Chef Laila Bazahm:

Born and raised in the Philippines, Chef Laila has always lived and breathed food. “In Filipino families, everyone hangs out in the kitchen, sharing stories while preparing food. Even small families cook large quantities of food for passing neighbors and friends. There’s no planning, either. We go to the market, buy what’s fresh and cook ‘freestyle.’ Everything is cooked with love.”

Chef Laila never imagined a culinary career. A cum laude economics graduate, she found success at J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank in Manila before deciding to follow her passion. In 2011, she quit her job in Dubai and traveled to San Sebastian where legendary Basque Chef Andoni Luis Adúriz rewarded her honesty – her cover letter was devoid of experience but full of passion and eagerness to learn – with a four-month internship at Spanish avant-garde pioneers Mugaritz and Ni Neu. That experience confirmed she was willing to dedicate herself to this profession.

After four years’ training in Singapore, including stints at Chef Emmanuel Stroobant’s Saint Pierre and L’Atelier Joël Robuchon, and a two-month program at San Sebastian’s Basque Culinary Center, she landed in Barcelona where she launched Hawker 45, featuring her inventive fusion cuisine inspired by the street foods from Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Laos. Chef Laila has an uncanny talent – a gustatory memory that, together with her creativity, allows her to replicate recipes as if she has cooked them since childhood but in a playful style that riffs on the original dish.

In 2020, Chef Laila launched Hawker Beach Club Ibiza with Axel Group, the world’s leading LGBTQ hotel and resort chain. Moving to Houston in 2021, she began attracting local acclaim with her Hawker Street Food Bar, which she launched at the Liu Family’s visionary Post Houston international food hall before selling that venture to loyal staff. She arrived on the Austin scene in 2022, briefly taking over the kitchen at Eberly. With the opening of El Raval, she now has an American platform in Texas as Chef-restaurateur, and a showcase for her original and very personal style of cuisine.

Chef Laila and her wife Laura, together with their Spanish Podenco Zelda, are excited to make their Texas home in Austin.