THERE is no challenge that Filipino food content creator Abi Marquez aka “Lumpia Queen” will ever turn down, even now that Chef Gordon Ramsay has challenged her to make a Beef Wellington lumpia.
“Challenge accepted,” Marquez says about the dare she received from multi-Michelin-starred chef Ramsay, who is currently in Manila to visit his restaurant, the Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill PH.
In a TikTok video posted five days ago, the Filipina content creator made a food content on a crab cake lumpia, and chef Ramsay commented, “But can you do it with a Beef Wellington???”
Challenge Accepted
Lumpia Queen wasted no time in showing him how it was done, posting a video to her TikTok account on Monday, January 20. Marquez took everything she needed to Gordon to test after she had cooked it.
“I am here with the proof. The question is, is this better than yours?” said Marquez when she approached chef Ramsay, presenting the Beef Wellington lumpia she made.
@abigailfmarquez Replying to @gordonramsayofficial WILL CHEF APPROVE? 🥩 🇵🇭 BEEF WELLINGTON LUMPIA, coming right up! #BeefWellington #Lumpia #LumpiaQueen #GordonRamsay #AbixGordon @Newport World Resorts @Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill PH ♬ original sound – Abi Marquez
Gordon immediately complimented the work of Abi, right when he opened the lumpia in half, “Visually, wow that looks good. It’s very good.”
After seeing the lumpia, the chef went on to taste it. For his reaction, he commented: “Uhm…listen, I’m really sorry, but I don’t like it. I f***ing love it!”
“That is a very, very posh spring roll. Delicious. May I have some more please? I’m taking this away so no one can steal it,” added Ramsay.
Marquez won the 2024 People’s Voice Award for Food and Drink in Social at The Wemby Awards, which was hosted in New York City in May 2024, making waves in representing the Philippines.
Gordon Ramsay in Manila
Meanwhile, on Sunday, January 9, the British chef was observed greeting guests at the Philippine version of his restaurant at the Newport World Resorts in Pasay, where his trademark Beef Wellington is the best.
Aside from that, the culinary icon hosted an exclusive event on Monday at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, bringing together industry tastemakers such as F&B leaders, celebrity chefs, food influencers, culinary students, and passionate fans.
The event included a Masterchef-style cooking battle in which celebrity chef Judy Ann Santos, food influencer Ninong Ry, culinary student Danica Lucero, and his restaurant’s Chef Bea Therese Qua presented their own versions of the Philippines’ famed dessert, Halo-Halo.
The dessert, which resembled Gordon’s classic Knickerbocker Glory, included a blend of local ingredients and international flavors, displaying Filipino chefs’ ingenuity and expertise on the meal.
At the end of the 10-minute competition, Gordon chose Danica’s version as the best and presented her with a signed jacket as a prize for defeating everyone. The chef even hailed her from the outset as the “future of the culinary.”
Ramsay, on the other hand, revealed that he intends to open three more branches of the restaurant in the country, citing the restaurant’s success in its first month of operation, which saw 10,000 reservations.
