Restaurateur and culinary connoisseur Margarita “Gaita” Araneta Forés passed away at 65 amid the Philippine community’s commemoration of the EDSA People Power Revolution on February 25, 2025. Her untimely loss made headlines and shocked her family, friends, and followers.
“This has been the most difficult and challenging time, but the outpouring of love and support from around the world has meant so much to us. Maybe that’s the unexpected blessing in all of this—seeing just how many lives she touched and how much love is now coming back to her,” Amado Forés, Margarita’s son, penned in a social media post.
An integral pillar of culture and cuisine in the Philippines, she is perhaps most well-known for creating the pioneering Italian casual dining restaurant CIBO, which had a profound impact on the local F&B industry and played a seminal part in shaping the collective Filipino taste bud. Her storied career has become a nurturing narrative for a new breed of chefs in the country, inspiring them to bring the best of the Philippines’ culinary heritage to the world, and vice versa.
The CIBO team paid tribute to their founding force, too: “Her passion and vision shaped Cibo into what it is today—bringing people together through the warmth of Italian cuisine and Filipino hospitality. As we move forward, we remain committed to continuing her legacy in every dish we serve and every experience we create.”
As we honor Margarita’s legacy, we rounded up a list of highlights in her personal and professional pursuits:
1. A top culinary trailblazer
Chef Margarita Forés was truly a matriarch of local and international cuisine. She was highly respected for her ability to meld various cultures in the kitchen, championing Italian cuisine and Filipino ingredients. She introduced and forged original menus—most importantly, offering delectable dishes at a great value for money. She reigned as United Nations World Tourism Organization Ambassador for Gastronomy Tourism, and partnered with the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture and Department of Tourism to promote the Slow Food Movement.
2. A multi-decorated master
While being the recipient of numerous recognitions, Margarita Forés remained a self-effacing personality. She was arguably the OG Filipino “celebrity chef” who understood not only the power of influence but the responsibility of wielding it for the good. She fetched notable feats and titles, most important of which were Asia’s Best Female Chef in 2016 and Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia or Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy in 2018. Her genuine love for Filipino and Italian food also earned accolades for her roster of restaurants, with some being sung as among Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
3. A woman of many passions
Besides being a workhorse in the kitchen, Margarita Forés was the consummate multi-hyphenate—indeed a wearer of multiple hats as she was host to a fount of talents. She was widely considered a fashion icon with her trademark penchant for classic but bold clothes and accessories. Not surprisingly, she spent some time working for the world-famous luxury Italian label Valentino. Not many know but she was also a licensed accountant and a finance trainee for Axona International Holdings in Hong Kong. She attended esteemed schools such as Assumption College and Marymount School of New York. She was an avid traveller and a Metro Channel host, among many other endeavors and projects.
4. A champion of worthwhile causes
During her memorial service, in place of flowers, visitors were asked to make donations to two causes closest to Margarita Forés’ heart—saving cats and battling cancer. Her concern for strays is well-known among patrons of some of her restaurants in certain outdoor locations, where staff are instructed to look after these creatures. She was also a two-time cancer survivor who conquered both thyroid and breast malignancies. Long before the trend became popular, she advocated and practiced farm-to-table cooking not just for food freshness and health benefits, but primarily to support the livelihood of Filipino farmers across the nation.
5. A pillar of strength
Margarita Forés was, first and foremost, a dedicated mother and daughter, and a stellar figure in the respected Araneta clan. Her mom—Filipina fashion and high-society icon Baby Araneta Forés—passed away from lung cancer at 84 just two years ago. Throughout her mother’s illness, Margarita took an active lead in taking care of her. Needless to say, Margarita was the primary inspiration for her only son, Amado, to take the same professional path as hers. While others may have considered it a bane— being under the shadow of a culinary great—he quickly proved otherwise with his own rightful achievements, given Margarita’s generosity of spirit and maternal temperance.
While Margarita Forés is now gone, she is remembered through the flavors and experiences uniquely offered by her many well-loved culinary establishments, past and present—including Café Bola, Pepato, Grace Park, Lusso by Margarita Forés, Museya Kafé, and The Loggia at Palacio de Memoria. Her long-overdue, eponymous fine-dining restaurant at The Shops at Ayala Triangle Garden is now highly anticipated. As she quite forebodingly declared in the publicity launch of Margarita last year, it will be her legacy—the consummate expression of her artistic and creative ethos. It is where loyal fans will undoubtedly seek solace in savoring the familiar flavors of her creations, and ultimately celebrate her cherished memory.
