With a mom who cooks the best bistek and adobo, and a lola (grandma) who makes the best lumpia ubod and crispy pata, Pinoy chef Jeff Camacho—owner of Burger Revolution in Belleville, Ont.—was destined to be a foodie and a connoisseur of flavours.
“Everything was a big party,” the North York-born Camacho said.
“Everything was prepping myself for big gatherings of families and friends.”
After a brief one-year stint studying culinary skills at George Brown College, Camacho spent a few years working at Kelseys, Montana’s and Harvey’s, before getting serious as a chef.
“It wasn’t for me,” Camacho said of his time at “regular big-box chains”.
“It wasn’t challenging,” Camacho said.
Burnt-out at 21, Camacho took a break for a year, did film and television for a bit, before heading to Niagara-on-the-Lake at his father’s suggestion.
It was there—while working at fine dining restaurants, surrounded by fresh, local ingredients, seeing great culinary creations come to life—that Camacho’s aha moment came.
Food that makes your tastebuds smile
“It was the perfect storm: the ingredients (were) all fresh. (We were) supporting all the local people around, (with) big farms around us.
“It was like fine country dining,” Camacho said.
It wasn’t just the style of cooking, but the culture of the kitchen: the way that the chefs were using fresh ingredients and “manipulating” them that enthralled Camacho.
They were making food that “makes your tastebuds smile,” he said.
“That was when my career started, the ‘pop’ moment when I said ‘I want to cook'”.
As the kitchen team made the “best food” at every shift, they also had each other’s back, supporting each other.
“It was the mentality. They were inspiring me,” Camacho said.
Rebellious burgers
Camacho’s quest to turn blah burgers into ‘rebellious’, award-winning burgers took some time.
After meeting his current wife Rayling at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Camacho said they were wondering what their next steps should be when the dean of their school messaged him to say there’s a place in Belleville, Ont. for him.
Camacho and his wife then managed the ‘front and back of the house’ at Capers Restaurant for almost three years before a small location became available on North Front Street in the city.
“We did sisig fries and sisig poutine (at Capers),” Camacho said.
The couple took a chance and opened Burger Revolution, with flavours like Chevre Guevarra and the Royal Rizal—a nod to his Filipino roots.
Dr. Jose P. Rizal is one of the Philippines’ most popular, most revered national hero.
The Royal Rizal’s burger ingredients include a beef patty made from local beef, blue cheese, bacon, caramelized onions and red pepper jelly.
Camacho loved how the restaurant was a small enough place that they could manage it easily.
Award-winning burgers
Asked why he decided to open a burger restaurant, Camacho said that “at the time there was no true burger joint in this area. We wanted every bite to change their life.”
Camacho sure has changed people’s opinions about burgers.
Burger Revolution has now won the annual Bay of Quinte’s Best of the Bay “Best Burger” award for four years in a row.
“We’re super happy. As a team, we talk about it a lot. We say how fortunate are we to do this on a daily basis.
“It’s the best meat, the best potatoes, the best vegetables and the best pork. It’s hard work, and it’s tough when people say the price point is so high.
“(But) our goal is to make this place bigger than Belleville.”
Camacho said that when The Food Network featured Burger Revolution on the show “You Gotta Eat Here” , the national recognition and exposure helped catapult their restaurant to new heights, allowing them to expand and to acquire a food truck.
Camacho has big plans for the future, and wants to incorporate more Filipino items into the menu.
“It needs to be known that Filipino food is not just rice and barbecue sticks,” he said.
Burger Revolution has since moved into their current location in downtown Belleville at 357 Front St.
Update: This article has been updated on Nov. 8, 2024, with added information about the show “You Gotta Eat Here”.
