A Taste of Home in Chicago

The sizzling of cooking sausage and buttered potato buns on the griddle crackled through the air. Trays of longanisa and tocino Filipino sausages and pork adobo towered in preparation for the day’s service. Agile fingers slid piping hot egg squares onto their corresponding warm buns, wrapping the sandwiches in tinfoil. A warm glow illuminated each chef in the assembly line of brunch production.

A display case lined with cardamom buns, ube brioche, huckleberry Basque cakes and black truffle croissants glowed in the warmth of the morning sun. Behind the pastry counter, three baristas flowed around each other to concoct violet ube lattes and golden maíz milk tea lattes. To the left of the pastry counter, a bar spanned the length of the restaurant with shelves brimming with sugar cane wine, miniature citrus boxes and a collage of wood depicting a nipa hut, an iconic Filipino structure that represents communion and togetherness—a small ode to home in the humble Filipino restaurant in the Ukrainian Village.

The bustle and chatter of Kasama grew louder with the front-of-house staff humming around to fulfill the morning’s orders. “I’ll get their waters,” Hanna voiced, working in tandem with Malcolm weaving around the restaurant as the newest table settled into a booth. The restaurant teemed with fast paced activity, but the undercurrent evoked a strong feeling of community, hinting at the root of the restaurant’s success.

The world’s first Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant, Kasama is co-owned by Tim Flores and Genie Kwon, a husband-and-wife team. Tim is a Chicago native with parents who immigrated from the Philippines in 1975. Genie, a renowned pastry chef, honed her craft in the kitchens of Flour Bakery and Café, BOKA and GT Fish & Oyster, where she and Tim met. In 2016, they helped open Oriole, a fine dining American restaurant that earned two Michelin stars, before stepping away in 2018 to develop the concept for Kasama.

Tim originally conceived of a restaurant offering Filipino-inspired pastries baked and served by him in the morning before transitioning to lumpia, Filipino spring rolls and sandwiches in the afternoons. After Kasama’s successful opening, Tim and Genie turned the restaurant into a Filipino-inspired brunch with breakfast sandwiches and adobo served until 3 p.m., followed by a reservation-only 13-course tasting menu beginning at 5:30 p.m.

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“It feels like I’m at camp at times,” Malcolm says, describing his co-workers-turned-friends. He and co-worker Cherelle showered words of admiration about their colleagues, describing them as a built-in family that they’ve grown to love. “We care about the food, but we’re trying to take care of people first,” Tim Flores, co-owner of Kasama, said in an interview with the Michelin Guide. Their model of Filipino comfort and hospitality extends beyond their customers to their staff.

Kasama prioritizes the guest experience, and that begins with the performance of the team doing the work. “It’s also about taking care of our team and what we can do to give them a better quality of life,” Genie, stated in the same interview. After each morning shift, the servers and kitchen staff enjoy a family-style meal prepared by the Michelin star chefs at Kasama, where they chatter about the day’s events, fostering closeness among the team members.

At Kasama, family is everything. The construction and flavors of each dish, created by Tim, take inspiration from his upbringing in the Philippines and his mother’s traditional cooking. The word Kasama originates from Tagalog, an indigenous dialect spoken in the central Philippines, meaning “together.” Tim designs the meals that Kasama serves as a shared experience with loved ones. Hanna said, “Food allows people to share…. Meals are designed to be shared.”

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As I contemplated my empty tinfoil that previously held a breakfast sandwich and the remaining black sesame granules from my latte settled below the ice at the bottom of my glass, the Kasama team engulfed me with a series of “We’re so glad you came in!” and “Have a great day!” and “See you soon!” Stepping out onto the streets of the Ukrainian Village, I carried more than just the lingering flavors of sesame and longanisa with me. I carried the unmistakable feeling of home, even in a place that wasn’t mine.