Inside the kitchen of Marvin Palomo, executive chef and partner at Vela

Growing up in Scarborough, Marvin Palomo developed an early appreciation for culinary diversity. His family immigrated from the Philippines when he was two, and his love for food was sparked by summers spent watching his grandmother prepare traditional dishes. After school, he’d often lend a hand at the Subway restaurants his parents managed, solidifying his connection to the kitchen.

Palomo’s formal culinary journey began at George Brown College, where he enrolled in the culinary management program and later the Italian post-graduate program, which took him to Piedmont to further his studies. He returned to Toronto to help open the acclaimed restaurant DaiLo in 2014, then moved to Hong Kong to join the Michelin-starred team at Vea in 2017. The following year, back in Canada, he embraced his Italian training as chef de cuisine at 7 Enoteca in Oakville.

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As executive chef at Vela since 2022, Palomo has been channelling the multicultural experiences of his cooking career into a menu that pays homage to Toronto’s dynamic food scene. “It’s inspired by Toronto,” he says. “We’re able to pull from different cultures, but we do it in our way, so it feels cohesive.” This blending of influences extends to his home kitchen. “Most of the stuff I have here is based on nostalgia for the different places I’ve lived.”

Tragically, a fire on the premises forced Vela to close its doors in January. Palomo is in the midst of a pivot, with a new, yet-to-be-announced project in the works. At home in Etobicoke, he keeps things low-key with comforting no-fuss meals. Sandwiches, pre-packaged ramen and frozen dim sum are regulars in his rotation. For pantry essentials, he heads to T&T Supermarket, while Hooked and the Butcher Shoppe are his go-tos for high-quality fish and meat.

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Palomo keeps his freezer stocked with frozen dim sum from T&T, favouring seafood-based options like lobster balls and shrimp-and-fish siu mai. “For me, it’s the easiest and most satisfying thing to make,” he says.

His freezer is also loaded with frozen berries—perfect for throwing together quick smoothies when there’s no time for a sit-down breakfast in the morning.

“As you can see, I have a pretty big sweet tooth,” says Palomo. Among his frozen favourites are pints from Lola’s Gelato and Ruru Baked, a homemade berry ice cream made with his Ninja Creami, and Melona popsicles for a simple, fruity fix.

In Palomo’s fridge, practical staples meet chef-approved picks: sweet chili sauce and soy sauce for jazzing up frozen dim sum and Conestoga Farms eggs and steaks from the Butcher Shopper ready to hit the pan. Leftovers from a recent family feast sit alongside cult favourites like St-Viateur’s iconic Montreal bagels and butter from St. Brigid’s Creamery.

Palomo keeps calamansi—a zesty cousin of the lime—ready to add a bright, punchy finish to his dim sum platters.

Philippine Brand mango nectar is a nostalgic reminder of Palomo’s childhood—something he still keeps on hand for a refreshing treat.

The black jars of XOXO sauce are Palomo’s pandemic project turned side business. Inspired by the XO sauce he discovered while working in Hong Kong, he used the downtime to develop his own recipe. Now, it’s available online and through local purveyors like Hooked.

Palomo takes pride in being a bit of a chili condiment connoisseur. His top picks are the chili sauce on the left, from Congee Queen, and the Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp on the right for a satisfying hit of heat and crunch.

Here’s the coffee corner: Palomo sticks to his trusty moka pot—the sleek steel specimen on the right—while his wife goes for the Nespresso pods and flavoured syrups.

This cupboard is filled with an array of supplements, all ready to supercharge Palomo’s morning smoothies. “My wife and I are both very active, so this helps sustain us,” he says.

Palomo’s pantry holds a little bit of everything: Maldon salt, a beautiful bottle of Palestinian olive oil the family received as a gift, Nutella for an occasional indulgence and furikake seasoning.

The Prima Taste Singapore Laksa noodles on the top shelf are his choice for quick comfort food, while Mama Sita’s Sinigang sa Sampalok tamarind seasoning mix comes to the rescue when he’s craving something familiar. “Every Filipino household has Mama Sita’s,” he says. “It’s how we build a lot of classic Filipino dishes.”

Palomo’s spice collection has exploded since he got married. “My wife’s mother introduced me to Indian cooking, and I started down a rabbit hole of spices,” he says. “When I would see her cook, she’d have all these spices. The way she mixed them together was so interesting and unique.”

Frantoia extra-virgin olive oil became a staple in Palomo’s kitchen after he discovered it during his time at 7 Numbers. “It’s what they use at the restaurant, and it’s just so good, plus it reminds me of an important time in my life,” he says. Sitting alongside the olive oil is a bottle of Giuseppe Giusti aged balsamic vinegar. While living in Italy, Palomo visited Modena to see how traditional balsamic vinegar is made—an experience that deepened his appreciation for its rich and layered flavours. And the bottom shelf is a well-travelled collection of essentials—Sicilian pasta, rice noodles and basmati rice—that reflect the many cuisines that inspire his time in the kitchen.

“As a chef, knives are kind of an extension of you,” says Palomo. “They tell a story about the things you had to go through to learn in the kitchen. I always feel brought back to those moments when I work with them.” His knives of choice are all by Takeda, a Japanese brand known for its rugged hand-forged look and ultra-thin blades designed for precision cutting.

At the top is his trusty Chinese cleaver, which he picked up while working in Hong Kong. It’s his go-to for speedy prep work, and he appreciates its versatility, using the broad blade to scoop prepped ingredients straight off the cutting board.

The large knife on the left is a soba knife, another Hong Kong find. Palomo admits that it was partly a novelty purchase, since they’re tough to track down outside of Asia. But he puts it to work occasionally by slicing hand-rolled pasta, a nod to its traditional use for cutting soba noodles.

This truffle shaver is a memento from Palomo’s time in Piedmont, where he worked at La Contea di Nieve. He received it as a farewell gift a few years ago, after the restaurant closed its doors following more than four decades of operation.

This cookbook was presented to Palomo by chef Vicky Cheng and the Vea team as a token of his time working as their senior chef de partie. “It’s pretty much a summary of all the amazing restaurants—from low-end to high-end—in Hong Kong,” says Palomo.