Margarita Forés

Margarita Araneta Forés(March 23, 1959 – February 11, 2025) was a Filipino chef andrestaurateur. In 2016, she was named Asia's Best Female Chef onthe World's 50 Best Restaurants. Forés initially worked in catering before launching the chain Cibo, as well as several individual restaurants.
Born on March 23, 1959, to Raul Forés and María Lourdes Araneta, Margarita Forés was a granddaughter of the tycoonJ. Amado Araneta, owner and developer of theAraneta Centerin Cubao, Quezon City, and eminent surgeon Dr. Jose Y. Fores, one of the founders of theMakati Medical Center.She grew up inManilauntil she was a freshman attendingAssumption College San Lorenzo, when the family moved toNew York City.The culture in her new city would eventually serve as inspiration for her culinary career, with Sunday visits to the same midtown American-Italian restaurant led to her interest in learning about the Italian food that was not so well known outside of the local areas in the country.
Once in America, she attended theMarymount School of New Yorkon the Upper East Side of the city. She attendedMount Holyoke Collegefor two years, by which time she had a Filipino boyfriend and asked her mother to return to her home country. Upon her return, she resumed her education until graduation in 1981 at Assumption College San Lorenzo. By this time, the romantic relationship ended. With a degree in accountancy, she moved to Hong Kong and worked as a trainee for Axona Holdings. While there, she began to experiment with cooking. When the company downsized during the 1980s as the market shrank while preparations were underway for the British colony to betransferred to China, she moved back to New York.
Reunited with her family, her mother got her a job working for fur licensee Valentino's, and eventually moved onto their head office. While she was away, her mother had become heavily involved in the New York party scene, with Forés later recalling the time she was introduced to people such asSalvador Dalí,John F. Kennedy Jr.,Franco RosselliniandMargaux Hemingway. She once again began to cook for herself, family and friends, describing it as aMartha Stewartinfluenced approach. Following the death of her grandfather J. Amado Araneta in November 1985, the family returned to Manila. She began to crave a change, describing it as "They say when there are major changes in a family, when something happens to key members, it's an opportunity for other members of the family to also make changes in their lives, it was a pivotal point. I was beginning to see that I was becoming more passionate about food than the fashion. It didn’t really get me in the gut as much as the food."
In 1986, Forés went to Italy for four months to undertake intensive training both inItalian cuisineas well as the language. She has had no formal training in culinary skills.Forés studied under three chefs in Italy, Masha Innoscenti inFlorence, Jo Bettoja inRome, and Ada Parasiliti inMilan. Having made friends in Italy, she learned additional techniques from watching people in their homes create food such aspesto, saying, "It was really like an immersion, learning it from an Italian family and an Italian mother. How much better can your education in Italian food and culture get?"The trip to Italy also helped her to overcomebulimia, something she had been affected by since returning to New York.
She initially began as a caterer, having created the company Cibo Di M,cooking directly in people's homes with twosous chefsto help her.She ran a food festival in the restaurant at theHyatt RegencyManila which was a success, although she was stigmatised because of her privileged upbringing.
In 1997, she opened her first Cibo restaurant inGlorietta,Makati,which she specifically targeted at serving traditional Italian food but with good value for money.Her mother provided the seed money for the venture.She saw her main competitors at the time as being theAmerican cuisinechainsTGI Friday'sandHard Rock Cafe, but criticized that these were not Filipino-owned operations.
In addition to the Cibo chain, she controlled the restaurants Lusso, Grace Park and Alta. They each serve Italian cuisine but in different ways, with Lusso refining Italiancomfort food, while Grace Park includes some of her twists on childhood favourites, including a savouryEton messwithpancetta,bacon, andtruffle oilserved alongside themeringuecomponents.This restaurant was opened after she recovered from cancer, and so it inspired her to work predominantly with organic ingredients, which was not common in the Philippines at the time.The menu also includes some elements ofFilipino cuisine.Alta is her most recent restaurant, located within the Ascott Hotel atBonifacio Global CityinTaguig.In May 2024, Forés's Grace Park Dining landed 12th place onOpinionated About Dining's "Top Casual Restaurants in Asia" list.That same month, Forés and her son Amado were joined by Japanese celebrity chef Hiroyuki Tamura in creating "Batchoy Ramen", afusion cuisineofIlonggobatchoyandramen.
In 2016, she appeared on an episode ofInspired With Anna Olson, with Canadian chefAnna Olson.That same year, she also appeared onCNN's television seriesCulinary Journeys.
Forés survived cancer twice, includingthyroid canceraround 2006. She had a son, Jorge Amado (the namesake of her grandfather), who owns the Italian restauranta manoand the Japanese restaurant Ramen Ron.
Forés was found dead on February 11, 2025, inside her room atthe Upper Househotel inAdmiralty,Hong Kong. She had been returning to Manila from a trip toMoroccoandMadrid, with a stopover in Hong Kong.Forés's family stated that her cause of death wascardiac arrest.
Forés was named Asia's Best Female Chef as part of the 2016 Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list, part ofThe World's 50 Best Restaurants.Forés admitted surprise at winning the award,comparing it toMiss Universe,and credited the victory to her work in promoting Filipino products both within the Philippines and abroad.She promotedJob's tears, agluten-free grain grown in areas of the Philippines where rice does not grow successfully.
In 2018, Forés was awarded theOrder of the Star of Italywith the rank of Knight.