Before the influx of food vloggers and influencers, there was Chef Heny Sison.
Kids from the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s definitely know this Filipino pastry chef, cake designer, and culinary authority, who became a household name through her cooking and baking show, A Taste of Life with Chef Heny.
She made cooking and baking look so easy.
Undoubtedly, she is a culinary icon.
But where is Chef Heny now? What has been keeping her busy?
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) recently caught up with her at SPOT.ph’s Grab 5-Star Easts held on August 18, 2026.
It turns out that while she is no longer as visible on television as she once was, she remains active and continues to do what she loves most—and does best.
“Buti na lang nandito pa,” she quipped, referring to how she has remained relevant in the food industry even after 40 years.
“I'm so happy because, you know, I've seen the evolution, the development in the food industry.
“At saka marami na rin akong naturuan na mga students.
“Every time I get invited, I feel honored...kasi nakikita mo yung mga creations nila at tulad ngayon, masasarap yung aking mga natikman. It's blind tasting, but almost lahat masarap,” said the food-tasting event's judge.
She added that many people still recognize her.
“I'm thanking God that up to now, I'm still here and I'm still active teaching and running the restaurants that we have set up.
“And hopefully, I'll be here for more years to help the food industry.”
As an experienced chef, it comes as no surprise that many well-known personalities have trained under Chef Heny, and taken courses at her culinary school, Chef Heny Culinary School.
One of the celebrities who trained under her is Sarah Geronimo, who even made vlogs about taking a culinary course at Chef Heny’s school during the pandemic.
“I'm so happy to see them, successful in their careers, especially in the food industry and most celebrity chefs, nagdaan na rin sa akin. And every time I see them, I feel proud of them.”
During her heydays, cooking shows were limited but were already popular.
Chef Heny’s contemporaries include Sandy Daza and, eventually, Chef Rosebud Benitez.
But after so many years, these shows have faded from TV and culinary contents have evolved to social media, where everyone can be a content creator, from simple cooking, mukbangs, and everyone can be a food critic.
What is Chef Heny’s reaction to these changes?
“Puro positive. Wala namang negative,” she said about the evolution in the food landscape.
“Tsaka nga ngayon, well-exposed na sila sa mga online cooking classes. You know, marami nang pagbabago.
“So, yun, marami na ngayon. Exposed na. Kaya iba na ang exposure ngayon ng mga Filipino when it comes to food. Mas adventurous na sila.”
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ADAPTING TO MODERN TIMES
She said that she, too, had to adapt to the changing times, particularly in the way she teaches her students.
“It's different even in teaching. Like when I conduct my class, our classes at my cooking school, meron na kaming online and on-site, sabay…
“So, you can capture a wider market, not like before on site lang, ano? Ngayon international na. So, iba-iba na, e. Iba na ngayon.”
Does she miss doing cooking shows?
“Hindi naman. Ang nami-miss ko lang, siyempre... mas mabilis ang social media.
“Nung time namin, siyempre, kami lang sa cooking show, tsaka yung mga Lifestyle Channel, Food Network.
“Pero ngayon, if you need a recipe, just go to YouTube and you can see how it's done.
“But for me, nami-miss ko yung face-to-face, because it's different.”
For students she teaches online, she said the challenge is the lack of face-to-face interaction, which is vital for the full learning experience.
“You cannot smell the food. You cannot taste it. Not like when you learn on site or face-to-face. Nakikita mo at naaamoy mo. Yun ang kulang.
“Siyempre, pwede mo naman subukan sa bahay, but I cannot check them right away, if they're doing it correctly or not. So, I ask my students, those who take online classes, to send me photos of their work.
“And if it's not pre-recorded, actual time, I tell them to buy ingredients so that they can follow along while I do it, so I can check them even if they're in the U.S. or in Europe.
“They can follow along as long as they buy the ingredients ahead of time. We send them the recipes and then they buy kung anong kailangan, so na-che-check ko right away. So, it's like there's interaction.
“Ang kulang lang, hindi mo matikman at saka yung human interaction.”
There is also the challenge of time difference with her students abroad.
“Kaya I need to know the time difference, kasi hindi naman pwede [na] umaga dito, gabi doon. Kailangan mag-meet kami halfway, ano? Saka tina-timing namin yung aming mga live online class.”
Nonetheless, Chef Heny said that it makes her happy that her students visit her whenever they come home to the Philippines.
“Sometimes they come and visit me...Doon natutuwa ako," she beamed.
WHAT’S KEEPING CHEF HENY BUSY THESE DAYS
Chef Heny is not against the current trend wherein everyone can resort to vlogging and content creation through social media channels.
But in her case, “I'm happier now doing my online classes kasi, of course, they pay me.
“They need some privacy, instead of being exposed. At least, they can use the recipes for their business.”
For the fans who are curious about what’s keeping Chef Heny busy now, she said: “Well, aside from the cooking school, I run three restaurants.
“We have a Spanish restaurant. It's called Dio Gracias. And it's located in 11th Jamboree Street, Quezon City.
“There's, of course, the first restaurant, Victorino's. It's a Filipino, Ilocano restaurant…
“And we just opened an Italian restaurant, the name is La Virginia,” which is located in Scout Rallos, in Quezon City.
“And aside from that, I'm busy with food styling. I do food styling for TV commercials, digital, and I do print food styling, as well.
“So, that makes me busy, aside from being a mother and a wife.
“And I do food consultancy, as well, for mga restaurants, na nag-o-open.”
So, she has no plans of slowing down?
“No, hindi pa,” she replied. “Hangga't kaya, I won't retire. Kaya pa and I enjoy what I'm doing.”