AARON ISIP
THE CHEF AT KÁSA PALMA

My greatest culinary influences are French and Filipino cuisines. I grew up in the Philippines and spent many years as a young professional in Paris. Cooking there taught me how to respect the seasons and work with only the very best locally available produce that I can find.

The Yucatan Peninsula is another place that I discovered as a young adult, and it is one that I hold dear to my heart because of its aesthetic, vibe, spirituality, music, and its rich Mayan history. I have come to greatly appreciate and respect Mexican food and culture.

I also love the sea, and if I could be anywhere I would rather be in the islands, cooking the freshest catch I can find.

My style, or my Cuisine d’Auteur, is rooted in French technique, with Filipino, Latin, and Southeast Asian flavor influences. Cuisine d’Auteur, or Author’s Cuisine, is a type of original cooking that acknowledges a myriad of different influences that have touched or impacted a chef’s culinary life through their own experiences. It is a collective mélange of flavors, techniques, and even ingredients that have left a mark in the chef’s memory, and is therefore what is responsible for creating their very own original style of cooking.