The Future of Food is You: Abi Balingit Transcript
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Hi everyone. You're listening to Radio Cherry Bombe. I'm your host, Abena Anim-Somuah. Welcome to the Future of Food is You, Cherry Bombe's mini-series on emerging stars in the food world. Each episode features a forward-thinking gastronome and their projects, companies, and concepts that are transforming how we think about, share, and create food.
Today I'll be speaking with Abi Balingit, also known as The Dusky Kitchen. This exceptional Filipino-American baker is one of my favorite bloggers. I just love that she shares her inventive recipes, celebrating her roots and deep affection for sweets. Abi will join me in just a minute to talk about her New York City pop-ups, her features in major publications like Bon Appétit and Food52. I hope you all saw the Filipino-American Heritage Month spread that she guest-edited for The Kitchn. She's also got her debut cookbook in the works, and I got her to tell us all about it.
Before we get into it, here are some future Cherry Bombe updates. If you're a cookbook nerd like me, do I have the festival for you. Cherry Bombe's Cooks and Books is happening November 5th and 6th at Ace Hotel Brooklyn. There will be talks, panels, and demos with amazing authors, chefs, and bakers. On Saturday, Erin French from The Lost Kitchen in Maine, a restaurant that's been on my bucket list for ages will be in conversation with Cherry Bombe's Kerry Diamond. Then on Sunday, my pal Jessie Sheehan will be interviewing four of the most creative cake artists around: Pelah Kitchen, Frosted Hag, and Yungkombucha. Oh, I'm hungry for this one. I heard there will be sweet treats with this sweet panel. Visit cherrybombe.com for the schedule, full talent lineup, and tickets. Ticket prices start at $25 before taxes and fees. I'll be there, Team Cherry Bombe will be there, and we hope you'll be there too.
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Now let's get into the conversation with Abi of The Dusky Kitchen. Hi, Abi.
Abi Balingit:
Hi, Abena.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
How's it going?
Abi Balingit:
It's going well.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh, love it. It's so awesome I chat with you on the Future Food Is You podcast.
Abi Balingit:
I'm happy to be here.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
You go by The Dusky Kitchen on Instagram.
Abi Balingit:
I do.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
How'd you come up with that name?
Abi Balingit:
I originally came up with it because I used to work in a Manhattan office and every time I’d come home to Brooklyn, it'd be dusk at that point, so I would name it for that. Also, our kitchen is terrible with lighting. I only have one window and that's where all the food shots are coming from. It was kind of like a play on that.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Can you give us an audio guide of The Dusky Kitchen? What does your set-up look like?
Abi Balingit:
Oh. Oh, God. Okay. I originally was living with three other roommates at the start of the pandemic, and one of them has since moved out. I think it was just so challenging because we were all working from home with significant others. It was like a full house. To bake there was kind of hard because we had to manage each other's schedules. My KitchenAid mixer is so loud. You'll see that my kitchen mixer is right next to our coffee maker. We have our fridge, a regular-size fridge, luckily a little countertop, and that's it. And our little living room. At that time, that was all we had. I was literally cooling things on our TV stand on a stool because there's no other surface area.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Every surface is being used. The top of the fridge, top of the counter, top of oven.
Abi Balingit:
Yes. A very Bed-Stuy situation.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, now that means you're amazing with space. When did you start the blog?
Abi Balingit:
I started it 2020, the summer of. I think it just took a while because of March 2020 and I had to really just come to terms with, okay, I have time to sit with myself and do something creative. I finally just like, okay, buckled down, got the WordPress, got the domains, and that was it.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The first time I ever saw a Dusky Kitchen creation was the Lao Gan Ma cupcakes that you did. They blew me away. You've also made such amazing desserts that I've also been blessed to try. The passionfruit bars with Tajin and Pop Rocks, the Tajin snickerdoodles, even the lychee madeleines. Can you walk us through the process of turning an idea into a recipe?
Abi Balingit:
Honestly, sometimes I feel inspired by one ingredient. Even for low key, the Pop Rocks on top of the passionfruit bars. I was like, I do love tropical flavors, coming from the Philippines is like my family background. I feel like I really love candy so much. I'm very much a kid when it comes to my sweet tooth. Sometimes I get really focused on, hey, there's this certain concept I want to do. But okay, what is the best way to integrate those things together but still have it taste, not just your mouth full of sugar, if that makes sense.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. You want the sweetness but not too overpowering if anything.
