Opening My Restaurant Was a Love Letter to My Family

Carlo Lamagna is the chef/owner of Magna in Portland, Ore., and was a 2018 Chef to Watch.

My inspiration as a cook has always first been my home country; the Philippines is a huge part of my makeup. My food is an accumulation of who I am at this point in time; being Filipino but also growing up with my family in Detroit. But when I first started cooking, I didn’t want cook...