From beauty editor to Filipina chef shaking up Paris’ culinary scene, Paredes proves that life can be as crazy fun as you make it.
It was the early aughts. A twenty-something Erica Paredes, dressed in a long denim skirt, braids, and a bonnet, walked into the offices of a soon-to-be launched magazine to start a new job as beauty editor. Not to be fooled by her penchant for hiphop, this girl was in deep when it came to makeup, skincare, and all kinds of kikay things. And eager to share it all with her readers.
Ever the restless one, she knew even then that this was but one of the many passions she would pursue in life. There were greater things waiting for her out there. Fast forward to 2024, and the evolution of Erica Paredes continues. This time around, she has found her center in a world so far away, literally and figuratively, from where it all began.
After working a bevy of magazine jobs, studying in London to be a makeup artist, doing marketing for Calyxta.com, and a few hosting gigs, it was time for something new. Paredes packed her bags and flew to Paris to begin culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu. That was nine years ago.
After a series of private dinners, pop-ups, and guest chef stints, Paredes opened Reyna two and a half years ago. “I remember saying to my friends, “One day, I’m going to open a restaurant that’s going to make the French people say ‘What the hell is this?’ but in a good way,” she explains. “Reyna opened when it was supposed to.” She hasn’t looked back since.
Paris x Manila
Chatting with Paredes a couple of days before flying to Manila for her 10-day Paris x Manila pop-up, which opened July 25, she was halfway through a busy afternoon. Between packing, planning her schedule, and gathering specialty ingredients, she had a full plate, pun intended.
She was flying in early to begin sourcing produce, natural wines, and everything else she would need for her yet to be determined menu. “I’m not doing any of my Reyna recipes, but the feel will be there. I want to do more of what you would find in Paris, but using all local and in season ingredients, if I can,” Paredes explains. “For those asking for the exact menu, just trust me. It will be good.” She did note that when it comes to cream and butter, she’ll just have to keep it French.
Paredes’ journey to Paris and becoming a chef was a conscious and deliberate one. And a giant leap of faith. If moving to another continent she had never lived in on her own wasn’t daunting enough, there was also the idea of switching careers at 35.
“Everything was so different, including figuring out French taxes and how to open a bank account. I had to do life on my own,” she adds. “It was exciting to see things unfold and happen according to or beyond what I had planned.” Food would be the medium by which Paredes would tell her story to the world.
Right now, Paredes says she is “having the time of my life ” as she fully explores the possibilities that Reyna holds. “When I started out, I was doing French food because that’s what I thought people wanted. It was when I injected Filipino and Southeast Asian flavors into my food that I found my identity as a chef,” says Paredes.
One example of this is her Hainan Burrata, which is “like eating chicken rice, but without the chicken, and it’s on a burrata.” It drew some raised eyebrows, but soon became a mainstay on her menu due to its popularity. She even put a spin on the classic Steak au Poivre by adding calamansi into the sauce. “It’s these little tweaks that totally change the flavor profile. It’s familiar to Filipinos, but to the foreigners and the French, it’s really surprising,” says Paredes. This is representative of her style as a chef—food you can eat everyday where it “has the look of a fancy dish, but evokes feelings of comfort and nostalgia.”
Reyna is also riding the wave of Paris restaurants that focus on serving good food using the highest quality local ingredients sans all the fussiness equated with French cuisine. “We have the same suppliers as the one Michelin star restaurants but we can be a bit more casual. I don’t even wear a chef’s coat when I work,” she points out. There is one thing that Paredes is adamant about her food though – “it’s either you love it or you hate it. If you have an opinion on it, then I’m doing something creative and fun. I’m being myself. Not everyone is going to like it, and that’s okay.”
Filipino flavors on Parisian tables
Paredes’ commitment to bringing Filipino flavors to the Parisian table has gotten her and Reyna noticed all across the globe. Her twice-fried chicken, livened up with a patis caramel, adobo, or a spicy habanero she calls Pinatubo, was named as one of “The 25 Essential Dishes To Eat in Paris” by The New York Times last year. Reyna was also included in Wall Street Journal’s “The Hottest American Restaurants In Paris (Of All Places).”
As a chef, Paredes has also been featured in the Paris issue of American magazine Cherrybomb, and in Paris’ Le Fooding. For her interview in the UK’s TopJaw on Instagram, “They only interviewed eight people in Paris, and I was one of them. They asked around, and my name, and also Reyna, kept coming up,” she enthused.
Paredes is also a featured chef in the Coca-Cola Food Fest for the Paris Olympics. All the recognition from peers and the press both here and abroad for Reyna is hard-earned and well-deserved. “I wasn’t expecting this much support and love for Reyna,” Paredes muses. “Nor did I expect it to get this big. I just like to cook based on my instincts and obsessions.”
Since she arrived in Manila, Paredes took her followers on Instagram with her as she checked out fresh seafood in Farmer’s Market, sampling street food, and sourcing other specialty items for her tasting menu. A week before opening day, all 600 seats were already sold out! Aside from the food, expect ‘90s HipHop tunes by Paredes’ boyfriend R3mi of Starship Loopers Paris.
As a whole, this culinary journey to Paris, and the road to Reyna has been transformative for Paredes. Travelling halfway around the world helped her rediscover herself, and lean into all of it—the good and the bad. “I’ve come to realize, the more I cook whatever I want, the more people like my food. It’s about being authentic, and being me,” she says emphatically. “I’m not anyone of anything. I’m just Erica Paredes of Reyna.”
Erica’s 5 defining dishes
1. Arroz Caldo: “This is one of those dishes that I can eat every day for the rest of my life. I wasn’t sure if the French would love it as much, but comfort food is comfort food. I’ve had different versions of it on my menus through the years, and it’s always a hit.”
2. Adobo fried chicken: “The OG flavor of the chicken that blew up during Covid! This dish kinda made more people know who I was. It won my restaurant an award from Le Fooding barely six months after we opened.”
3. Calamansi Basque Cheesecake: “Basque cheesecake with a Pinoy twist! It has the very familiar taste of calamansi, then I topped it off with a loose polvoron crumb and some lime zest.”
4. Hainan Burrata: “Definitely a surprise crowd pleaser! I was using the chicken rice sauces (kecap manis, ginger sauce, and chili oil- all homemade) on fried chicken as a play on chicken rice. One day, I decided to try it on burrata, et voila a star was born, even if I didn’t know it at the time.”
5. Kinilaw: “I play around with different versions according to season. For instance, I do a scallop kinilaw in the winter, and now I’m doing tuna for the summer. It’s still marinated in coconut vinegar, calamansi, etc, but mixed with a pineapple salsa for some freshness, and also a mango basil sauce.”
The Paris x Manila pop-up—for dinner only with two services—is at Guestroom Bar, G/F Viridian Tower, Missouri St., San Juan. Until Aug. 4.