Abi Balingit:
Yeah, yeah, so the tartness in that example for passion fruit really play really well with strawberry Pop Rocks, for example. I learned the hard way that Pop Rocks dissolve immediately almost because there's condensation in the water. This is kind of a thing where you put it on top of more a fancy kind of dessert. I don't know.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
It's a spicy sprinkle, let's say that.
Abi Balingit:
Yes, yes.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
All of these baked goods have been curated into your pasalubong boxes, which you've sold at bake sales and markets and that's how a lot of people have found you. What does the word pasalubong mean?
Abi Balingit:
Yeah, so in Tagalog it kind of means souvenirs that you'd give. Anytime you travel you bring, usually it's food, honestly. I love the snacks that you get at Filipino markets, usually cashew tarts, spicy tamarind wrapped up in cellophane. It was really a personal project for me to bring a slice of home to anyone who's trying my desserts for the first time. It feels very nostalgic to be like, "Oh, I brought you pasalubong” anytime I give a box to somebody.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Tagalog is the native Philippine language.
Abi Balingit:
Yeah, it's one of them. There's so many. That's kind of the main one, but my parents at home, they speak Kapampangan and they're from the province of Pampanga. It's very unique that everyone, again has so many different languages. I will not understand what someone else is saying if it's a totally different language than my parents.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
But you understand Tagalog?
Abi Balingit:
I do, yeah. I watched a lot of Filipino soap operas and that's how I learned, honestly.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Abi Balingit:
It's kind of a bad thing though because I feel like it's a one-way street for me. I can translate and it's always hard for me to be like, and then I panic at the grocery store, what I really trying to flex and I'm like, how much are the mangoes? I'm freaking out and it's so bad, but I get by.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
You started selling the pasalubong boxes at bake sales and markets. What inspired you to start doing that?
Abi Balingit:
Yeah, of that time, the heat of the pandemic, I feel like there were so many causes to donate to, so many things that we really needed to work on as a community together. My first pasalubong box was one for Bed-Stuy Strong, so a hundred percent of the proceeds went to them. They're a local mutual aid network in my neighborhood. I was like, I want to contribute my skillset to something that I feel really passionate about. I was very inspired by Bakers Against Racism, shout out to Paola [Velez].
That time I was like, well the only thing I know how to do is bake and I want to put myself out there in a way that I've never done before because I was so used to baking just for myself, just for my family, just for my friends. I was really scared, honestly, to do this and be like, okay, I don't know you, but here is my dessert. It was very shady back in the day. I was going into the Fort Green Park, posted up with a gray bin and 50 treat boxes and people were like, "What is that?" It's literally desserts.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
It's a souvenir box. It's fine.
Abi Balingit:
Yes. It's fine. It's fine. Everything's fine.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
How much money have you raised since?
Abi Balingit:
It's been six pasalubong treat boxes over the last two years and I've raised over $8,000. Also, I think I've made over 2,000 desserts because...
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Wow.
Abi Balingit:
I know. I can't believe it either. On average, there's like six desserts per box. Sometimes I'd make 50 to 60 per round. It's really added up over time.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. You've made all 2000 desserts in The Dusky Kitchen.
Abi Balingit:
Yes, all by myself. It's been a struggle honestly every time because my boyfriend will help me transport and I'm so grateful for him. Jason [Dessalet], thank you so much.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Shout out Jason.
Abi Balingit:
Shout out to Jason. I think for me, I'm really bad at delegating sometimes and I really like to do it all. I will take whatever I can to make it work and that's how it's been this whole time. People are so nice and offered to help anytime. I've been in the freezing cold in Fort Greene and it was literally snowing and my papers all soggy and my family was so nice. They came from Jersey. I have a cousin and aunt, uncle, who used to live there. The worst part was that I miscounted on one of the boxes. It was the Christmas cookie box.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh no.
