Filipino chef crowned as Young Chef England 2026

Filipino chef Stephen Raymundo crowned as Young Chef England 2026

Jude Cartalaba
ABS-CBN News
June 26, 2026 

In the high-stakes, pressure-cooker world of global gastronomy, the Philippines has found its newest torchbearer in Stephen Raymundo.

The young Filipino chef, currently part of the team at Claridge's in London, was recently crowned Young Chef England 2026. 

While the accolade places him among the country's most promising culinary talents, his path to the award began far from professional kitchens. He did not study in an elite culinary institute or undergo traditional culinary training. Instead, his passion for cooking started at home at the tender age of 13.

“My mum was the first person who taught me how to cook, and the first dish I ever made was adobo, a Filipino classic,” Raymundo shared, looking back with a smile. 

“From that moment, it became something special between us. Whenever she was not home or was on her way back, she would text me and say, ‘Cook me adobo!’ Looking back now, that was the beginning of my connection with food.”

Today, while he spends his days mastering the rigorous, meticulous techniques of British and French haute cuisine at Claridge’s, his heart remains anchored to his roots. For Raymundo, the ultimate goal is to weave his heritage into his cooking, serving up world-class dishes inflected with a distinct Filipino twist.

Flavor and emotion

For this young chef, cooking is far more than a display of technical skill — it is an exercise in empathy and human connection.

“My philosophy as a chef is to make a memory for the guest,” he explained. “I want my food to be something people remember, not only because of how it tasted, but because of how it made them feel.”

“I love seeing people react to something I have cooked, especially friends and family who do not know I am a chef. Seeing their faces light up and hearing them say, ‘Wow, this is nice’—is one of the most rewarding feelings. Food has the ability to bring back memories, create new ones, and connect people through flavour, smell, and presentation,” Raymundo said.

It is this profound understanding of individuality that sets him apart in a sea of talent.

“You could give three chefs the exact same ingredients, garnish, and brief, and each one would create something completely different,” he noted. “That is what makes food so exciting. Every plate carries the personality, creativity, and perspective of the chef behind it.”

Working in Claridge’s

Raymundo attributed the sharp trajectory of his growth to the unforgiving, elite standard of his current culinary home.

“Much of my development has come through real kitchen experience, especially through the daily trials and standards at Claridge’s. Working there has taught me discipline, consistency, speed, flavour, presentation, and respect for ingredients,” he said.

That rigorous discipline was put to the test at the World Young Chef Young Waiter (YYY) England Finals 2026. Facing down an esteemed, eagle-eyed panel of industry titans — including celebrity chef Calum Franklin, Simon Attridge of Claridge's, Mario Perera of Jumeirah Carlton Tower, Tom Booton, and Roy Ner — Raymundo excelled under immense live pressure.

The competition goes far beyond the plate, evaluating emerging professionals on technical prowess, organization, creativity, teamwork, and mental fortitude.

Established in the UK in 1979, the YYY competition is an internationally revered platform celebrating the finest hospitality talent aged 28 and under. Designed to champion hospitality as a noble vocation, it fosters mentorship and opens global doors for the industry’s future leaders.

Raymundo shared the 2026 England podium with two equally formidable peers: Alex Coward from London's Hide, who claimed Young Waiter of the Year; and Juni Guthrie from Sexy Fish, who secured Young Mixologist of the Year.

Together, this trio will proudly represent England at the upcoming World Finals, where they will face off against the absolute best young hospitality talent on the planet.

As Raymundo prepares to take his place on the global stage, he carries with him the discipline of Claridge's, the prestige of England's culinary elite, and the unforgettable aroma of a mother's home-cooked adobo.

That fascination with the emotional resonance of food drives his daily hustle.

Fil-Canadian Nurse John landed on Forbes magazine's "Top Creators of 2026" list

Filipino-Canadian nurse John makes Forbes' new top creators list

Kristofer Purnell
Philstar Global
26 June 2026

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-Canadian nurse and content creator John Dela Cruz, more popularly known as Nurse John, landed on Forbes magazine's "Top Creators of 2026" list.

Nurse John figured in the No. 28 spots, a good middle finish in between American content creators Marques Brownlee and Tana Mongeau.

Forbes noted that Nurse John scored a 12.97% average engagement from his over 19 million followers. His $7.2 million (PP441 million) earnings garnered him an Entrpreneurship Score of 3.

