Cecilia Pacheco Morais, granddaughter of Mama Sita, celebrates Philippine cuisine during her remarks at Isang Kusina. (Photo by Enrique Malfavon).
Mama Sita’s Anchors Filipino – American Heritage at the Forefront of Culinary Storytelling through Partnership with Istorya LV | LAS VEGAS, Nev. May 22, 2026 Mama Sita’s steps into Isang Kusina 2026 as title sponsor of Istorya LV’s flagship multi-chef culinary event, a gathering dedicated to keeping Filipino traditions alive across the globe. For the brand, this is far more than a sponsorship. It is a continuation of a mission built on ancestral pride, family identity, and the living history of the Filipino- American diaspora.
For generations, Mama Sita’s has been a lifeline to home for Filipino families scattered across the world. Every bottle, every packet, every dish cooked from memory carries that weight: the taste of a place left behind and the comfort of a culture kept close. Istorya LV offers the brand a fitting stage to honor those ties, through a format that treats food not as entertainment, but as testimony.
Special guest Cecilia Pacheco Morais, granddaughter of culinary icon “Mama Sita” Teresita Reyes, said it plainly:
“Filipino cuisine is more than food: it is memory, family, history, and home.”
The evening brought together seven acclaimed Filipino- American chefs: Lord Maynard Llera, Aaron Verzosa, Patrice Cleary, Cristina Quackenbush, Rachel Barril, Justin Barnes, and Dio Buan, each crafting dishes that trace the lineage of Philippine cuisine while honoring the modern Filipino- American kitchen. Many turned to Mama Sita’s heirloom ingredients, among them Toyo’t Kalamansi and Kalamansi Powder, not as shortcuts, but as anchors: the same flavors that have grounded Filipino cooking for decades, now given new expression in some of America’s most celebrated restaurant kitchens.
Left to Right: Walbert Castillo, Rachel Carrillo Barril, Dio Buan, Justin Barnes, Patrice Cleary, Cristina Quackenbush, Lord Maynard Llera, and Aaron Verzosa. (Photo by Enrique Malfavon).
The night closed the way it began, together. The ultimate display of bayanihan (communal unity) as all seven chefs abandoned their individual stations to build a single, reimagined Halo-Halo: red mung beans steeped in Alaskan birch syrup, avocado tres leches, and ube ice cream. A dessert assembled by many hands, from many corners of America, into one bowl.
Chefs at Isang Kusina preparing their special Halo-Halo for food service. (Photo by Enrique Malfavon).
Rounding out the evening, hip-hop artist and storyteller Ruby Ibarra took the stage, her verses threading through the same themes of identity and endurance that ran through every course of the night.
To know more about Istorya, visit their website at www.istoryalv.com. To know more about Mama Sita’s, visit the website at www.mamasitas.com/us/ or Instagram at @mamasitasusa.
