Born and raised in the Philippines, Julie Cortes was Chef De Cuisine of the Michelin Bibb Gourmand recognized Kaliwa from 2019-2022. She’s currently the Executive Chef at modern Filipino restaurant KAYU, which recently moved to Dupont Circle. Her passion for traditional Filipino cuisine stems from her childhood. She knew she wanted to become a chef when she first started helping make lumpia as a 7-year-old, “I kept telling everybody that I’m my aunt’s sous chef.”