Queen of Vegan Filipino Comfort Food, Chef Reina Opens Storefront and Cooking Studio
New plant-based OmniPork dishes will be added to menu on Earth Day
Photo by Mogli Maureal
Brisbane, CA, April 5, 2021 - Filipina American chef and restaurateur Reina Montenegro will be launching a brick-and-mortar storefront for her online concept Chef Reina — formerly known as Nick’s Kitchen, Nick’s on Grand and Nick’s on Mission — at 33 Visitacion Avenue, Brisbane, CA 94005, on April 8, 2021 from 11am-8pm. Montenegro’s new space will include a to-go window for online and walk-up orders, and a studio space for her to produce online cooking demos and other digital events. This launch marks a significant step toward Montenegro’s vision of introducing vegan Filipino comfort food to the masses and, ultimately, of culinary activism.
“It feels so good to be on my own and doing what I absolutely love without anything or anyone holding me back,” says Reina Montenegro. “I feel that finally my life is aligned where I can soar high and do what I am passionate about, which is ultimately to convince people to end suffering, not only to the environment or to the animals, but also themselves.”
Chef Reina exists as an online ordering food concept, offering a menu of Filipino classics with a vegan spin. Patrons are able to place orders online and can also purchase care packages: bulk vegan “meat” by the pound to cook at home. Montenegro also has her eyes set on national shipping in the near future.
By having a physical space, Montenegro can expand her offerings to her community. Patrons can order directly at the window and can enjoy their to-go orders at the nearby Brisbane park, or eventually, at an on-site parklet.
Photo by Mogli Maureal
The physical space, moreover, will allow her to produce virtual cooking demos and events. Her content will be focused on product and restaurant reviews, showing people how to cook vegan food and inviting guest vegan chefs to cook alongside her. Chef Reina has also been consulting for other restaurants and chefs to veganize their menus.
“Reina is a passionate culinary activist whose love for the community shows in her cooking and her healthy and masterful Filipino-inspired culinary dishes,” said San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President David J. Canepa. “To take the plunge to open a brick and mortar restaurant during a pandemic shows a tenacious spirit that you can indeed create a new beginning and on your own terms. She is an inspiration not just to young women but to all who share her entrepreneurial ambitions.”
OmniPork Menu Launches April 22 on Earth Day
Chef Reina will be one of nine restaurants in the US that will launch a special OmniPork menu on April 22, Earth Day, before they hit the US retail market. OmniPork’s three varieties – Ground, Strips and Luncheon – allow chefs to curate an infinite variety of plant-based dishes and can be seasoned, steamed, pan- or deep-fried, stuffed or crumbled. Made using a proprietary blend of plant-based protein from non-GMO soy, peas, shiitake mushrooms and rice, OmniPork’s products contain less saturated fat, less calories, and zero cholesterol compared to animal-based pork products.
“Chef Reina has been enthusiastically awaiting the arrival of OmniPork in the U.S. I’m just thrilled that her restaurant opening coincided with our U.S. launch.” shares David Yeung, Founder of Green Monday and OmniFoods. “Her culinary creativity and passion will most certainly bring a whole new plant-based experience to vegans and meat-eaters alike.”
The OmniPork menu at Chef Reina’s includes Luncheon Meat Silog, Luncheon Meat Fried Rice, Luncheon Meat Musubi, Lumpia Shanghai, Misua Soup, Longaniza, and Sweet & Sour Bola Bola.
For more information on Chef Reina’s menu and to stay up-to-date on latest news, please visit www.chefreina.com
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About Chef Reina:
Reina Montenegro was born and raised in Dumaguete City on the Philippine island of Negros, and moved to the Bay Area in 1997. Montenegro prides herself as being self-taught in the kitchen, and started her restaurant career as a personal chef and caterer in 2012 when she decided, after 10 years at a corporate job, to follow her passion for food and cooking. In 2016, her catering business eventually led to opening a restaurant, ‘Nick’s Kitchen’ in Daly City. A year later she decided to change the concept to be aligned with her plant based diet and cruelty free lifestyle; as the first Filipino Vegan restaurant in the Peninsula. Montenegro opened 3 popular Filipino vegan restaurants in the Bay Area; Nick’s Kitchen, ‘Nick’s On Grand’ (opened 2018 in South San Francisco), and ‘Nick’s On Mission’ (opened 2019 in San Francisco). Now she has pivoted her business into an online storefront and has come out from behind the Nick’s brand, launching ‘Chef Reina’ in 2020, with plans for a brick and mortar home on the horizon.
About OmniPork
OmniPork is the latest innovation from food technology company OmniFoods, and is the brainchild of an established food scientist team in Canada. The result is a nutritionally superior pork alternative using a proprietary blend of plant-based protein from peas, non-GMO soy, shiitake mushroom, and rice for complete protein. It is cholesterol-free, is antibiotic-free, hormone-free, cruelty-free, and is 86% lower in saturated fat and 66% lower in calories than real pork. Since its launch, OmniPork has received extensive coverage from international media. OmniPork is also widely used by numerous internationally acclaimed and Michelin starred restaurants serving specific OmniPork menus, including Taco Bell in Mainland China, Bafang Yunji (the largest QSR in Taiwan), Sizzler in Thailand, Prive in Singapore, Four Seasons Hong Kong, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, and King of Sheng Jian in Hong Kong. OmniPork and Green Monday Group were recognized by PETA Asia as Company of the Year in 2019.