Nora Daza

Daza died on September 13, 2013, in her sleep due to a heart attack. She was 84 years old. Daza's body lay in state at the Loyola Memorial Chapel on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and was cremated.

In 1992, Daza's friend from U.P. Vice-President Salvador "Doy" Laurel asked her to run for the Senate of the Philippines under the Nacionalista Party. She ran on the platform “Proper Nutrition for the Masses," but ended up losing the race.

In 1975, the Marcos Government asked her to open and run the Maharlika on the ground floor of the Philippine Center, in Manhattan, New York. Maharlika was the first Filipino fine-dining restaurant in New York and was named after the pre-colonial Filipino Maharlika martial class of freemen. Myra Waldo, author of the Restaurant Guide to New York City and Vicinity, and then food and travel editor of WCBS (AM) radio, claimed Maharlika to be one of the top restaurants in New York City.

In 1972, she opened Aux Iles Philippines (The Philippine Islands), the first Filipino restaurant in Paris. Daza gave her eldest son, Gabriel "Bong" Daza, 22-years-old at the time, full responsibility of Aus Iles Philippines. Aus Iles Philippines earned three forks in the Michelin Guide, was declared an outstanding restaurant by the Gault-Millau restaurant guide, and received praise from Le Monde and the International Herald Tribune. French Actress Brigitte Bardot and French Philosopher Simone de Beauvoir were a notable regulars.

Daza's son, Sandy Daza, is a chef and restaurateur specializing in Filipino and Thai cuisines. He has hosted television cooking shows and has written books and articles on cooking and baking. Daza's other son, Bong Daza, is a food entrepreneur specializing in processed meats and fish. He is the estranged husband of Miss Universe 1969 winner Gloria Diaz. He ran for vice-mayor of Makati in 1998 but lost in the elections. Her granddaughter Isabelle Daza is also a TV host. Her grandson Turs is also a TV host and a VJ on MYX Channel.

In 1965, Daza opened Au Bon Vivant (The Good Life) in Ermita. Au Bon Vivant was reputedly the first restaurant in Manila to offer authentic French cuisine. She also opened up a Filipino Restaurant in Manila called Galing Galing, that served Filipino comfort food such as kare-kare. Galing Galing later burned down, and with it Daza's recipe book collection. In 1974, Daza expanded her operation in the Philippines and opened an Au Bon Vivant in the NCR's business hub Makati.

Daza became a judge of cooking contests held by the Manila Gas Corporation from 1957 to 1960. She hosted television cooking shows At Home with Nora and Cooking It Up with Nora to wide popular acclaim and viewership for several years. She was appointed Director of Manila Gas Cooking School where she selected, modified, checked, and kitchen-tested over five-hundred recipes for around three thousand students who enrolled over a period of four years.

In 1952, Daza graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor's degree in Home Economics. She learned about Filipino cooking and catering while working at the University of the Philippines cafeteria. She then went to the United States to study at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, for a Master of Science in Restaurant and Institutional Management. At Cornell, she became a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and was in the top 10 of her class.

Nora Guanzon Villanueva-Daza (December 2, 1928 – September 13, 2013), popularly known as Chef Nora Daza, was the Philippines' first culinary icon, a Filipino veteran gourmet chef, restaurateur, socio-civic leader, television host and best-selling cookbook author in the Philippines. Daza was known as the “Julia Child of the Philippines" and the "Philippines' first culinary ambassador."