Sunda founder Billy Dec talks Filipino American History Month, Nashville, upcoming documentary

Billy Dec, the founder of The Gulch’s Sunda New Asian, recently traveled to his mother’s home country of the Philippines to learn about how a familial connection with food has shaped his worldview for his PBS documentary “Food. Roots.”

“Filipino culture has always had open arms to different cultures and mixing and matching and evolving,” Dec said. He's Filipino-American, raised in Chicago. His mother is Filipino, raised in Quezon City, the most populated city in the Philippines. She fled when President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972.

Filipino American History Month is celebrated in October, and as the month comes to a close this year, Dec reflected on growing up and learning to embrace his Filipino heritage, from hearing Tagalog spoken frequently around him to being taught life lessons from his grandmother.

FROM 2018:Restaurateur Billy Dec brings Filipino food to Nashville with Sunda

Bringing Southeast Asian food to the mainstream

Once Dec began working in the elevated restaurant scene, eventually accumulating decades of experience, he decided he wanted to blend high-end, innovative styles with dishes that are more familiar to him.

“I did something I always wanted to do, which was to bring Southeast Asian food, along with Filipino food, to the mainstream at really high levels,” he explained.

Sunda officially opened its first location in Chicago in 2009. It was a hit due to the execution of Dec’s original vision of upscale, Asian-inspired culinary options and culture on the menu and its high standard of service.

As Dec worded it, an experience dining at Sunda is like taking, “a guided backpack trip through Asia.”

He added, “The diversity of flavor and taste — it’s a work of magic.”

There are hints of Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, and Chinese food scattered across its list of offerings. Nearly a decade after Chicago's Sunda location launched, a new Nashville location opened at 592 12th Ave. S.

“I fell in love with Nashville over a dozen years,” Dec said. “I learned so much about the culture and the culinary scene of the city. It was a natural fit, so we brought it here and opened in 2018.”

The importance of sharing traditional and refreshing takes on Filipino recipes runs deep for Dec.

“It’s a great opportunity to us to bring attention to all the national beauty and contributions Filipino Americans have made in the country,” he said.

In the Nashville area, Filipino eateries are few and far between. However, they are vital for the local Filipino community. For example, Lavergne-based Maemax Market, which is set for a soon-to-open Rivergate outpost, offers a vast selection of ingredients and homecooked-style meals reminiscent of Filipino classics.

Opportunities for cultural gatherings are being encouraged around Nashville as well.

For instance, Maskara Night was held on Oct. 21 in Murfreesboro. The event is an annual fundraiser to help with the philanthropic efforts of Helping Hands Worldwide Services Inc., which is dedicated to building stronger communities in the Philippines. The grand winner of “Pilipinas Got Talent” and fourth runner-up of “America’s Got Talent” Marcelito Pomoy was the headliner.

Dec has noticed a shift in how Nashville foodies are becoming more welcoming of various concepts that they may not have had experience with before.

“The thing about Nashvillians is that they’re quite adventurous and curious and savvy,” he said. There’s an authenticity unlike any other, from his point of view, where people are open to creating modernization or to trying traditional food as it was meant to be enjoyed. Either way, people in Nashville are excited to explore.

'The importance of feeding and loving'

Dec, who has served on the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders and the White House Bullying Prevention Task Force, offered insights on the idea of and making of “Food. Roots.” which will be released in early 2023. During his roles at the White House, Dec noted how the abuse of the imbalance of power had a lot to do with the lack of content.

“If I could show people how beautiful the Philippines is and the importance of feeding and loving, then I’m contributing to the idea of diversifying content,” he said.

He recalled being bullied at school when classmates would drift over during lunch because they smelled Filipino food and would make fun of him for the unfamiliar meals.

Those same Filipino staples, like crispy pata and bibingka, are now Sunda bestsellers.

The documentary got underway after two of Dec’s last remaining elders died on the same day. He traveled to the Philippines to reconnect with his roots, setting out to learn the recipes of his ancestors. He took planes, boats, jeepneys and bicycles and figured out how to get to his remaining family so he could rediscover himself and reclaim his Filipino identity on his own terms.

There was a lot to unravel, resulting in Dec labeling the adventure as “therapeutic.”

“Things are uncovered by family stories," he explained, "that’s why it’s called “Food. Roots.”

Filipino-American inventions haven't been talked about enough, Dec said, but if people take the time to Google their contributions, he believes they would be blown away, especially in the notably-restricted culinary environment.

“These inventions are starting to be embraced by what we call celebrity chefs. It’s aligned with changing tastes and palates,” he noted.

The celebration of cultural and culinary diversity is the real impact “Food. Roots.” seeks to make.

“We all can make some contribution just by telling our own stories. Everyone’s from somewhere. Everyone has a story, and if you bring it forward, it would be unifying,” Dec said. “I would, hopefully, be inspiring everyone else of every background to learn the recipes of their ancestors and to be invigorated and to be so excited to share it.

"The conversations would be very forward and very delicious.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Billy Dec discusses significance of Filipino American History Month