Chef Chance Anies, owner of the Tabachoy traveling food cart, is the newest addition to Chef Jose Garces' ongoing chefs-in-residency program at his Kimmel Cultural Campus restaurant Volvér.
Garces launched the program at the beginning of the pandemic to support minority-owned businesses most impacted by the global health crisis. The residency program helps emerging talent in the industry elevate their profiles while supporting a charitable cause close to their hearts. From now through Jan. 8, 2023, Anies will take over the Center City restaurant with a Filipino-focused menu to raise funds for the opening of his first sit-down restaurant in Bella Vista.
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For Anies, Tabachoy was a passion project. When the up-and-coming chef realized there were few options for Filipino cuisine in the city, he started hosting pop-up dinners while working in medical research at Temple University to see if people would be interested in his food. In August 2019, he took the plunge, quitting his day job and purchasing a food cart that he parked right outside of his old office.
After three years — the bulk of which involved a global pandemic — Anies is opening his first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Bella Vista. He hopes that through his residency at Volvér, he will be able to raise the profile of Filipino cuisine to a larger segment of the Philly area, boosting interest in his own restaurant while also introducing people to food they may not have encountered.
During Anies' tenure at Volvér, patrons will find a new collection of small plates, entrees and desserts in addition to Garces' permanent menu. The full list is below.
• Lumpia: pork spring roll, garlic chili gastrique sauce, scallion
• Pandescil: Filipino milk bread, whipped butter
• Embutido meatballs: ground pork, quail egg, banana ketchup, cherry tomatoes
• Arroz caldo: rice congee, soft boiled egg, scallion, bonito flakes
• Short rib kare-kare: beef short rib, cashew sauce, bok choy, eggplant, long bean escabeche
• Pork munggo: mung beans, spinach, chimichurri, garlic chili gastrique sauce, tiger sauce
• Pancit palabok: rice noodles, pork bolognese, shrimp, soft boiled egg, bonito flakes
• Pinakbet: eggplant, kabocha squash, okra, long bean, jasmine rice, mushroom dashi stock
• Leche flan: sweet custard, caramel
• Turon: sweet banana spring roll, vanilla ice cream, caramel
"I chose these dishes because they were dishes I grew up eating with my family," Anies said in a release. "Eating arroz caldo meant it was football season, and we'd enjoy it in front of the TV most Sundays in the winter. Lumpia was the prized dish at any party, where you'd eat them by the boatload."
Along with supporting his own up-and-coming business, Anies is using his residency to raise funding for Hope for Kids, which allows Philly students to go to summer camp and get one-on-one mentoring from volunteers around the world. For Anies, his experience attending and volunteering at The Forge in Schwenksville led to his decision to choose Hope for Kids as his special charity.
Guests who want to support the foundation can make a donation during their meal at Volvér when the dinner check is presented. The Garces Foundation will match up to the first $5,000. Direct donations to Anies can also be made here.
For more information about the chefs-in-residency program, check out the list of this season's chefs.
Chance Anies: Volvér's Chefs-in-Residency
Now through Jan. 8, 2023
Wednesday through Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m. | Pay-as-you-go
Volvér at The Kimmel Cultural Center
300 S. Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107