*Sliding Scale: $75-100
Come home through food. Heal through the senses. Cook with your whole spirit.
Join us for an intuitive cooking class and demo with Chefs Daps and Alex Bodey of Lamisa Events that focuses on using not only all 5 senses but also on channeling the help of ancestral guides. This will be followed by a very mindful gathering to enjoy the nourishing gifts and offerings they helped us to create during the class.
This class will outline how to build both your confidence and your sense of intuitive cooking, for beginners to avid recipe followers. Harness your memories and knowledge about food to shift the way you cook for yourself and others.
When you cook with Chef Daps, you’re not just learning how to make food—you’re awakening every part of yourself. Born in Manila and raised with the deep culinary traditions of Pampanga, then finding new roots in South Jersey, Daps has always used food as a way to stay connected—to family, to memory, to identity.
“I was the kid always in the kitchen, asking questions, tasting everything. I didn’t know it then, but I was learning how to listen to food—with all my senses.”
With over 20 years in hospitality and a lifelong relationship with the soul of Filipino cuisine, Chef Daps now guides others through deeply personal, sensory-rich culinary journeys. These classes are more than hands-on—they’re full-body, heart-led experiences that honor both tradition and transformation.
Smell the toasted garlic that reminds you of your Lola’s kitchen.
Hear the sizzle of onions hitting hot oil—the sound of stories beginning.
Feel the rice between your fingers during kamayan, grounding you in ritual.
See the vibrant colors of banana leaves, calamansi, and chili—each one a memory made visible.
Taste the balance of sour, salty, sweet, and heat—and let it open something inside you.
This is not a performance. It’s not about perfection.
It’s about presence.
Cooking with Daps is an act of remembrance, resistance, and joy. They share their story as a Filipino immigrant, a hospitality veteran, and someone reclaiming their identity through food—and they invite you to do the same.
“This is how I decolonize myself,” they say. “It’s healing work, and it’s delicious work.”
You’ll leave with more than just techniques. You’ll leave feeling full—in your body, your spirit, and your sense of connection.
This is your invitation to come home—through the five senses, through the soul of Filipino cooking, and through a table that welcomes all of you.
*SLIDING SCALE COUPON CODES
10OFF ($90)
25OFF ($75)
NOTE: There are 2 free spots available for this class to ensure accessibility to those with limited financial means who otherwise would be unable to attend. To request a free spot, email connect@thebridge-kingston.com.
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
After emigrating from Manila to South Jersey at the age of 14, John Paul Manansala—known as Chef Daps (they/them)—found their way back to the Philippines through food. “I was the kid always in the kitchen, asking questions, tasting everything, wanting to understand how it all came together,” they recall. With family roots in Pampanga, often called the culinary heart of the Philippines, cooking was less a skill than an inheritance waiting to be claimed.
For more than two decades, Daps built a career in hospitality across South Jersey, New York City, and Upstate New York, much of it spent in front-of-house leadership. But it was later in life that they began to truly embrace food as their calling—not just to feed others, but to heal, connect, and remember. “Cooking Filipino food is how I decolonize myself,” they say. “It’s a journey for me, and one I share with others.”
Drawing inspiration from heirloom recipes passed down by Lolas, Titos, and Titas, the energy of street food vendors, and the diverse culinary scenes of Philadelphia and New York, Chef Daps has become a spirited voice for Filipino cuisine in America. Through pop-ups, collaborations, and community-centered dining experiences, their mission is simple yet profound: to share the soul of Filipino food in ways that spark comfort, joy, and belonging.
Alex Bodey (he/him/they/them) is a chef and writer who explores the world through the lens of people. He draws inspiration from his childhood full of the stories that his mother would tell about growing up in Naples, Italy. These vivid recollections of food memories set the groundwork for a life of curiosity. He has been able to examine storytelling through food alongside the team at Lamisa, cooking Neapolitan classics with his personality on every plate. You should leave the table with not only a full stomach but a full heart, feeling closer to food and its origins than before.
Cancellation Policy: Refunds or class credits are available by request for cancellations within 72 hours of the event start time.