Abi Balingit:
I felt terrible. I was like, "I am just short a couple boxes. Do you mind if you don't get one because I don't want to let down a stranger." They've been really sweet about it. That's just me being bad with math. Sometimes it's my fault.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. What are some elements in a signature pasalubong box?
Abi Balingit:
I think my most popular one might have to be the horchata bibingka, the Filipino rice cakes. They're pretty much baked in banana leaves, so it's been really nice to just have individual portions ready to go for someone to eat. The glaze is made of horchata cooked down and topped with toasted coconut flakes. I really love that. I feel like it's a good marriage of Filipino-Latinx flavors.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What's another one that's in there?
Abi Balingit:
Another favorite of mine has to be the lychee madeleines. I think I just perfected it over time because I've made them for my friend's wedding before and I made 150 of them. I was like, "Okay, so if I can do that, I could obviously make this again."
I did a pasalubong box, the last one I did was the one-year anniversary of The Dusky Kitchen. I brought back the biggest hits and I did polls for people to vote on and that-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, I definitely voted in that.
Abi Balingit:
Awesome, thank you. Thank you. I really enjoy making them. I think madeleines are ones that I think I was really intimidated by. It's been really nice to feel at ease for once when you're making something for the 50th time or whatever it is.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. One thing I've always loved about you is every bake sale or event that you've done, you've always had some sort of cause to bring awareness or donate funds to. What other causes have you donated to?
Abi Balingit:
For the last cake raffle that I did, I donated all proceeds to the Kentucky Health Justice Network. They're pretty much pro-abortion rights, especially in places where since Roe vs. Wade was overturned, we really need to support these communities. The cake raffle was really inspiring because not only did people donate to try to win the cake, but people outside of New York that can't even get the cake were donating internationally. A friend of mine was like, "Oh, I'm willing to match you one-to-one with your company." Another person on tour was like, "I'm also willing to match you one-to-one." It was an incredible giving forward, if that makes sense.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Abi Balingit:
Another one that I was really passionate about was Send Chinatown Love. That was another pasalubong box that was a fall-themed one but also helping, especially those businesses and restaurants really impacted by COVID, and also terrible xenophobia and stuff during that time. It was really inspiring to be able to collaborate with them. I think doing things together and with different orgs has really made me feel like a better baker and also just person, I don't know. It's nice to be in something, not just like yourself.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
You also did the box with Alfred Lin and his team, Warm Welcome. That was another collaboration.
Abi Balingit:
Yeah. Yeah, it was all of these bakers, Stephanie Loo included, which was really amazing. I think it was with the inaugural box so that was exciting.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
For those of you on the podcast who don't know who Stephanie Loo is, she's an incredible pastry cook, but she's also well-plugged into the food community.
Something I love about you is how incredibly fashionable you are. You are probably one of the most stylish people I know and you share a lot of your fit checks with your bakes on The Dusty Kitchen Instagram. Where did this passion for fashion come from?
Abi Balingit:
I honestly have loved clothes since I was in middle school and I think a lot of it came from getting hand-me-downs all the time for my older sister and older cousins. I was like, "Okay, how inventive can I be with switching this up?" I think the advent of the internet really made me like, oh, oh, Tumblr, hello. The very much 2014 grunge aesthetic and all those things were super in when I was in high school. I just love thrifting. I love getting upcycled clothing from Depop. It's just nice if you use a different part of your brain and be like, "I want to look like this today. I'm going to channel this person today."
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's beautiful. Does your passion cross into baking at all?
Abi Balingit:
I feel like I really lean to some florals and some cute pastel colors. I think that makes me want to make, oh, I want to do springtime, like the lychee madeleines, I've put dried rose petals on it. Just something like a little oomf. I really appreciate all the people on Instagram, all the bakers and the food people who have, I don't know, infinite edible flowers. I'm just like, "Where did y'all get them?" I'm always like, "Can someone tell me?" It's always Union Square Green Market where people usually get them from. It's always sold out by the time I get there.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Or they have secret rooftop gardens they're not telling me about. If you could ever have a dream fashion food collaboration, what brand would it be with?
