Sydney Cebu Lechon has been a family affair for more than three decades. In the 1990s, as a high-schooler, Will Mahusay would watch his father Fred brine and prepare whole suckling pigs to be roasted over charcoal. The work was intense, physical and technical; Mahusay found himself intrigued, but not enough to entice him away from his teenage freedom just yet.

As an adult, Mahusay became his father’s apprentice. He spent four years learning the ins and outs of finetuning heat and height in his father’s custom-built charcoal oven to achieve the perfect lechon: juicy, yielding roast meat and glassy crispy skin. He calls it an absolute “umami bomb”.

Mahusay, who will be serving his lechon at Powerhouse Lane alongside Lugaw Queen and offering attendees a taste of a range of Filipino street food staples, feels it’s the sheer diversity of Parramatta that makes the festival such a delight and hopes to see it continue for many years to come.

Sydney Cebu Lechon has been a family affair for more than three decades. In the 1990s, as a high-schooler, Will Mahusay would watch his father Fred brine and prepare whole suckling pigs to be roasted over charcoal. The work was intense, physical and technical; Mahusay found himself intrigued, but not enough to entice him away from his teenage freedom just yet.
As an adult, Mahusay became his father’s apprentice. He spent four years learning the ins and outs of finetuning heat and height in his father’s custom-built charcoal oven to achieve the perfect lechon: juicy, yielding roast meat and glassy crispy skin. He calls it an absolute “umami bomb”.
Mahusay, who will be serving his lechon at Powerhouse Lane alongside Lugaw Queen and offering attendees a taste of a range of Filipino street food staples, feels it’s the sheer diversity of Parramatta that makes the festival such a delight and hopes to see it continue for many years to come.