The magazine mentioned in a write-up how the creator "turned hospital burnout into a multimillion-dollar stand-up career," recalling Nurse John's frontline services during the pandemic and the TikTok videos he posted to cope with his industry's chaos.

The past couple of years saw Nurse John sell out a number of comedy shows — including his "Short Staffed Tour" visiting the Philippines earlier this year — as well as appearances in several comedy events like Netflix Is a Joke and Just for Laughs.

It should come as no surprise that topping Forbes' list is Jimmy Donaldson or MrBeast, the most-followed YouTuber to date.

MrBeast was followed by Dhar Mann and Steven Bartlett, with Markiplier and Rhett & Link rounding out the Top 5.

Other familiar names on the list include Druski, I Show Speed, Mark Rober, Khaby Lame, Ms. Rachel, Jacksepticeye, Steven He, and the D'Amelio sisters Charli and Dixie.

Put together the 50 listed creators have combined earnings worth more than a billion dollars.

Seven Philippine companies secured spots in 2026 Forbes Global 2000

7 Philippine firms land on Forbes Global 2000 list

Emmanuel John B. Abris 
Inquirer.net
26 June 2026

MANILA, Philippines – Seven Philippine companies secured spots in the 2026 edition of the Forbes Global 2000, with SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) emerging as the country’s highest-ranked on the annual list of the world’s largest publicly traded firms.

SMIC placed 1,029th globally, 

ahead of BDO Unibank Inc. at 1,082nd.

The others include Top Frontier Investment Holdings Inc. (1,170th), 

International Container Terminal Services Inc. (1,375th), 

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (1,383rd), 

Ayala Corp. (1,532nd) 

and Manila Electric Co. (1,704th).

Now in its 24th year, the Forbes Global 2000 ranking is based on four equally weighted metrics: sales, profits, assets and market value.

“This reflects the trust of our customers and investors, the work of our people, and the strength of the businesses we have built over the years,” said Frederic C. DyBuncio, president and CEO of SMIC.

“We continue to invest in the Philippines because we believe in the country’s future and long-term growth,” DyBuncio added.

Forbes said companies included in this year’s rankings posted record-high figures despite trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty and persistent inflation.

Collectively, the 2,000 companies generated $56 trillion in annual revenue, $5.5 trillion in profit, held $272.2 trillion in assets and accounted for $121.9 trillion in market value. These are based on financial data available as of May 15, 2026.

Forbes said the rankings reflected the continued dominance of banking, technology and energy companies in the global economy.

JPMorgan Chase retained the No. 1 spot for the fourth consecutive year, leading 593 US-based companies on the list. Amazon climbed to second place, followed by Berkshire Hathaway in third.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, ranked fourth as the artificial intelligence boom continued to lift major technology companies, while Saudi Aramco rounded out the top five.

The rest of the top 10 consisted of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (sixth), Bank of America and Microsoft (tied at seventh), China Construction Bank (ninth) and Agricultural Bank of China (10th). INQ

Batangas State University engineering students captures bronze in international robotics competition

Filipino students score another podium finish in int'l space robotics contest

GMA News 
25 June 2026

A team of aerospace engineering students from Batangas State University (BatStateU) has once again brought pride to the Philippines after securing third place in an international space robotics competition that challenged participants to program a robot aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) announced Thursday that Team Inflection Point placed third in the final round of the sixth Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC), an international competition organized by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in cooperation with the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The achievement marks the team’s second straight podium finish in the competition after placing second in 2024, when they became the first Philippine team to participate in and win at the Kibo-RPC.

Composed of third-year aerospace engineering students Howell Dela Cruz, John Royeth Samson, Ahron Martinez, Benedict Lontok, Andrew Cabile, and Amer Panganiban, Team Inflection Point represented the Philippines after emerging as the country’s top-performing team during the preliminary round, where they bested 26 other local entries.

During the finals, the students’ computer program commanded NASA’s Astrobee, a free-flying robot operating inside the Japanese “Kibo” module aboard the ISS. Teams from across the Asia-Pacific region were evaluated based on image recognition accuracy, mission completion, and speed.

According to PhilSA, the competition drew 738 teams from 37 countries and regions, including 25 participating through the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs’ international slot.