Abi Balingit:
I'm wearing her today, but Sandy Liang is my favorite designer and she is based in New York. I just love the nostalgia that she draws from for her designs. Most recently she did one that was based on Sailor Moon and another one like Polly Pocket. I think she had those fish cakes you get in ramen where it's the little pink swirl on it, I think she had jewelry inspired by that. I need to work with her one day.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. You're also coming out with a huge project next year. Your debut cookbook is coming out. How has it been putting this project together?
Abi Balingit:
It's a whole lot of emotions. I'm so excited about Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed. It should be coming out Februay 2023. Well honestly, it feels like I've been working on it for at least two years now from proposal to now. I've learned so much about recipe development but also cookbook shoots and what they require. I feel like after doing this I can truly do anything.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What were some secrets of success that guided you through this cookbook journey?
Abi Balingit:
Having a schedule every single day and also writing down, oh, I did this, I worked on this today. It feels like at some points there's just no progress being made. There's just so many recipes left to go and I've only done five, and that's the feeling initially. After all the recipes are done and you're just looking back, I was like, oh yeah, I did work on this every single day. Research, I was reading cookbooks, I was doing all this. You don't really remember that in the heat of the moment.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. I love that you've shared a lot of your journey on social media. I remember when you bought your stack of Filipino cookbooks and you had the story where you had to chase down a particular book. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Abi Balingit:
I feel like I've spent a lot of time on eBay and anything like secondhand, not just for clothes, but yeah. Cookbooks, especially the Filipino cookbooks that are based in the Philippines that were printed there are hard to track down in America, especially with high shipping costs and very much out-of-date books. This book was from the 70s and I realized on Amazon marketplace that the seller was based somewhere in upstate New York. It was like this Italian man or something. I was very much a literally Italian shop and I was like, "Why do you have this Filipino cookbook that I want?" I was like, "What do I have to do to get it?" It's just a beautiful anthology of illustrations, and not only that but just historical photos. It was more of just a history book on how Filipinos eat and what they do. I was like, "I need to take this back for the Filipinos."
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes, a national treasure, but it's just a Filipino cookbook.
Abi Balingit:
I truly just forked over the money and I did what I had to do unfortunately. It's so nice to be able to share that online with people and be like, okay, we have all these things that you might not see on a regular library.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Your book is about Filipino American desserts, which is a testament to both of your roots. As you were developing recipes, how did you find the balance in incorporating such distinct cuisines?
Abi Balingit:
I think for me it was more okay, sometimes it's a traditional Filipino form of a dessert. Kakanin are traditional rice cakes that are usually sometimes steamed. I'd be like, okay, I want to infuse an American dessert concept in here, something I grew up with. For example, there's one that's strawberry shortcakes, sapin-sapin, so there's like a strawberry layer, vanilla layer, and a little brown sugar, very much like graham cracker-esque layer. I think for me a two-way street with that where it's okay, that was a Filipino form and American flavors, but sometimes an example of the horchata bibingka, it's like, oh okay, we have obviously American is very broad. I think it's hard to be like, okay, this is just obviously American in apple pie sense versus okay, horchata I think is American too because I grew up all around a lot of Mexican friends and Latinx. You kind of just imbue parts of it.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
It's also Spanish too.
Abi Balingit:
Yes, yeah, exactly.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
In Spain, you can get horchata as well.
Abi Balingit:
Yeah, it feels really nice to be like, okay, well this is cross-generational, cross borders. For me being bi-coastal too, it's taken both sides of being from California, but bringing whatever I've taken and tried in New York is kind of exciting in the book.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. What's a sapin-sapin?
Abi Balingit:
Oh, so sapin-sapin.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Sapin-sapin. Sorry.
Abi Balingit:
No worries. It means layers, layered rice cake where it's usually made with coconut milk and rice flour, kind of like mochi. Each layer you have to steam and then the next one and the next one and then you overturn it. It's just beautiful because it's very much tricolored and usually it's like ube macapuno, which is a coconut and also jackfruit. Its bright purple, bright orange, white. It's a nice contrast usually.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's exciting. How are you hoping this book shapes a narrative in Filipino American cuisine?
