The Michelin-star menu to success

With unprecedented times and fast-evolving trends, the food and beverage industry has to remain resilient to thrive in the ever-changing landscape.

Eric Dee, the chief operations officer of Foodie Global Concepts and co-founder of Kravers Canteen, the fastest-growing cloud kitchen in the Philippines, puts his heart and passion into food while also paying attention to the growing market whose needs and demands are changing from the get-go — a definite key to success.

"My life revolves around food," Dee told DAILY TRIBUNE in a Pairfect interview, noting that he is attentive to new trends, gimmicks and approaches from others. "I want to learn something from them, listening to the younger generation — an entirely new market since they are very experiential."

Menu to success #1:

Hard work

Although one might say that being a son of a family who owns a successful line of businesses guarantees automatic success, success was not handed to Dee on a silver platter, and that he had to work hard for it.

His parents, Ricky and Beng Dee, used to run just one restaurant. It was in this business they built from scratch that their children grew up in.

Eric remembers, "My barkada at that time was the waiters, the kusineros… I would go to the wet market with the kusineros, so it was a really good experience," he reminisced, adding how it allowed him to have a more comfortable working experience in the kitchen.

Dee said his parents wanted then to gain knowledge on the job so they were required to work outside the family business for a few years to enrich their skills and prepare them for the fast-changing restaurant scene. Thus, he had to work several jobs — from working in multiple fast-food chains to operating a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he met his wife.

Menu to success #2:

Learning with unprecedented situations

A lot of people considered 2020 as a fresh start to finally materialize dreams into reality; to open a brand new chapter where achieving personal and career milestones is within reach. However, some things are beyond one's control.

Similar to most businesses, Dee revealed that their successful chain of food businesses also took a hit during the pandemic.

"We wanted to outdo ourselves, but all that stuff… we had to close our restaurants and send home employees," Dee said, remembering that they were slated to open 36 restaurants then.

Dee did not lose sight of the goal. While being at home during the peak of the pandemic, he used it as an opportunity to spend time with his family and strategize his next time.

Now that the country has returned to normalcy, Dee is hopeful and optimistic: "We are back. We are better now."

True to his word, brands under FooDee Global Concept have witnessed significant growth in recent months, Notable among these successful brands are the Michelin-acclaimed restaurants Tim Ho Wan, Kam's Roast and Hawker Chan, and the crowd-favorite Spanish yogurt chain, Llao Llao. The restaurant group also operates MESA Filipino Moderne, Pound x Flatterie, Sunnies Café, BENCH/Café and more.

Menu to success #3: Consistency

However, it is also crucial to recognize that success is short-spanned and temporary, considering the changes in the restaurant industry. With the rising prices and fluctuating inflation in the country, keeping up with the food's premium quality while keeping it affordable remains challenging.

Thus, Dee believes consistency is key to surviving in the food and beverage industry.

"People are more conscious now and picky. They know what they want; They also know the differences in quality," Dee said, observing how the market has become more critical in ensuring they are getting their money's worth.

"We want to do things first, but being the first is also a little difficult because you have to educate the market first… You always have to be on your toes and maintain the consistency in quality," he said.