Chef Godfrey Laforteza: A Father’s Special Recipe
Performing artist turned- executive-chef Godfrey Laforteza talks about his parenting journey and the sacrifices he had to make to raise a family.
This story about Godfrey Laforteza written by Mae Virtucio first came out in Modern Parenting’s special Mother’s Day-Father’s Day 2023 Print Edition available on https://sarisari.shopping/.
Before he was a chef, Godfrey Laforteza was a popular performing artist doing theater, dancing, and singing in the late 90s to early 2000s. After which, he met his then girlfriend and now wife, actress Carla Guevara-Laforteza, and together, they moved to New York, built a family, and started anew. At 20 years old, they had their eldest and needed income to support their young family.
To read the full article, grab a copy of Modern Parenting’s special Mother’s Day-Father’s Day 2023 Print Edition. It’s available on sarisari.shopping. Or you can download the e-Magazine from Readly or Press Reader.
Starting from scratch
Becoming a chef and penetrating the New York culinary scene was not a walk in the park. With stiff requirements to meet, Chef Godfrey had to climb the ranks and started as a delivery guy. At some point, he even had to work three jobs to make ends meet.
To read the full article, grab a copy of Modern Parenting’s special Mother’s Day-Father’s Day 2023 Print Edition. It’s available on sarisari.shopping. Or you can download the e-Magazine from Readly or Press Reader.
Life as an Executive Chef
Fast forward to today, Chef Godfrey thinks being a young parent helped him grow up and mature fast. Now he’s seeing the fruits of his sacrifices as he is currently at the helm of Newport World Resorts’ signature restaurant, Casa Buenas.
To read the full article, grab a copy of Modern Parenting’s special Mother’s Day-Father’s Day 2023 Print Edition. It’s available on sarisari.shopping. Or you can download the e-Magazine from Readly or Press Reader.
A balancing act
Chef Godfrey recalls being away from his family for 11 years when he had to open a restaurant in Hong Kong while his family went back to Manila. Then, he was away again for another 10 years when he worked in Indonesia. Since he missed those crucial years of his first two children’s lives, he now puts all his energy into raising his youngest son who’s only 13 years old. He hopes that although his two older kids didn’t experience this kind of presence, they will heed his teachings when it comes to raising their own families in the future.
Balancing work and life is a top priority for the chef, a difficult thing to achieve for anyone in this profession. Having to work a minimum of 12 to 14 hours a day everyday, 5 to 7 days a week, can be challenging, but Chef Godfrey always remembers to keep his commitments to his family no matter what.
He recalled an instance when he promised his son they would get ice cream, but something came up and he had to rush home to finish some work. It felt like being splashed with cold water when his son said something that shocked him.
To read the full article, grab a copy of Modern Parenting’s special Mother’s Day-Father’s Day 2023 Print Edition. It’s available on sarisari.shopping. Or you can download the e-Magazine from Readly or Press Reader.
The Secret Ingredient To His Special Recipe
Moreover, he advises husbands to keep their wives happy. For him, separation and divorce are not in his vocabulary. He also encourages couples to refrain from fighting or arguing in front of their children as that creates memories of sadness and frustration. The chef cannot highlight this enough–keep your promises and your children will remember this forever. He should know. After all…
It’s the same thing his dad did for him.
More about working dads or fatherhood:
Chef Gene Gonzales: How Cooking Brings Family Together
Marvin Agustin Opens Up About Cooking Up a Legacy
Erwan Heussaff Gets a James Beard Nomination!