Abi Balingit:
I hope that anyone who reads this realizes Filipinos are not a monolith. I love being part of the diaspora because I'm just one of many voices and I really hope that having a Filipino American dessert cookbook means there'll be Filipino Australian dessert cookbooks, Filipino anyone cookbook. I just want to copy and paste any single person that feels like they can relate to this and not just your titas and titos who know that traditional Filipino desserts and stuff. I hope they will still appreciate me thinking a little bit out of the box here. Every form of Filipino food to me is very valid and I really want to reiterate that in the book.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Are there two people that you would love to get their hands on the copy of your book?
Abi Balingit:
Okay, this is very selfish of me because I'm Filipino and I love our singers. I would love Olivia Rodrigo to please have this-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes, please.
Abi Balingit:
I know she's not necessarily food related or anybody, but also another Filipino person that I really want this book to, who has cause some kind of food relation is Saweetie.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Saweetie's Filipino?
Abi Balingit:
Saweetie's half Filipino, yeah.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh my god.
Abi Balingit:
I love her and I know she has a Crocs ranch collab. I don't know if you remember those Crocs.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
No.
Abi Balingit:
It was a special limited edition Crocs. Saweetie is just known for loving food and eating on Hot Ones or whatever.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Okay, so Saweetie and Olivia Rodrigo get-
Abi Balingit:
My girls in pop.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Pasalubong boxes and the book and that's the way to do it. Hopefully they're listening on this podcast.
Abi Balingit:
Absolutely.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Then they can get a copy. You grew up in California. Where in California did you grow up?
Abi Balingit:
I grew up in the Bay Area, but also I have to say Stockton because I moved to Stockton when I was six, so Central Cal, NorCal.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. Okay, awesome. How did your upbringing inspire your love of food?
Abi Balingit:
I grew up in a multi-generational household. It was like my grandparents and my uncle, my aunt, my cousins in one house until I was five years old. I think constantly having food and constantly people, do you want something? Do you want this? And it's just there on the table where you're just like, okay, I'll eat it. I think it's an open-mindedness and curiosity I feel like having a big family really just imbues in you. Honestly, generosity of spirit to be like, all right, I want to feed people now. I want to make sure people are fed and can try the things that I'm making.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. What were the things that were often left on the table?
Abi Balingit:
Honestly, just so much pan de sal which is Filipino bread, usually for breakfast. We'd always go to this bakery called Valerio's and it's still there in Berryessa in San Jose. I remember constantly going there, but also not just the bread, but they had an ube version of it. It was filled with an ube jam pretty much. I'd always just eat the jam - I feel so bad cause I feel like I'm terrible. They'd be looking at the table like where did filling go and I ate it by itself.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
They didn't put it in there. Not today.
Abi Balingit:
I'm so sorry. Yeah, I love the bread. I just feel like when something is ube, I'll eat it.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Abi Balingit:
I'm so sorry to everyone else.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Big ube fan over here. Did you bake a lot as a kid?
Abi Balingit:
I honestly started baking when I was in middle school. I watched a lot of Food Network and I was really into Ace of Cakes.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes, great show.
Abi Balingit:
It really got me into cakes, but it wasn't really until I was going on blogs and looking things up. Smitten Kitchen was a big inspiration for me and I was like, wow, I can find these recipes because my mom wasn't really a Duncan Hines mom either, to be honest. We really weren't getting a lot of American desserts from her. It was more of just me being I cupcakes and macarons. Now that was very 2014 to say, but...
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The cupcake era.
Abi Balingit:
The cupcake era.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The cupcake industrial complex.
Abi Balingit:
Yes. The Sprinkles cupcake era. I love Sprinkles still. Yeah, I think that was the first thing I was excited to make and I want to perfect was a vanilla cupcake, honestly.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. Do you remember the first recipe you ever made on your own?
Abi Balingit:
I was really proud of it. It was a burnt sugar cake and you just burnt, literally take it past caramelization as golden browns to dark, dark, almost black. Make that into a syrup of some sort and I was like, make it into a cake.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
You baked that into the layer of the cake?
Abi Balingit:
It's kind of just part of the batter at that point.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Wow.
Abi Balingit:
It's a nice autumnal color, very deep orange. It's just really good.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Did that recipe make it into the book?
Abi Balingit:
No, I'm so sorry. I was like, I don't know how to incorporate it, no Filipino angle on that one. I'm sorry.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, that's just an Abi angle. Yeah.
