Mabuhay, Listeners! October is Filipino American History Month, and we're excited to celebrate with a special Filipino food episode! Our Chef-Creator Lia Ballentine shares her Filipino culture with us and dives into her culinary heritage with stories about her favorite family dishes, traditional ingredients, and how Filipino food is becoming mainstream in America (even though Filipinos have been in this country since the 1580s!). Plus we find out which celebrities are secretly Filipino (Bruno Mars! Darren Criss! A quarter of the Black Eyed Peas!) Then in the Deep Dish, our Foodlospher Anna Van Valin unveils another hidden figure in the food and science world: Maria Ylagan Orosa! Maria was a food scientist and war hero who revolutionized the way Filipinos eat, created some of the most beloved Filipino foods and ingredients, and also saved thousands of people from starvation during World War II. Are you ready to take a bite into this delicious episode? "Kain na!" "Let's eat!"

Read the transcript of this episode.

Explore more from the show:

Listen to White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford talk about her days as a "Salad Bar Girl."
Watch Chefs Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan talk about the rise of Filipino food in America.
Get your groove on with this Black Eyed Peas hit in Tagalog, "Bebot."

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