Celebrities, press, influencers, and fans celebrate the historic premiere of Netflix’s inaugural Filipino series

Photo credit: Netflix

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – November 23, 2023 – Netflix Philippines proudly unveiled REPLACING CHEF CHICO, the very first Filipino Netflix Original series, during a dynamic day of promotions held at Shangri-La Makati and Glorietta 4. Lead stars Piolo Pascual, Alessandra de Rossi, Sam Milby, director Dan Villegas and showrunner Antoinette Jadaone took center stage to celebrate this momentous occasion with press, influencers, and fans.

Speaking to a group of press and influencers at Shangri-La Makati’s Rizal Ballroom, Piolo gave attendees a glimpse of what to expect in REPLACING CHEF CHICO: “I’m proud to be a part of this. What’s nice about the series is contagious siya. You get to really feel our culture, our dishes. And working with these actors and the brains behind it, masarap ‘yong experience. So I hope it will resonate with the audience as well when they watch it.”

Photo credit: Netflix

Antoinette explained how they placed Filipino cuisine in the spotlight in the series: “I think ‘yong Filipino food, lalo siyang sumasarap kasi kinakain natin siya with the people we love. At ‘yon ‘yung lalabas in every episode of REPLACING CHEF CHICO. Yes, we feature Filipino cuisine – laing, adobo, kare-kare – pero in every episode, mayroong story na kasama ka sa hapag kainan. Hindi ka lang audience, kasama ka sa hapag kainan ng guests doon sa restaurant na Hain.”

Additionally, Dan expressed that Filipino food is world-class. “Pwede nating ipag-mayabang, pwede nating ipagmalaki ang Filipino cuisine. It’s high time na ma-recognize siya hindi lang sa ating bansa, pati sa labas.”

Stars like Maja Salvador, Catriona Gray, Empoy Marquez, Kakai Baustista, Arci Muñoz, and Liza Soberano graced the red carpet and fan event at Glorietta Activity Center in their elevated modern terno and barong ensembles. The evening was also a journey curated for fans, with a lucky few partaking in a fan activity called Drama in a Pot that got them up close and personal with the lead stars.

Nearly 800 people bore witness to this landmark event. The talents, showrunners, and red carpet celebrities received resounding applause from both guests and onlookers, taking moments on the red carpet to interact with their enthusiastic fans.

The event culminated in an exclusive screening of the show’s first two episodes at Glorietta Cinemas 6 and 7, where the talents and showrunners gave their final messages to the excited audience.

REPLACING CHEF CHICO premiered today, November 24, available worldwide. Only on Netflix.

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About REPLACING CHEF CHICO

When a head chef falls into a coma, it’s up to his devoted sous-chef to keep their Filipino fine dining restaurant from closing down.

De Rossi stars in this series with Milby–who plays titular character chef Chico–and reunites with Pascual, following their highly-successful 2021 Netflix film My Amanda. REPLACING CHEF CHICO is directed by Dan Villegas, written by Antoinette Jadaone, and produced for Netflix in association with CS Studios and Project 8 Projects.