Abi Balingit:
It was just me.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Just Abi desserts. You went to Berkeley. Go Bears.
Abi Balingit:
Yes, go Bears.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Had to say that. We actually have a few mutual friends who were at Berkeley the same time you were.
Abi Balingit:
Yes.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I heard you were a bit of a food journalist during your time there.
Abi Balingit:
Oh my god. The funny part is I was actually a writer for The Daily Clog, which is the Daily Cal blog. I really had not too serious... If you think of Buzzfeed, and that was like me, but in college. I got away with writing some more baking-related pieces. 10 Places You Should Try In Berkeley That Are All Desserts, but otherwise it was very fun to do satire at Mean Girls or If Gordo Went To Berkeley Now From Lizzie McGuire, What Would He Be doing? This is the kind of -
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Definitely com-sat [comedy-satire].
Abi Balingit:
Yes. Yes.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Okay, so what are two or three places from that list that you think people should still go to?
Abi Balingit:
This is an obvious one, but everyone should go to Chez Panisse once in their life.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes.
Abi Balingit:
I don't think that's a very broke college student thing to say, but they actually had this amazing steak dinner that it was late night that was only $50 or something that you could go. It was like secret menu and it was just a red wine glass and steak and fries and it was very cheap, which was amazing.
Another one is La Note and it's this French brunch place. I waited two, three hours at a time to go to that brunch spot. They had pancakes that had swirls of creme fraiche or just jam. It was very, very Instagram. Everyone was taking from an angle, up at top.
Last but not least, I would say this is easier, more attainable was Gypsy's Italian.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes.
Abi Balingit:
It was in this place called Durant Food Court. It's very much a student South Berkeley place to go and very cheap food. They had gnocchi, every garlic bread that came with it had this smatter of really beautifully roasted garlic that was very in your face. I remember that mostly but obviously the pasta was good. It was a nostalgic place to go to.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I lived in the Bay Area. What's the name of that grocery store that everyone goes to?
Abi Balingit:
Oh, Berkeley Bowl. There's so many memes about Berkeley Bowl.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I love the Berkeley Bowl.
Abi Balingit:
I know.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That place is its own universe.
Abi Balingit:
It's iconic. I feel like Samin [Nosrat] really made everyone turn onto Berkeley Bowl, which I loved.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I moved to the Bay Area when she wrote Salt Acid Fat Heat and I remember it I was like it felt like a pilgrimage getting there. I was like I had to be in the best clothes. The shopping cart angles well and everything.
Abi Balingit:
And going to Cheese Board or Silver, very much sourdough pizza.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Arizmendi's.
Abi Balingit:
Yes, with a sauce.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Something that I've also admired about you a lot is, and it seems like you did a lot of this in college and it transcended to your time in New York City, is you're always collaborating with people. You're always showing up for other people. How have you found that support in the New York City baking community?
Abi Balingit:
I think honestly, everyone is just really down to meet with you. It's just the access to people is just really amazing. If you're living in Brooklyn, I know Brooklyn is large, but we can just hop on the subway and hang out. It's really inspiring to me that everyone that I've met is just so passionate about food, equally or even more. I think that makes you more revved up about food too, honestly. Being in a community of not only Filipino food people, but also bakers, all the people on Instagram that I've been following since the pandemic and been able to actually, oh, let's go out to eat or let's have a picnic in Central Park. It's been really humbling and really nice to feel like all these people care about food just as much as I do. It's nice. Yeah, it's a warm, happy feeling.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. Do you have any advice for someone that wants to get immersed in that baking community?
Abi Balingit:
You just have to be brave and just put yourself out there. Honestly, I feel like I was always really scared of, this doesn't look nice enough for Instagram. This is really ugly. No one's going to want to eat this that I made this. It doesn't at that point matter. I feel like if you are proud of it, that shows, and that doesn't really matter how many people viewed it necessarily, but the right people will engage with it and want to be your friend. At the core of it, I've made a lot of good friends in this community and I'm really happy about that.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Once that cookbook comes out, it's there. It's on the bookshelf. After you get that well-deserved rest, what's the next project you want to explore?
