“Exploring the richness of Filipino culture through elevated hospitality & our family recipes."
Established during the summer of 2020, amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Kora’s motives lie broadly in the exposition of the richness that exists within Filipino culture, and intimately in tribute to co-founder & chef Kimberly Camara’s late grandmother, Corazon.
Just months before Kora’s inception, mass layoffs in the hospitality industry affected both Kimberly & co-founder Kevin Borja, losing their jobs as a Research & Development cook and a Server for USHG, respectively. After Kimberly decided to serendipitously fry a batch of brioche dough instead of baking it, she decided to use this new-found time as a resource to share Filipino cuisine through some of her favorite foods, her grandmother’s recipes, and a pastry that everyone could enjoy: a doughnut.
What began as a short-term project humbly produced out of Kimberly’s apartment kitchen in Woodside, Queens (aka Little Manila), two home-fryers, Kevin taking orders and delivering doughnuts out of a two-door sports car and a team of volunteers made up of family & friends, eventually Kora--Kimberly & Corazon’s names combined, became its marquee, with our logo crafted directly from Corazon’s old handwritten recipe book. Since then, our online-only presence has come to amass a waitlist of over 10,000 people, recognized in New York City and internationally.
As Kora continues to expand, we invite you to support our efforts in learning and sharing more about Filipino culture through cuisine and fine hospitality and Lola Corazon’s legacy.
