MANILA, Philippines — Chef Boy Logro gamely toured around a spread of street food vendors, even taking selfies, at the ongoing SM Hypermarket Food Festival in SM Mall of Asia (MOA).
His evident charm and friendliness were helpful when he starred in several hit TV cooking shows and these will go handy when he goes full blast with his transition from TV to digital.
"Mas maganda po kasi hawak mo 'yung oras," Chef Boy said to Philstar.com after the event where he was featured with cooking online sensations Hazel Cheffy and Chef Marky.
The trio opened the return of SM Hypermarket's Street Food Festival, with the first stop in MOA running until today, August 30. The street food festival's next stop will be in SM Hypermarket Fairview from September 16 to 18 and SM Clark Skyline from September 30 to October 2.
"Ang layo po sa TV ha. Obligado ka. Maaga pumasok, gabi umuwi. So parang, sobrang pagod din. Although may bayad naman, kaya okay lang. Kaya lang sa edad ko, hindi na dapat mapuyat, mapagod, overtime. Mas maganda 'yung TikTok o kaya YouTube, FB para hawak mo 'yung oras," the 66-year-old chef said.
Chef Boy said his contract with GMA-7 had expired. He used to appear in "Idol Sa Kusina." The network did offer him another project, and there were others that also tapped him to appear on TV. He clarified that for now, he wants to concentrate on vlogging.
Recently, he did a hit collaboration with popular YouTube creator Ninong Ry. Their video collaboration where Chef Boy further shared his story, and, of course, where they cooked together, has 1.2 million views as of press time.
"The Kusina Master," as he is fondly called by fans, is present in all popular social media platforms in the Philippines, namely, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
For the past two years during the pandemic, he has been mentally and physically rejuvenating himself in his farm in Davao. Chef Boy found joy in planting all kinds of fruits and vegetables.
"Doon po ako nakatira at nag-enjoy po ako sa aking farm. 'Pag 66 years old ka na, 'yun na talaga dapat. Dapat, kumbaga, dream ng bilang chef, dapat medyo pupunta ka na sa mga bundok-bundok. More than how many years nagta-trabaho ako. I'm happy na sa farm," Chef Boy shared.
Like many, he was also badly affected by the pandemic. His cooking school closed down due to huge losses, and he admitted to have been traumatized by it. But since he has been a fighter most of his life, he plans to open it again next year.
"Mahirap ha. Kumbaga sa ano, ang hirap i-bangon, ang hirap isipin. Kaya nga habang buhay tayo, 'wag tayong mawalan ng pag-asa. Tuloy-tuloy lang. Kasi 'pag ma-discourage ka, ikaw naman ang maapektuhan," he added.