i. Biography
The Climb
Restaurant cooking built around polish depends on composition as much as execution: the menu has to read clearly, the room has to be served at pace, and the identity of the place has to hold without being overworked. As chef and menu creator at People’s Palace in Greenbelt 3, Makati, Philippines, Colin McKay worked inside that discipline, where food, atmosphere, and appetite had to meet with confidence. Menu creation in a city dining room is a practical craft. It asks for structure, appetite, and a sense of place, not just a sequence of dishes. That early point in McKay’s career already showed those requirements: direct appeal, careful construction, and attention to guests who know how to dine. Executive kitchen leadership extends that same work at larger scale. Today, Colin is Executive Chef of Blackbird Makati, carrying forward the concerns that shaped his earlier role: balance, polish, coherence, and the daily responsibility of giving an international menu a steady point of view.
The Work Today
The link between those two rooms is useful because it shows continuity in the work. The earlier post established Colin McKay as a chef able to give a restaurant structure and character; the current one places that craft inside a prominent dining room with an international menu. An Executive Chef role is a working position of authorship and stewardship. Colin is responsible for the consistency of the kitchen, the direction of the team, and the shape of a menu that has to hold from beginning to end. The problem of an international menu is breadth without looseness: range has to be managed so the cooking still reads as one restaurant. Viewed through these two named rooms, the career is less about reinvention than control carried forward. The polish associated with the earlier work remains present, now applied to greater scale and visibility.
Standing
Recognition for a restaurant is also recognition of sustained kitchen systems: menu direction, consistency, and the ability to meet external scrutiny. Blackbird Makati received Michelin Plate recognition for Blackbird Makati (2026) and Opinionated About Dining Casual Asia #113 ranking for Blackbird Makati (2025), placing the restaurant within a wider regional field. Those two markers — Michelin Plate recognition for Blackbird Makati (2026) and Opinionated About Dining Casual Asia #113 ranking for Blackbird Makati (2025) — frame the current chapter of Colin McKay’s work without replacing the craft facts underneath: early menu creation at People’s Palace in Greenbelt 3, Makati, Philippines, the Executive Chef role at Blackbird Makati, and the international menu he leads today.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Colin
What is Colin McKay's current role?
Colin McKay is chef at Blackbird Makati — International.
Where did Colin McKay work before?
Earlier in their career, Colin McKay worked at People’s Palace.
What recognition has Colin McKay received?
Michelin Plate recognition for Blackbird Makati (2026).
