarching mission was clear: to showcase the vast depth of Philippine cuisine. “Representing the Philippines meant more than just performing well in the kitchen,” the team explained. “We wanted to show that Filipino cuisine goes beyond the dishes people are already familiar with. Ultimately, we wanted people watching to see not just what Filipino chefs can do, but also what Filipino cuisine has to offer.”
If you’re invested in seeing how Team Philippines will fare in the latter half of the competition, then you know exactly what you’ll be doing on your Saturday evenings until the 12th of December.
Frequently Asked Questions
Viewers can expect Thai Iron Chefs cooking against challenger teams from South Korea, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
New episodes air every Saturday on Netflix.
The team consists of Chef Mia Carla Yan, Chef Arvi-Cristopher Agra, Chef Sonny Jayson Mariano, and Chef Maverick Javier. They were chosen by Chef James Antolin, the LTB Philippines Chefs Association’s Director for Competitions.
Beyond their individual restaurant and international competition backgrounds, they built team synergy by eating out together, working out, studying Season 1 of the show, and holding hands-on practice, brainstorming, and strategy sessions.
Chef Sonny made an Ube & Mango Passion Fruit Champorado, which landed them the first win of the season.
During the team battle in the fourth episode, the chefs made Filipino classics using insects, resulting in Crispy Crickets in Adobo Sauce, Silkworm Pupae Sisig, and Kare-Kare na Tipaklong
Chef Mia’s Bread Pudding with Five Chilies earned Team Philippines another win during the fifth episode.
Other dishes include Chef AC’s Beef Hanger Steak Pares, Chef Maverick’s trio of bite-size seafood dishes, and the team’s chicken heart and pork liver inasal.
Team Philippines sits in a strong second place on the leaderboard, just four points behind Team South Korea.
The season finale is set to air on December 12, 2026.
