Indie-Folkfest, which has been on hiatus since 2020, returns for its eighth event in the sculpture garden adjacent to the Mennello Museum of American Art.
Ziggie s Pizza taking over Perla s spot inside Thirsty Topher orlandosentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from orlandosentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Michael Collantes isn t one to let up on the gas. I mean, the man drives a 350Z with a turbo 1JZ build, so why would you expect him to? Since opening Taglish, his Filipino-American eatery inside Lotte Plaza Market, Collantes has stepped on the pedal by forming the Taglish Collective, the restaurant group behind the expansion of the Taglish brand (Taglish UCF opening next month), the recently opened high-end omakase concept Soseki (review also coming next month) and EightySix Media, a test kitchen/supper club/media company.
It s also behind Perla s Pizza, the inviting little pie house joined at the hip to the Thirsty Topher in Ivanhoe Village. In fact, Collantes teamed up with Topher owners Ron DiDonato and Jason Perez to open Perla s as a way to draw business back to the beer bar after it was ordered closed during the pandemic.
Florida Foodie: Chef Mike Collantes is building a collective in Orlando’s food scene
Local chef has 3 restaurants open and 3 coming soon
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“Everyone says ‘Orlando food is on the rise,’ well I tell him that ‘No, it’s here.’”
He is a Central Florida native, growing up in Winter Park and Orlando. He got his first taste of culinary work when he was a teenager.
“I always tell people I started at the Sbarro’s School of Pizzerias at 16 at the Fashion Square Mall,” Collantes said.
His real culinary training got started when he went to school at Valencia College. That led to a career that took Collantes all across the country Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Hawaii, all became stops on his culinary journey. During that time, he worked for celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, Joel Robuchon and his mentor Jennifer Carrol.