The Romantics: Chefs Jayjay Sycip and Rhea Sycip on How Love Informs the Work at The Fatted Calf

At The Fatted Calf, Chefs Jayjay and Rhea Sycip’s dishes are informed by love, from the reverence they have for their farmers to the joy they want to share with their guests.

Romance, as a way of seeing, shapes more than personal relationships. It informs how people design their lives, approach their work, and remain open to the world around them. For Vogue Philippines’ Love Issue, we profile individuals, across disciplines, who live a life shaped by romance.

Sunlight spills across the terrace of The Fatted Calf, softening the edges of a room that looks out onto a patchwork of gardens and greenery. At a long table, Chefs Jayjay and Rhea Sycip sit behind a spread of objects pulled from their daily rhythm: pili nuts sourced from the Bicol region, asin buy-o or artisanal sea salt from friends in Zambales, fresh greens harvested from their greenhouse, and a bright purple ube cake made by Rhea herself. Married for 15 years, the ease in their partnership reads clearly: he caresses her hair in between takes, she fixes the collar of his shirt, and they tease each other relentlessly. Asked how they express affection, either through words or actions, they answer: food.

Their story begins early, albeit awkwardly. It was the third grade, when a young Jayjay developed a crush on Rhea, who did not like him back. Seated together at the back of the classroom, paired by height, they were always in each other’s orbit. And as early as then, food was the softening point. During recess, Jayjay says he would offer something to eat, and her guarded demeanor would let up. This would be the only time she expressed any interest in him at all, before childish dislike returned just as quickly. Despite her lack of interest, grand gestures followed: wallets, headbands, earnest attempts that didn’t quite land. Eventually, they lost touch.

Years later, they found each other again. There was no formal courtship, no deliberate return to what had been left unfinished. They caught up the way people often do, over meals and through conversation. Asked how he finally won her over, Jayjay lets out a billowing laugh. “A burger! A big juicy burger.” Rhea laughs in agreement. It was, as they both admit, really food that connected them.

In 2007, their personal partnership expanded into work when Rhea, already ahead in the kitchen, brought Jayjay on as her assistant. They still tease each other relentlessly, but in the kitchen, the tone shifts. There, the relationship is governed by structure. Whoever leads a project leads fully. Their dynamic works in and out of business because, Chef Jayjay explains, it’s founded ultimately on mutual admiration and respect.

That respect extends beyond the two of them and into the work they do at The Fatted Calf. Love, here, overflows into systems. It shapes how they treat farmers and how they think about sustainability and slow food. They buy from smallholder farms, local farmers, and micro enterprises. Rainwater is collected and reused. Food waste is turned into organic compost for the vegetables. The restaurant itself is built around repurposing, adaptive reuse, and upcycling.

“Everything that we can source locally and directly, we do,” Rhea notes. Jayjay adds, “I think the number one thing that we wanted to communicate ever since was [to] respect the farmer. If there are no farmers, what are we going to eat? If there are no farmers, as chefs, how are you going to cook? So we have to respect them. We have to give honor to what they do.”

The work is demanding and repetitive, but it’s shared. “Even if we’re so tired, we still get up and do the same things over and over,” Rhea says. Jayjay jumps in, almost midthought, “And even when we’re tired, we get to laugh.” Rhea continues, as if they’re building the sentence together: “And the good thing is that it’s the two of us, in one restaurant. It’s a blessing to do the same thing together.”

See the full story featuring Ambeth Ocampo, Chito Vijandre and Ricky Toledo, Paloma Urquijo, and Antonio and Gema Garcia in the February 2026 Issue of Vogue Philippines, available now on newsstands and at the link below.

By BIANCA CUSTODIO. Photographs by GABRIEL NIVERA. Beauty Editor JOYCE OREÑA. Talents: JayJay and Rhea Sycip. Art Director: Jann Pascua. Multimedia Artists: Mcaine Carlos and France Ramos. Videographer: Angelo Tantuico. Producer: Mavi Sulangi. Hair: John Alrey of Toni&Guy. Photography Assistants: Sela Gonzales, Jason B. Sevilla, Ruby Pedregosa, and Shemuel Lopez