ELBERT CUENCA

Owner and founder, Steak Room Concepts, Inc

“Oddly enough, I believe my big break came when Restaurant12 shut down in 2004. That allowed me to realise and learn from all the mistakes I made,” says restaurateur Elbert Cuenca. In 2007 he opened the widely successful, specialised dining concept, Elbert’s Steak Room. “This is what established my name in the industry.”

The owner of Elbert’s Pizzeria and a partner in Metronome, he says: “I endeavour to help educate and elevate our diners’ level of appreciation for quality, not just with cuisine, but in terms of service as well. I involve myself with restaurant projects that hopefully raise the bar of the Philippine dining scene.”

Rather than operating with a costly set-up, he prefers a more personal approach and is committed to happy clients. “I like to personally run the show and interact directly with everyone on my team and with most of my customers. I tell my staff that we should never be motivated by money, and that we should instead be motivated by other people’s happiness. Money is the reward, the validation that we accomplished what we set out to do.”