Winnipeg
Learning Filipino culture through food
Basta! Filipino Kitchen, the only Filipino kitchen at Winnipeg’s iconic The Forks Market turned one year this December, promising to offer more specialty foods and showcase the talent of the young Filipino staff.
Owner and chef Norman Pastorin was enthusiastic about prospects for this year as we discussed the year that passed when he decided to make the plunge at the restaurant business.

“I was the only one approached to open a spot at The Forks where owners usually have to apply and wait for a spot,” recalls Pastorin. “It so happened that the CEO at the time was a classmate of mine at university and when she was thinking of bringing Filipino cuisine to the Forks, she thought of me.”
The 50-year old chef was teaching Culinary Arts at his alma mater, Red River College but the opportunity presented him the perfect convergence of “everything I’ve learned and the timing of wanting to get to know my culture and expose my culture to the mainstream,” Pastorin told CityNews in an interview.
interview.
In Winnipeg, Filipino restaurants are traditionally located in certain areas – not necessarily destinations spots. “The Forks is a tourist area so it’s a huge opportunity to let Filipino food get its deserved spotlight,” he believes.
Trained as a classical chef, Pastorin has worked with well-known local restaurants, including the Grove, Black Bird Brasserie and Cornerstone. He says he grew up not learning about his culture or his language and now “I’m wanting to learn more through food – that’s really motivating and inspiring,” he says about opening Basta!

It has been a long journey for Pastorin who together with his brother, were the only survivors of the 1990 Philippine earthquake which tragically killed their parents. The family was visiting Baguio City at the time after a family reunion.