G. David Rengifo Est. Kitchen · Lab
Formulation nº 01 — the maker

G. David Rengifo

Chef & Data-Flavorist

Why I build things

Because creation is my way to express my individuality. I have travelled a lot and saw plenty of injustice, and that made my principles stronger.

I saw backpackers being mistreated by the farmers, and because of that I am creating Guild 88. I met expats in Japan who prefer not to eat dinner than decide what to cook with what they have at hand. Air has no nutritional value, and if you are going to work a physically demanding job you better eat well. You don't want to think a recipe? Ok, I will fix it.

I have travelled and lived around the world — Indonesia, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Spain, Australia — looking for my own truth and purpose in life. I am based in Melbourne.

David glazing a chocolate cake with honey
Plate I. The kitchen half of the practice.
Plates II–XIII — the same person, several rooms

I build for people I have been.

David in a Melbourne park holding a birthday cake
Melbourne, 2023. Selling birthday cakes.
Working at a bench with laptops and a circuit board
The bench. Where the apps get built.
David in chef whites on the pastry section of a steakhouse
On section in San Francisco, post pandemic.
David and his mother on a San Francisco street at sunset
San Francisco. With my mother.
Walking a row of stone Buddhas in Thailand
Ayutthaya. Looking for my own truth.
David holding a lemon tart in a small home kitchen
Humble origins in Colombia — selling tarts to pay for my studies.
David and his partner in ao dai under Hoi An lanterns
Hoi An, Vietnam. Food reviewing with my lover.
David in a hi-vis work vest
Social service in my local church.
David on a modelling shoot outdoors
Modelling work in the Philippines, during the pandemic.
Portrait of David at home beside a keyboard
Cable guy / editor for a band in Hobart.
David in a hi-vis work shirt and wide-brim hat in a farm shed
Ayr, Queensland, 2026. Farm work — where Guild 88 started.
Field record
10

countries lived in and travelled: Indonesia, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Spain, Australia.

The itinerary.
On flavour
I

A top Google Maps food reviewer

Level 7 Local Guide — 935 contributions seen 11 million times, 149 of them written reviews. I eat out and I write it down, in whichever city I happen to be living in — four continents so far.

II

A foodie combining at home

For years I made flavour combinations at home by instinct — good nights, and nights that taught me more.

III

Then The Flavor Matrix

That book changed the way I understand flavour. Instinct became structure — and structure is something an app can carry.

The collection

Two formulations, released one at a time

Each app is built for one market and one problem. Nothing here is a platform. They are separate bottles, and they are meant to be used that way.

Support
EN 日本語
Nº 01

MacroGaijin

Recipes from the pantry you already have

Now out on iPhone and Android

Market
Japan
Status
Live
Where
App Store · Google Play
Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play
What it does

MacroGaijin uses chef principles, food-pairing knowledge, and food science to create recipes around what you already have, suggesting Japanese and expat optional additional ingredients when they can make the dish even better.

It also reads the label. Photograph the nutrition panel on Japanese packaging and the calories, protein, carbs and fat land in your diary, in English.

Why I built it

I met expats in Japan who prefer not to eat dinner than decide what to cook with what they have at hand. Air has no nutritional value, and if you are going to work a physically demanding job you better eat well. You don't want to think a recipe? Ok, I will fix it.

Nº 02

Guild 88

The 88 days, shared

Market
Australia
Status
Early development
Where
In build
What it does

Guild 88 helps people doing the 88 days of farm work required for the Australian working holiday visa find a community, share tips, and rate farms.

Why I built it

I saw backpackers being mistreated by the farmers, and because of that I am creating Guild 88.

Correspondence

Write to the workshop

Testing an early build, hiring for kitchen or product work, or asking about the 88 days — all reach the same inbox.

Direct

contact@davidrengifo.com

MacroGaijin

App Store

Google Play

Elsewhere

LinkedIn

Instagram — @punk.lunar

X — @art_latam

Google Maps — Local Guide