Update on Thursday's Filipino Dinner at Citizen Cake: Mystery Chef Revealed

stick in the mud/Flickr

Braised oxtail like mom used to make -- literally.

Yesterday we posted about the Filipino prix fixe at Citizen Cake this Thursday, reporting that guest chef Zenaida Belanich would be on site to work with regular Cake chef William Pilz. Truth is, we hadn't heard of Belanich, and Google surfing turned up zero. We queried Pilz, but hadn't heard back before posting.

Turns out she's Pilz's mom. "Zenaida Hernandez Belanich is my mom and now living in N.Y.," Pilz explained this morning via email. "She is not a professional chef but the source of some of the best Philippino [sic] food I have had to date and I believe that to be a bold statement considering ... the Philippino population to our south. Although not a professional she could be considered a pro caterer with five children [and] their birthday, family and school events each year. My mom and I are collaborating; her recipes[,] some of my own and my abilities to interpret to a restaurant audience."

Totally cool -- makes us even more psyched about checking it out.