Biography

Margarita was trained as a public accountant, but later went down the culinary route to set up a catering business, Cibo di M, after returning home from a trip to Italy in 1987.

In 1997, she opened her first restaurant, the well-loved "Cibo", which serves Italian cuisine. Today, it has more than 20 locations across the Philippines.

In 1986, Gaita went to Italy to study Italian cuisine with the help of three Italian chefs.

She named Asia's Best Female Chef of 2016, a title given to her by Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards.

She pursued a degree in Accountancy but her move to Hong Kong in the early '80s inspired her to experiment with cooking.