“All we do is talk about food,” Simeon told the audience. But his approach to food began long before any of that, in a family where food was both celebration and discipline. Simeon’s own relationship with Filipino food is complicated by the unique culinary history of Hawaiʻi. He said Filipino food should be celebrated according to the specific places and traditions from which individual dishes come. That idea—that traditions evolve—is central to Simeon’s cooking philosophy.