Abi Balingit:
At some point, I really want to get back into the swing of pop-ups and things and being able to bake again with other people. Because I feel like I've held off on that just out of bandwidth and I was like, "I can't do this right now. I'm so sorry." And give my 100%. I definitely want to go back and do that because I haven't been able to create for the sake of creating outside of the book. Again, that is my big creation, but it's still hard to be like, I just want to make something because I want to.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. Well, I know for a fact I will definitely be excited for those pasalubong boxes and I cannot wait to devour them in minutes.
Abi Balingit:
Thank you, Abena.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, you've got a fan here for sure. In the past few months, a lot of Filipino cuisine and discourse has come in the limelight. There are features in magazines, we're seeing prominent Filipino flavors in grocery stores and major retailers. You've been a part of a lot of that discourse. You've done interviews, talks, panels, recipes. How important has that been for you to be a part of that discourse?
Abi Balingit:
Honestly, it's an honor and it's really nice that people even want my perspective on Filipino food. I really appreciate, again, having multiple voices in on this because I feel like if we're only spotlighting one person and it's just the one Filipino chef, the one Filipino baker, I don't think a lot of things get the due that they deserve. It's definitely a community effort. It's like, okay, Filipino food is here to stay and it's never been just a moment, but it's always been here this whole time. I think it's really important for us to have a solidified front on that. It's really cool that people are paying attention. I love that.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
You've been plugged in into so many different parts of the food world. You're an online blogger, you have a cookbook coming out, you've done bake sales and popups. How do you think the food world is changing from that perspective?
Abi Balingit:
I honestly think it's democratizing it. I feel like I am definitely not someone who comes from the world of food originally. I work full-time still at a live music company.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Amazing.
Abi Balingit:
It's interesting to be like, this is low-key. Everyone does a side hustle and I hate that word, but it's a hobby turned into something more, which I'm really grateful about. I really hope for the future that people can know that it is possible to do this. It's valid to feeling imposter syndrome about I don't belong here in this space, especially in New York where it's very intimidating. This is like, oh god.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, you face your fears every day.
Abi Balingit:
I'm like, oh god, people have been to pastry school for years and years. I'm always just in awe of those people. I think there's room for that, but also home bakers who are just passionate about what they do. I represent that front for sure. It's really cool to have crossovers in those realms.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Are there any things about the home baker world that you hope will stay?
Abi Balingit:
I hope one thing that will stay is that people's passion and fervor for it. Anytime there's an online drop, I'm always like, I need to get on my phone. This is going to sell out right now. I don't think that will ever really go away. I think it's a big piece of everyone's bread and butter who has done it full time that I know have truly blown up in New York or even outside of that in California, nationwide, honestly. I really hope everyone's still plugged in to their phones to able to do that. Not just that, it's not even just being plugged into phones, but being willing to meet in person and pick up a box is so personal. I love that feeling. It's so nice to see people really enjoy what you make and also be willing to set a timer or set an alarm for you.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I've definitely set alarms or been like, I'm not in town, can I have a box in some way, shape, or form? You've dealt with the reality of the food world. Is there one thing that you hope will change in the next few years?
Abi Balingit:
I feel like hopefully the barrier to entry is lowered, especially for people who definitely want to do a brick-and-mortar situation where there are a lot of challenges doing home baking. I know some people have totally reconverted their kitchens to include another oven or something to accommodate people's requests. It's really difficult and I understand the want to be able to have, oh, the real nice space where people will want to come and visit and actually buy pastries from you. I really hope that with the economy and the real estate market that leases get cheaper, landlords get less evil. Something has to change for people to be able to still do what they love but not be beholden by like, oh, my landlord is raising the rent of our storefront by 50% and that's impossible.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
We've lost so many great establishments in New York City to that as well. Who are three people right now you consider to be the future of food?
Abi Balingit:
First and foremost, my friend Rachel [Lucero]. She's the host of The Sago Show, and it's this amazing Filipino, not just cooking show, but she does go behind historical context of where dishes came from. The rise of banana ketchup, all these things that are so interesting that I didn't even know the history of really. That's really cool to see.
