Abi Marquez on representing Pinoy food on world stage, meeting ‘Superman’ stars
Known as the “Lumpia Queen,” food content creator Abi Marquez had the pleasure of meeting “Superman” director James Gunn and lead stars, David Corenswet (Superman/Clark Kent) and Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), during their recent fan event in the country. Manila was the first stop of the iconic superhero hero film’s world tour.
Abi posted on her social media pages a photo of them together, with lumpia wrappers spread on the table, captioned, “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… Lumpia Queen with the SUPER Crew - Director @jamesgunn, davidcorenswet and @rachelbrosnahan.”
In another video uploaded on Superman Facebook page, the trio was seen preparing “Super halo-halo” with Abi coaching them on how to make the popular Filipino dessert.
During the red carpet fan event at the SM Mall of Asia and a brief chat with James, David, and Rachel, they talked about their “healthy culinary competition” which was lumpia-making.
“I mean, I kicked everyone’s ass,” quipped Rachel.
James, who is also the DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO, nodded in agreement and said, “She was the best at making lumpia. I was the worst.”
“I mean, it’s been a whirlwind. It’s been amazing. It’s beautiful. The energy’s great. Yeah, I certainly wasn’t expecting this,” David added, describing their experience in Manila and the fans’ welcome.
Producer Peter Safran skipped the lumpia-making event but he lauded the Filipino fans’ vivacious energy that day.
Moreover, it has always been a source of pride for Abi to represent Filipino cuisine to the world. In fact, she just bagged the Food Creator of the Year Award at the WIBA Awards during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
“It’s both very much an honor to me and also it’s a responsibility,” she told The STAR in an interview during the 50th anniversary of Mega Prime Foods, Inc. (MPFI) held earlier. “This year alone, I think I’ve done a good job contributing to my team and I have done a good job contributing to putting Filipino food on a global stage and for that international recognition.
“And we’re really happy to do that and we’re really lucky because this is also what we love to do. So, every day, we feel inspired and we know that whatever we’re doing, although it’s very fun to us, it means something very meaningful.”
She described her feat as something “unexpected.” In her words, “We actually did not expect it because unlike other awards, this did not have at all an application process. They really just reached out to us because we’ve made this noise enough for it to be heard in Europe and it’s really unexpected. So, it just makes it more meaningful to us because super organically, nakita nila.”
Given her numerous recognition in culinary and digital content creation fields, she felt pressured to always do better in her craft.
“I think the form of pressure on me, it’s not about, like when I film my content, I feel na dapat quality, up to the standard that people would expect. But it’s more on, right now people would sometimes call me a representative of Filipino cuisine and for me that’s very heavy,” she explained.
“Because growing up, I wasn’t able to travel and I want to be really careful with what I show to the world and making sure it’s inclusive to all of the Filipinos and not just the culture that I grew up in Laguna.”
Looking back, Abi’s enthusiasm for cooking started when she was a kid. The young chef recalled, “When I was a kid. I would remember sharing my baon sa school to my playmates, papagalitan ako ng nanay ko. I would remember serving guests out of my own initiative. Even when I was a kid, until high school, college, and even after that, I would really cook for other people. I just wanted to share my food with them.”
She continued, “In the beginning, it’s really a personal fulfillment because I really want to be in the kitchen using my hands to create something that I can serve to my family later on and give them satisfaction and happiness. That’s really the reason why I started this.”
But the definition of “fulfillment” has taken on further meaning for Abi lately.
“It’s so much bigger,” she told this paper. “Right now, it means representing my culture. It means giving a livelihood to my team and to share that dream with people who share the same passion. So, definitely, it’s a different form of love right now for cooking but something that I’m really, really grateful for now.”
Curious about Abi’s comfort food? It’s fried chicken. “My comfort food is fried chicken in all forms. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero hindi ako nagsasawa sa kanya. Last week, six days straight, I ate fried chicken. I think it’s the Filipino in me that loves crunchy food. I love how it’s versatile, you can play with different sauces, different kinds of coating and I haven’t found anyone who doesn’t like fried chicken.”
Meanwhile, among the celebrities who were present at the 50th celebration of MPFI were Megastar Sharon Cuneta, Coco Martin, Dimples Romana, and content creators, Ninong Ry and Cong TV.
Mega Milyonaryo, a special anniversary promo with a total prize pool of P50 million, was also launched at the event.
“What we had was a big dream, a vision: to provide quality food to Filipino homes. Eventually, we moved to Zamboanga, where we supplied fish to Manila canneries. Slowly but surely, with faith and hard work, we grew. Hindi naging madali—but with God’s grace and the dedication of many, we endured,” remarked Mega Prime Foods founder and chairman William Tiu Lim.
“Mega has come a long way, but our core remains the same. We are still rooted in the values that shaped us: being God-centered, showing malasakit, thinking innovatively, serving our customers well, and acting with integrity. And now, I feel proud seeing the next generation lead — bringing bold ideas while keeping our values alive.”
A book detailing the journey of Mega Prime Foods titled “The Heart of the Catch: 50 Mega Lessons on Business, Life and Faith” was also launched at the event.
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