I
t was a Filipino foodie’s dream come true: watching Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, judges Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and Emeril Lagasse with guest judge, famous New York restaurateur Danny Meyer slurping the tangy, tasty sinigang of Chef Sheldon Simeon and declaring it one of the two winners that week.
“It makes you sit up straight, in a good way,” remarked Meyer. Lakshmi praised Sheldon’s plating (in what many netizens consider as a backhanded compliment) and said, “This is traditionally not a pretty dish.” But they all agreed, the sinigang was one of the best two dishes they had that evening.
This paved the way for the show’s much-awaited Restaurant Wars episode, the one where the remaining chefs are divided into two teams to come up with a restaurant concept and open it within 48 hours.
This season in Seattle, they made a twist. They asked the cheftestants to cook one dish that would encapsulate the concept of the restaurant they want to open. The remaining eight competitors scurried away to plan and put their best dishes forward. Out of the eight, the judges would choose the two competing chefs based on their dishes, and the winning concepts would be transformed into working restaurants in just two days.
Hawaii-based chef Sheldon Simeon, a third-generation Filipino-American knew what he wanted. He wanted to honor his heritage. He had a name ready, URBANo, in honor of his grandfather who moved to Hawaii from Ilocos Sur in the Philippines when he was barely 17 years old.
Sheldon took a risk and cooked sinigang, a dish that is not as famous as the quintessential
adobo. “I took the flavors of sinigang and applied techniques I learned in culinary school and through years of being a chef. I made a thin broth, and kept my vegetables crisp and retain their vibrant colors. I had a playful eye on the plate, treating it as a canvas,” he told the
Asian Journal in an interview.
His gamble paid off.
The following week, Filipino dishes were front and center of the episode.
Sheldon’s team prepared five dishes in all -
Kilawin, Balut, Miki noodles, Pork
adobo and
Halo halo. In two days, he was able to teach his two team-mates to cook these dishes, a mean feat in itself.
Despite having fewer members than the other team and despite the terrible service the judges received, Sheldon’s team was chosen as the winner. The judges showered him with compliments.
“The concept was good. You don’t get too much new Filipino restaurant concepts like that. Maybe we are waiting for a chef like you to do that,” Colicchio told him.
“So much intensity and flavor,”
Food and Wine editor Gail Simmons remarked.
Meyer on the pork adobo exclaimed, “I couldn’t stop eating it, I just want to eat more.” Emeril agreed. Colicchio on the other hand preferred the miki noodles and said, “I love the texture of the tapioca pasta, it is the best tasting dish I’ve had tonight.”
And perhaps the best compliment of the evening: “You made your grandfather proud.”
Up Close with Chef Sheldon
In an exclusive interview with the
Asian Journal, Chef Sheldon shared his journey to
Top Chef and his thoughts on where Filipino cuisine is in America and where it is (and should be) going.
A big
Top Chef fan, Sheldon has always wondered what it felt like to be on the show. Last year, he decided to find out. He went through the process and applied. Eventually, he got a call back and he went in for audition and a series of interviews. Weeks later, he got the call. He was in.
“It freaks me out when I see myself on television, for sure. It was an exciting experience,” he said laughing.
A father of three girls - Chloe, 6; Peyton, 3 and Quinn, 17 months (“I don’t have the recipe to make a boy,” he quipped) - Sheldon said the toughest part of being in the show was being away from his family and his daughters.
He was able to speak with the kids occasionally, lessening the impact of missing them.
“When they fall down, you want to be there to pick them up, or when they come home from school, you want to be there too,” he said. “They’re my life. Every single decision that I do is for them, for them to have a brighter future. I will continue to provide for them and let them have a better life.”
The sacrifice of being away from the kids was made slightly less painful by the wins he amassed during the show, from winning with his sinigang dish and taking it all away during Restaurant Wars (where he also won a brand new car).
Asked about winning Restaurant Wars with his URBANo concept, Sheldon paused, and remarked, “It was awesome. It was time for me to honor my grandfather who was an amazing man, pay homage to my culture and put Filipino food out there on national television.”
“I wanted to keep true to myself. Cooking is basically whatever had influenced me through my life. When they asked us to come up with a concept, I knew I’d come up with something very dear to my heart. Why not show my Filipino roots?” he added.
In essence, his efforts in the past have all led to this.
Sheldon grew up around a family that cooks a lot. His parents’ house was a gathering spot and whenever they were together, his dad or his grandfather would be cooking.
He didn’t think he’d develop a particular fondness for cooking.
“Throughout high school, I thought I was going to be an architect. I was into mechanical drawings, higher math classes. But in my senior year, I went to culinary school,” he said. “I enjoyed culinary school a lot, turned it into a passion and I’ve been cooking ever.” since.
Sheldon grew up in a traditionally big Filipino family in Hawaii. His mom has 11 brothers and sisters and his dad has nine siblings. “That’s a lot of cousins, a lot of aunts and uncles, a lot of family parties,” he added.
Currently, if there’s one thing he wants to do, it would have to be ‘go to the Philippines’. For the first time.
“I’ve never gone to the Philippines! I want to do that. That’s a goal of mine. I have tons of relatives there,” he exclaimed.
Sheldon also slightly regrets the fact that he doesn’t speak Filipino.
“Unfortunately, I don’t speak the language. My way of connecting to my roots is through food, that’s why I try to do it with all my heart,” he explained.
And he more than makes up for it.
Sheldon’s knowledge of Filipino cuisine was passed on to him by his grandfather, then his father, and their numerous relatives.
“Filipino cuisine via my parents, aunts and uncles, grandfather. That’s why I want to see where they come from,” he added. “My Dad’s side is from Ilocos Sur and mom’s side is from Ilocos Norte. My dad was born in Hawaii. My grandparents came to Hawaii when they were 17, 18 years old and they were among the first immigrants to work as plantation workers in the state.”
If you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing now?
Sheldon repeated the question, processing it thoroughly and came up with an exasperated answer.
“Shoot, I can’t even answer that,” he said, grappling for words. “This is what I do, I’ve always wanted to be a chef. I don’t know.”
Life After Top Chef
Many Top Chef alumni have found success after their stint in the show. Some of them have even opened their own restaurants, like Dale Talde, whose two restaurants in Brooklyn (Talde and Pork Slope) are both doing good. Last year’s winner, Fil-Am Paul Qui is also planning to open his own place in Austin.
For Sheldon, the opportunity to be a part of the show’s tenth season has given him new opportunities.
“The show has brought a lot of exposure so far and it is bringing some opportunities right now. I want to make the best decision for my family, I have three girls. Maybe I can open my own place in the future with my name on it,” he said. “I want to continue with Star Noodle for a while because I see a lot of potential there and I want for them to have a great opportunity as well.”
Asked about what it would take for URBANo to become a reality, Sheldon paused a bit and laughed, “An investor? If a great opportunity comes along and we get the right spot and the timing is correct for myself and my career, I can definitely see URBANo becoming a reality.”
For now, Chef Sheldon is enjoying juggling his time with his wife and three daughters in Hawaii and his work as executive chef at Star Noodle, undoubtedly the top two things in this world he is deeply passionate about: food and family.