NASA astronaut Christopher Williams executed the teams’ programs aboard the ISS during the final round held on February 28, 2026. Team Inflection Point successfully completed four of the five assigned tasks and scored 216.8 points out of a possible 300.

Their score was just 1.6 points behind second-place finisher Team Automen of Malaysia, which scored 218.4 points. Team iTron of Taiwan topped the competition with 269.9 points.

PhilSA said one of the new features introduced this year was the “Oasis Zone,” which offered bonus points but also imposed time penalties depending on the route chosen, requiring teams to balance speed with strategy.

The Kibo-RPC is an educational program that trains students to develop software for robots operating in space. Participants program Astrobee to perform missions inside the ISS, helping them develop skills in robotics, programming, and engineering while simulating the challenges of working in a microgravity environment. Organizers said the challenge also aims to prepare the next generation of engineers who could contribute to future space missions and robotic operations.

As the Philippine member of the Kibo-ABC program, PhilSA spearheaded the local selection process for this year’s competition. The agency said the seventh Kibo Robot Programming Challenge is scheduled to open in July 2026. — Sherylin Untalan/BM, GMA News

Philippines is the next big thing in global supply chain

Philippines, Thailand primed as next supply chain ‘rising stars’

BusinessWorld
June 25, 2026 

Thailand, the Philippines and Argentina are among a group of promising yet underutilized economies primed for an increasing role in supply chains, according to a new analysis of global trade trends.

These and other countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America stand to benefit from diversification as companies look beyond cost and efficiency to build resilience, Verisk Maplecroft, a UK-based risk intelligence firm, said in a report released Thursday.

A third of the world’s busiest ports and airports are vulnerable to disruption from conflicts, environmental risk and domestic security threats, the firm warned. At a time when trade resilience has deteriorated in more than 150 countries — accounting for 90% of global trade — there’s opportunity for “rising stars,” the report argued.

The shuttering of the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israel conflict with Iran created “near-term headwinds” for both Thailand and the Philippines, Verisk Maplecroft said. Still, its data indicate that those “willing to take a longer-term view will find these markets worth their attention.”

Market openness, regulatory strengths and labor rights in each country are the three main factors the firm analyzes.

The supply chain potential in the Philippines comes despite a bout of political turmoil in the past year, including a sprawling scandal over corruption in contracts for flood mitigation projects that’s seen politicians issued with arrest warrants.

With a young, English-speaking labor force, the Philippines offers significant potential for industrial services and outsourcing, she said. “If you are confident in your company’s supply chain management systems to monitor and manage corruption risk, that doesn’t have to be a complete barrier,” Schwartz said.

THAILAND, ARGENTINA

Risks for Thailand, meantime, have decreased when compared with regional peers during the past five years, the firm said in its report. Thailand’s electronics sector is benefiting from AI investment, and the country is “well positioned to host higher-value supply chain links,” Verisk Maplecroft said. That’s even with an aging workforce and higher-cost labor compared with others in the region, it said.

“The ingredients are really good for a lot of the industries that are seeking supply chain diversification opportunities,” Schwartz said.

For Argentina, both the European Union-Mercosur trade accord and an agreement with US on reciprocal trade and investment could drive a shift on critical minerals, energy and industrial exports.

That graft scandal dented foreign investment in the Philippines last year and has been a factor in the government cutting its economic growth forecast for this year. The Senate, meantime, has been consumed by infighting related to a rift between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his deputy, Sara Duterte, who faces an impeachment trial in July.

“Things are still happening behind the scenes, including efforts to attract investment and reduce regulatory burdens on businesses — though the results of these efforts have yet to fully emerge,” according to Laura Schwartz, senior Asia analyst at Verisk Maplecroft.

“Sometimes political chaos completely stops policymaking, and sometimes it happens alongside policymaking.”

Chile and Uruguay are also on the regional list, with the latter offering the region’s strongest risk-adjusted operating profile.

“Latin America still trails Southeast Asia as a scaled manufacturing platform, but Western efforts to reduce exposure to China are creating new supply-chain contenders,” according to the report.

The report also points to Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico and Brazil as already benefiting from the reduction in bilateral trade between the US and China. Those four have their advantages as supply hubs, the report said, “but according to our data, risks to multinational supply chains in all of these jurisdictions are increasing.” — Bloomberg