Abi Marquez: The Lumpia Queen’s Recipe for Joy

Abi Marquez is known for her viral cooking videos that include her lumpia experiments where she stuffs Filipino spring rolls with all kinds of filling—from ube and buko pandan to sisig and sinigang.

But the 25-year-old content creator, popularly known as “Lumpia Queen,” stands out not just for her kitchen skills, but for her refreshingly healthy relationship with food. It’s rooted in childhood joy, cultural pride, and self-discovery.

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“My earliest food memories would be sharing my school snacks with my playmates. I was a foodie as a child,” Marquez says.

She credits her parents for her lack of fear in the kitchen. “I was making fried chicken as a five year old,” she says, recalling how she’d ask her mom to turn on their gas stove so she could cook. “They never stopped me. [The kitchen] became like a lab or play area for me growing up. I was just comfortable being in that space.”

Raised on her mother’s delicious home cooking, Marquez’s palate was shaped by classic Filipino dishes and her flair for innovation, which was evident even as a kid. She put peanuts in bread, made pizza with her father, whipped up noodles for friends, and, by grade school, was baking brownies for her classmates.

“I became known as the person who cooks. I started thinking, if I were to do anything with my life, I wanted it to have something to do with food,” she says.

It was clear to Marquez: “Cooking is fun and it can be a bonding activity. I always had the thing for service and sharing food. That’s still my relationship with food now—I use it to share with others.”

And share it, she does. That instinct to nourish has evolved into her full-time job. Marquez, who graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines with a degree in hotel, restaurant, and institution management, also pursued her passion for film by joining film classes in college. During the pandemic, she found the perfect way to marry these two interests by becoming a content creator. “I love cooking and I love making videos, and I had the time. Now, food has become my career.”

Through her videos, Marquez has also become a beloved champion of Filipino food. She has millions of followers across platforms, has gotten global recognition and multiple awards, and yet Marquez remains grounded in what made her fall in love with food in the first place: care, creativity, and community.

Marquez’s followers often tell her that they’ve started cooking because of her. “That makes me super happy. It’s one of my missions—to make cooking less intimidating for people.”

Food has also brought her together with different personalities for memorable collaborations. The list includes rapper Saweetie, the cast of the latest iteration of Superman, and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. Collaborating with Ramsay is still one of her proudest moments. “I’d been dreaming about meeting him even before I became a content creator. He’s my childhood hero.”

Ramsay called Marquez’s lumpia version of his signature beef wellington dish “stunning” and “the most glamorous spring roll I’ve ever eaten.”

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In 2023, TikTok Awards Philippines named Marquez Foodie Creator of the Year. Last year, in New York, Marquez was given the Webby People’s Voice Award in the Social: Food & Drink category. “Being the first Filipino to win the award also adds to that honor,” she says.

This year, Marquez was presented with the Food Blogger Award at the World Influencers and Bloggers Awards in Cannes. Another achievement she is proud of? Being nominated for a James Beard Media Award. “It’s a great honor and a dream come true for me.”

While other opportunities have been knocking—she has even started acting on TV—Marquez says everything she does will always be centered on food. “I’m very lucky to have my dream job right now, and I want to keep doing this for as long as I can. I think this is my calling.”

Makeup: Jigs Mayuga. Hair: JA Feliciano. Styling: Geno Espidol and Jia Torrato or Qurator.