Chef Nikko was born and raised in the Philippines. After immigrating to the states in 2011 and working as a nurse, Cagalanan found himself inspired to pursue cooking with the desire to share his passion for Filipino food. He made the move to Charleston in 2018 to further his culinary career and founded Mansueta’s Filipino Food in early 2019. In the years since he’s successfully introduced not only Charleston, but many cities around the country through pop ups and collaborations, to his own elevated take on many traditional Filipino dishes. In 2022 Cagalanan was named Best Filipino Restaurant in SC by Food & Wine magazine in addition to winning the title of Chopped Champion in November 2023. In 2023 he opened his first restaurant Kultura, a space of his own to share and host outside chefs representing their own cultures through food. Kultura was named among the best new restaurants in the country in 2024 along with the best restaurant in SC. Cagalanan was also a James Beard Finalist in the Emerging Chef category in 2024.