My really good friend, Alex, from Everything Alex Cooks is amazing. She is a full-time med student and literally making food that's beautiful at some point in her dorm, which was wild at meeting her in person. I'm just amazed by people's bandwidth to be able to do all this. I'm inspired by her every day.
Last but not least, I think Nasim [Lahbichi] from Lahbco.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes, I love Nasim.
Abi Balingit:
My one weakness I feel like is not really wanting to do video that often.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's okay, yeah.
Abi Balingit:
It's a lot of work, honestly, editing and I'm always just like, wow, you make everything look so good. That morning light looks so good. Yeah, I'm like obsessed.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I don't know how he manages it. Yeah, he's incredibly talented and I think he's also so kind. It's just natural to keep rooting for him. Yeah.
Abi Balingit:
Yeah.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
We're doing our segment of the show called The Future Flash Five. Five rapid-fire questions. You give us an answer. Are you ready?
Abi Balingit:
I'm ready.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Predict the next TikTok trend.
Abi Balingit:
I hope it'll be jello parties, like retro jello books where they have crazy jello like lime jello for salad. I want to see that on TikTok.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Favorite baking hack?
Abi Balingit:
I think anytime you have a mistake, I go for sprinkles. The more the merrier. I really cover up any sin in sprinkles, to be honest.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
If you could make an astronaut-themed pastry, what would it be?
Abi Balingit:
I feel like the ice cream of the future Dippin' Dots has really inspired this answer, but some like freeze-dry strawberry Dippin' Dots shortcake or something would be amazing.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. If you could grow one crop on Mars, what would it be?
Abi Balingit:
Corn. I'm looking at your shirt right now, but I do. I think corn is of the moment, but...
Abena Anim-Somuah:
This is for my boy Tariq the Corn Kid. I love the Corn Kid.
Abi Balingit:
Yes, yes. No, but honestly that would be amazing on Mars. I don't think there's enough water, but that'd be cool.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, we'll figure it out. Then last question: if you could invent a kitchen gadget, what would it be?
Abi Balingit:
My least favorite task in the world is sifting powdered sugar. I just want something that will sift and measure, but also protect me from the burst of dust all over. I think something like Bubble Boy-esque like, ugh. I just activate and it'll be like fine. That'd be great for me.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Shift, measure, protect. It seems like a fun infomercial thing.
Abi Balingit:
Oh my God, I have to trademark that now.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Another thing we're doing is we're letting everyone leave a voicemail at the Future of Food Is You phone box. We're going to give you one minute to leave a voice note for your future self and they'll pick it up 10 years from now.
You've reached the mailbox of the Future of Food Is You podcast. Please leave a message after the beep. Beep.
Abi Balingit:
Hi, Future Abi. I hope that you found joy in wherever you are, in whatever you're doing. I know that baking is something you've done since you were 13, and I hope that you're still there in the kitchen, having fun, making desserts, creating and sharing, because it will always be a happy place for you. I hope that kitchen of yours has more space to be able to feed more people. My greatest wish is that you've also been able to lift as you climb. It's hard sometimes to prioritize all the important things, but I think if you found a way to center your friends, your family, and your community, then you're doing everything right. I want to give you a nice pat on the back and a big, big hug because you've come a really long way and you should be very proud of yourself. Some way, somehow you've made it work, so love you and take care always.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's it for today's show. Abi, thank you so much for joining me today. I can't wait to dig into your next pasalubong box and bake from the future cookbook. You can follow Abi @TheDuskyKitchen on Instagram and Twitter for her food takes fashion finds, and Filipino stories.
For all the cooking fanatics and cookbook nerds, don't miss the second annual Cooks and Books Festival taking place November 5th and November 6th at Ace Hotel Brooklyn. For more info, the stacked schedule, and ticket prices, visit cherrybombe.com. I really hope to see you there.
A huge thank you to the team at Cyprus Grove Goat Cheese for supporting the Future of Food Is You mini-series. Enjoyed today's episode? I'll be back next Thursday with another incredible guest. The Future of Food is You and Radio Cherry Bombe are a production of Cherry Bombe Magazine. Thanks to the team at CityVox Studios, Executive Producer Kerry Diamond, Managing Editor Catherine Baker, and Assistant Producers Jenna Sahdu and Krista White. Catch you on the Future Flip.