Carefully rebuilding · Accepting select inquiries

Food is storytelling.
Business is systems.
We bring both.

Islas Hospitality Group creates chef-led dinners, cultural cooking experiences, and operator workshops — rooted in Filipino culinary tradition and eight years of building a food business from the ground up.

Submit an inquiry See what we offer →
A note on where we are

We paused restaurant operations in late 2025 following a period of significant personal and professional transition. We are rebuilding carefully — taking select events and experiences that align with where we are going, not where we have been. If you are reading this, you found us at the right moment. We would love to hear what you are building.

What we create

Experiences that nourish and teach.

Every experience we design carries the same intention: food as a vehicle for connection, culture, and genuine learning. We do not produce events that feel generic. Each engagement is built around the specific occasion, audience, and story you want to tell.

Dining

Storytelling dinners

Intimate multi-course dinners where each dish is a chapter. Filipino culinary tradition, family memory, and cultural identity served with precision and warmth. Chef Marc narrates between courses — connecting food to place, to people, to purpose.

Suited for: private hosts, cultural institutions, corporate dining, community celebrations, brand experiences.
Demonstration

Live cooking demos

Chef Marc at festivals, expos, corporate events, and community gatherings. Filipino technique, signature flavour, and a story worth hearing. Available for a single appearance or a series of engagements across Canada and internationally.

Suited for: food festivals, cultural expos, brand activations, media appearances, community events.
Education

Operator workshops

Practical intensives for food business founders and operators — from financial clarity and systems thinking to menu engineering and sustainable kitchen practice. Built on eight years of real operator experience, not textbook theory.

Suited for: aspiring chefs, food entrepreneurs, culinary schools, accelerators, hospitality associations.
Returning to the stage

We were at Halal Expo Canada,
June 11, 2026.

After pausing public appearances following the closure of iSLAS in 2025, our first return to a live stage was a cooking demo at Halal Expo Canada in Toronto. It was a reminder of why we started — the food, the conversation, the aspiring chefs and bakers who came up after the demo with questions about how to start, how to survive, how to build something that lasts.

"Every person who came up after that demo and said 'I want to open something someday' — that is who we are building this for."

That energy is what drives the operator workshops, the storytelling dinners, and everything we are quietly building through Islas Tech. If you were there, thank you. If you weren't — we're just getting started.

About us

Eight years of building.
Everything we create comes from that.

Islas Hospitality Group is led by Chef Marc and Mariel Buenaventura — the two people who ran iSLAS Filipino BBQ & Bar in Toronto from 2017 to 2025. Two locations. 20+ staff. Three annual Night Markets. A Filipino community built around a table.

We know what it costs to run a food business. We also know what it looks like when hospitality is done with precision, care, and genuine cultural intention. Every experience we create draws on both sides of that knowledge.

Islas Hospitality Group is the live execution layer of the broader Islas ecosystem — the place where the food, the story, and the systems thinking all come together in a room with real people.

Chef Marc Buenaventura
Chef Marc Buenaventura
Culinary Director

Eight years running iSLAS. Featured in BlogTO, Foodism, Toronto Life. Recognised by the Philippine Consulate 2022 & 2025. Author of Finding Islas. Visit marcbuen.com →
Mariel Buenaventura
Mariel Buenaventura
Operations & Co-Founder

20+ years in finance and operations. The systems and logistics behind every event. Also building Islas Tech — the operating system for small hospitality operators. Visit marielbuenaventura.com →
Book an experience

Tell us about
your occasion.

We review every inquiry personally. No automated responses, no generic packages. Tell us what you are planning and we will come back to you within 48 hours with an honest answer about whether we are the right fit.

We review all inquiries personally and respond within 48 hours.

Thank you — we received your inquiry. We review every submission personally and will be back in touch within 48 hours.

Part of the Islas ecosystem
Islas Tech Chef Marc Mariel