So who is Celi?

Celi was born and raised in Baguio City in The Philippines. Sitting in the Cordillera Mountains 5000 feet above sea level, Baguio is home to a cooler climate and is often referred to as the ‘salad bowl’ of The Philippines due to its production of vegetables. 

When Celi was a teenager her Mum moved to Hong Kong in order to earn money to send home and support the family. That resulted in Celi having to grow up fast and play an important role in looking after the family, including becoming the main cook. She learnt quickly and expanded the knowledge that had been handed down by her Mum.

After graduating from Baguio Colleges Foundation and then working as teacher in secondary education, Celi decided to follow in her Mum’s footsteps and moved to Hong Kong to find work. Hong Kong is a veritable melting pot of cultures and cuisines, with restaurants and food stores from around the world as well as a thriving street food scene. Celi’s passion for food was very much ignited by this plethora of ingredients and new (to her) herbs and spices. During her time in Hong Kong she learned about food from all over Asia including Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, India and of course Cantonese cuisine. 

In 1998 Celi travelled to the UK with her husband to be, Pat. They spent a few years bouncing between the UK and Hong Kong before finally settling in Cornwall, Pat’s home, in 2004 to raise their two children, Sean & Amber.

Celi went back into teaching but her passion for food remained and in 2015 she began working in the kitchen at The Coombe Barton Inn. Here she learned the workings of a commercial kitchen and was soon running the busy evening service on a regular basis. After 7 years in this role she changed jobs and moved to ‘Temple’ restaurant in Bude where she learnt a whole new range of skills, methods and cooking styles.

Having long held a desire to run her own food business, in 2023 she decided to take the plunge…

Welcome to Celi’s Kitchen…