Among local steakhouses, All About Beef in San Fernando, Pampanga distinguishes itself for its authentic Australian beef.

The restaurant's menu is replete with beef-based dishes such as shawarma, burgers, nachos, pastas, and more. The star of the show, of course, is its unlimited Australian steak — something that not every steakhouse can offer.

What gives the food a distinct taste is that it is made with beef that is fresh and not frozen, from grass-fed cows locally fattened and slaughtered. As a mark of wuality, All About Beef assures that the Australian government keeps an eye on the whole process as Australian beef ranks among the highest quality beef in the world.

The restaurant is one of five company-owned brands under the 17 brands of the D' League group of companies.

"We started last July (2022) but are currently building five branches — in Angeles City, Magalang, Mabalacat, Guagua, and Floridablanca. Our main strength is that we have our own logistics company so we can expand anywhere in Luzon to provide our distributors and dealers. We have leads for expansion in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, and more,"" D' League CEO Neil Angelo Sicat said.

Man with a mission

Before becoming the business giant he is today, Sicat started out as a humble siomai vendor with P3,000 in capital.

After a brief period studying the franchise business, he launched and franchised a food cart business and soon applied the concept to the milk tea business. He capitalized success upon success until the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted everything.

With a heart to serve his countrymen, he organized CARed Pool Pampanga which mobilized private individuals to provide free transport services and food to frontliners. He also started a program for daily wagers, Pamisaupan Kapampangan, long before the concept of community pantry started.

"I needed a sustainable foundation; I launched D' League Group of Companies so I don't have to ask for donations. Instead, I can provide and sustain the foundation through the income of the different companies that we have," Sicat said.

The young entrepreneur attributes his mental fortitude to being a former seminarian for 11 years. "People think, when they enter the seminary, it is for a purely spiritual purpose, but the training is psycho-spiritual. It is more on psychological development, to see things in a positive way combined with spirituality," he said. This mindset has enabled him to overcome challenges along the way and steer his business to greater heights.

Filling a need in the market

When the CEO came across the Netflix series Start-Up in 2020, he had a lightbulb moment. In 2021, he launched the D' League Group of Companies as a one-stop shop service provider ranging from consultancy, incubation, construction, and marketing.

Its goal is to control quality and standards of services that are not being outsourced. It is a solution-based company as it provides answers to every problem or possible problem of a franchisor.