Mary Joy Colmenar

An investigation through Filipino food & cooking

Cusina is a research-led publication exploring Filipino culture through food, cooking and the stories held within everyday culinary practices. Using recipes as a starting point, the project looks beyond ingredients and instructions to consider how food carries history, memory, identity and cultural knowledge across generations and borders. It brings together research into Filipino ingredients, flavour profiles, traditional dishes and cooking methods, alongside reflections developed through the process of preparing and documenting food. The publication treats the kitchen as a space for learning, exchange and connection, where personal experiences can sit alongside wider cultural histories. Through an editorial approach combining written research, visual documentation and considered information design, Cusina aims to make Filipino food knowledge accessible, engaging and meaningful. Rather than presenting cuisine as a fixed collection of dishes, the project considers it as a living expression of culture, shaped by place, adaptation, family and the ongoing experience of the Filipino diaspora.